North Andover, MA - The Wagner College men's track & field team won its third consecutive Northeast Conference (NEC) Outdoor Track & Field title to complete the NEC triple crown, after previously winning the cross country and indoor titles.
The Seahawks scored 166 total points to become the first program to sweep the cross country, indoor, and outdoor conference championships since Saint Francis U completed the trifecta back in 2003. Wagner is also the first program to win three straight outdoor conference championships since Central Connecticut won four straight between 2014 to 2017.
The Green & White entered day two of the conference championships with a 15 point lead over Central Connecticut. Graduate student Michael Pepe made history, breaking the NEC Outdoor Track & Field Championship record in the discus throw. Pepe owned both the conference championships record and school record in the discus, but moved his mark to 55.83m. Pepe bested second place by over 6 meters in the event.
Senior Dominic Palermo won gold in the 3000m steeplechase with a time of 9:07.69. Palermo was in the lead at the end of the first lap and did not look back to give the Seahawks ten more points and took down the NEC Championships' 22-year old record in the process. Freshman Julio Martinez was victorious in the pole vault, clearing a height of 4.65m to earn himself a championship amongst all upperclassmen in the event.
Junior Jason Marchese, the reigning NEC Track Athlete of the Week, ran away with the 400m hurdles title by over half a second, clocking in a time of 52.87.
Senior Jean Uminski, junior Ryan Lane, and graduate student Corey Durden all saw the podium for their performances. Uminski brought home gold in the 10,000m run with a time of 30:59.26. Junior Ryan Lane and graduate student Corey Durden both earned second in their respective events. Lane completed a mark of 7.39m on his third attempt in the long jump, while Durden's 17.12m shot put throw earned him a silver medal of his own. The Seahawks' 4x800 relay team of Dominic Palermo, Muhammad Qadri, Michael Hubert, and Luke Cunningham brought home a bronze medal in the event.
As for second place finishes, freshman Dario Sina de la Fuente threw the javelin 58.18m on his fourth attempt, missing out on first place by less than a foot. Senior Luke Cunningham ran the 1500m in 3:55.79 to earn a silver medal, with Uminski trailing closely with a 3:57.35 in the event.
In total, Uminski medaled three times this weekend. After winning gold in the 10,000m run, the NEC cross country champion earned bronze in the 1500m run and silver in the 5000m run. The Paris, France native boasted a time of 15:04.35 in the 5000m run, missing out on a second gold by .2 seconds.
Aside from Uminski, the only other Seahawk to place third was junior Michael Hubert. Hubert finished the 800m with a time of 1:54.70, gaining 6 more points for the Green & White.
Franklin Simms, Yannik Gerland, and Anthony Bentivegna all picked up valuable points by placing fourth in the discus, 3000m steeplechase, and 5000m run, respectively.
The quartet of George Lamanna, Luke Cunningham, Dante Rodney, and Jason Marchese ran the 4x400m relay in 42.24 for a fourth place finish and 5 more points for the Seahawks.
Sophomore Justin Morris completed the 5000m run in sixth with a time of 15:24.37. Freshman Alex Taddeo ran a 10.85 100m dash for seventh, while freshman Arjanvir Singh gained one point in the 400m with a time of 50.76.
In the field, Corey Durden threw the discus 44.02m on his third attempt for seventh. Freshman Eskil Njerve cleared a height of 4.40m for his own seventh place finish in the pole vault.
To round off the Seahawks' top performers, Alex Taddeo, Kevin Smith, Logan Murphey, and Eric Griffin placed seventh in the 4x100m relay, while Marchese ran a 26.18 200m dash for eighth place.
In the process,
Jean Uminski was named NEC Most Outsanding Track Performer (Distance) of the meet.
Michael Pepe was named NEC Most Outstanding Field Performer (Throws) of the meet, and
Julio Martinez was named NEC Most Outstanding Rookie Performer of the meet.
In total, Wagner scored 166 points, with Central Connecticut coming in second with 141 points. Saint Francis U earned third with 135 points, Merrimack was fourth with 100 points, Sacred Heart was fifth with 70 points, LIU came in sixth with 69 points, FDU totaled 56 points and seventh place, and St. Francis Brooklyn rounded out the bottom of the scoreboard with 44 points total.
