PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Backed by a number of outstanding performances, the UMass Dartmouth men's indoor track and field team posted second overall in the field of nine teams at the 2026 Little East Championships – hosted by Plymouth State University. The Corsairs compiled 125 points, finishing just behind Keene State (145 points).
The track events opened with the 5,000-meters as senior
Ethan Sylvia finished seventh overall with a time of 15:47.83, while classmate
Colin Ozturk was 10th with a time of 16:10.91.
In the 60-meter hurdles, rookie
Jayden Francois posted third overall, earning All-LEC Third Team honors with a time of 8.67, while in the 60-meter dash, rookie
Shemar Dillon posted a New England Division III Provisional time of 7.15 to finish sixth in the preliminaries, while junior
Justin Andrade was 10th with a time of 7.21. Rookie
Carlos Cruz was 18th with a mark of 7.36, while classmate Dylon Njika was 19th in 7.41.
The Mile saw junior
Cameron Thompson post second overall, earning All-LEC Second Team honors with a New England DIII Provisional qualifying time of 4:16.32. Sophomore
Connor Bruni was sixth overall in 4:44.50, while classmate
Michael Gemelli took seventh with a mark of 4:50.53. Rookie
Sean Benvissuto posted eighth in 4:50.86, while junior
Ben Bairos rounded out the packed field in 11th with a mark of 5:03.58.
It was a victory in the 400-meter dash as rookie
Michael Veegh took the crown and All-LEC First Team honors with an NED3 Provisional time of 50.54. Sophomore
Zane Gordon posted fifth overall with a time of 51.86, while junior
RJ Stone was 17th in a time of 54.93. Rookie
Trevor Godfrey rounded out the field in 18th with a time of 55.10.
Victory came once again in the 800-meters as junior
Joseph Stanton claimed the win and All-LEC First Team with an NED3 Provisional time of 1:58.53. Junior
Zack Shute posted 11th overall in 2:04.00, while classmate
Tyler Scanlon was 12th overall in 2:06.11. Junior
James Carriere was 15th overall in 2:07.59, while rookie
Jacob Marques was 16th overall in 2:08.56. Rounding out the field was sophomore
Isaac Toweh with a time of 2:18.10 for 19th overall.
The 200-meter dash saw Dillon post ninth overall with a time of 23.24, while Gordon was 11th with a time of 23.37. Andrade was 14th overall with a mark of 23.61. In the 3,000-meters, sophomore
Jackson Caron posted second overall for All-LEC Second Team honors with a time of 8:57.82. Rookie
Stevie MacLennan was seventh overall with a time of 9:11.09, while Sylvia and Ozturk were 12th (9:28.55) and 13th (9:30.14). Rookie
William Johnson closed out the field in 19th with a time of 9:56.88.
The 4x800-meter relay team of rookie
Edward Yeboah, Thompson, sophomore
Jack Barbato and Stanton claimed victory and All-LEC First Team honors with a time of 8:10.37, while the 4x400-meter relay squad of Veegh, sophomore
Bunmi Fabikun, Francois and Gordon earned All-LEC Second Team honors with a runner-up finish time of 3:28.67.
In the field events, Francois earned All-LEC Third Team honors, posting an NED3 Provisional distance of 6.39 meters for third in the long jump. Andrade was sixth overall with a mark of 6.28 meters, while rookie
Bryce Kankam was eighth overall with a mark of 6.00 meters. Sophomore
Devin Nieves rounded the field in 10th with a mark of 5.83 meters.
The triple jump saw rookie
Anthony Drinkwater finish third overall, capturing All-LEC Third Team honors with an NED3 Provisional mark of 13.12 meters. Sophomore
Kevin Ayala finished 10th overall with a mark of 11.91 meters, while rookie
Marcus Pires was 11th with a distance of 11.87 meters.
The pole vault saw Nieves earn 10th overall with a mark of 3.40 meters, while it was victory once again in the high jump as sophomore
Sean Patrone won with an NED3 Automatic mark of 1.87 meters. Rookie
Ewan McLeod took home All-LEC Second Team honors, tying for second overall with a mark of 1.92 meters, while senior
Vincenzo Videtta was sixth with a mark of 1.87 meters.
In the weight throw, rookie
Michael Gama was 11th overall with an NED3 Provisional mark of 14.63 meters, while sophomore
Mickey Valentino posted 14th overall with a throw of 13.27 meters. The shot put saw sophomore
Ancil Alexander finish second overall, earning All-LEC Second Team honors with an NED3 Automatic mark of 15.64 meters, while Valentino earned All-LEC Third Team recognition with an NED3 Automatic mark of 14.38 meters. Rookie Chalais Saintil was eighth overall with a throw of 13.50 meters, while sophomore
Kevin Saenz was 11th overall with a mark of 12.88 meters. Rookie
Dan McCarthy rounded out the field in 14th with a throw of 12.57 meters.
UMass Dartmouth will return to action on March 1 when qualified members from the men's squad head to the TRACK at New Balance to compete at the New England Division III Championships.
