ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's indoor track & field team captured the Liberty League Indoor Championship this weekend at host RIT, securing its third consecutive conference title and ninth overall in program history behind a dominant and balanced two-day performance across sprints, distance, relays, and field events.
RPI's sprint corps set the tone early. Cam Caso placed sixth in the 60-meter dash in 7.03 seconds before returning to the track to earn runner-up honors in the 200-meter dash in 22.19. The 200 meters proved to be a marquee event for the Engineers, as
Ronen Stewart stormed to the Liberty League title in 22.18, edging Caso by just one hundredth of a second.
Alexander Flynn added a third-place finish in 22.25 and
Donovan Myrick scored in sixth at 22.53, giving RPI four top-six finishers in the event.
Flynn continued his strong weekend in the 400-meter dash, earning second place in 49.46, while
Caden Caron finished fifth in 50.45 and Myrick added seventh in 50.76. In the 60-meter hurdles,
Cortez Garrett placed fourth in 8.43 and
Chris Kay followed in fifth with a time of 8.65 to keep valuable points flowing toward the team total.
The middle-distance and distance groups were instrumental in delivering the championship. Dominic Pena earned a runner-up finish in the 800 meters in 1:54.45, setting the stage for a commanding display in the mile and longer events.
Evan Lacey led a wave of RPI scorers in the mile with a second-place finish in 4:12.89, followed by
Jack Loughery in third at 4:13.19 and
Colin Goldschmidt in fourth at 4:14.70. Sam Gunther,
Nathaniel McKee, and Joe Nuzzo added fifth-, sixth-, and seventh-place finishes, respectively, showcasing the Engineers' depth.
The 3000 meters featured another dominant showing, as Lacey placed second in 8:18.22, Loughery finished third in 8:23.30, and
Jack Czarnecki took fourth in 8:25.23. Goldschmidt,
Danny Gall,
Joey Smith, and
Thomas Manson completed the scoring sweep from fifth through eighth.
In the 5000 meters, Manson earned second place in 15:07.85,
Gwilym Horner finished third in 15:10.19, and
Tobin Durham placed fourth in 15:15.83, adding critical points in the championship's longest race.
RPI also excelled in the relays, highlighted by a conference title in the distance medley relay.
Danny Gall, Alex Flynn, Dominic Pena, and
Jack Czarnecki combined for a winning time of 10:15.09 to claim gold and swing momentum firmly in RPI's favor. The Engineers added a third-place finish in the 4x400-meter relay, with
Jack Catelotti,
Francis Grasso, Walter Withow, and
Caden Caron crossing in 3:24.44.
Moss Dengler captured the league crown in the pole vault with a clearance of 4.66 meters.
Oliver Herrick added a pair of third-place finishes, leaping 6.78 meters in the long jump and 14.08 meters in the triple jump, while
Ervin Owusu scored in eighth in the triple jump at 12.68 meters.
Connor Cruz contributed a fourth-place finish in the high jump at 1.90 meters.
Max Fetah placed third in the 35-pound weight throw with a mark of 15.71 meters, followed by
Paul Sussman in fourth at 15.26 meters and
Colby Grove in sixth at 15.14 meters.
Tristan Mangin added a fifth-place finish in the shot put at 13.84 meters, and
Leo Lomangino scored in the heptathlon with a fifth-place total of 4,588 points.
