Results
Staten Island, NY - The Wagner College men's track and field team claimed its fourth straight Northeast Conference (NEC) indoor title on Monday. The Seahawks' women's team rounded out a successful weekend at the Ocean Breeze Track and Field Complex by finishing third.
The Wagner men's team became the first team to win four consecutive indoor titles since LIU Brooklyn achieved the feat between 2014-2017. In a two-team race for first place, the Green and White earned 163 points, beating out CCSU (156) for the NEC crown. Stonehill (92.5), Merrimack (73), Saint Francis U (67.5), Sacred Heart (43), FDU (38), LIU (25) and Le Moyne (3) rounded out the team standings on the men's side.
Individually, the Seahawks took home five major awards. Senior Ryan Lane and sophomore Christopher Millilo were named the Outstanding Field Performers for Jumps and Throws, respectively, while freshman Jack Mason earned Outstanding Rookie Performer honors on the men's side.
On the women's side, senior Ruth-Ann Chambers repeated as the NEC's Most Outstanding Track Performer for Sprints, while freshman June Fernandez earned Most Outstanding Rookie Performer honors.
CCSU repeated as the women's champion with 125 points, with Sacred Heart (106.9) and Wagner (95.2) rounding out the top three.
Chambers earned first place in the 60m hurdles, finishing the event in 8.70, .04 ahead of second place Magdalena Brogioli. Chambers also placed third in the 60m dash with a time of 7.83, second in the 200m with a time of 25.07, and was a part of the Distance Medley Relay, which received second place with a time of 3:55.93.
Senior Jason Marchese received first place at his second-consecutive NEC Indoor Championships. The Staten Island, NY native finished the 500m dash in 1:02.54, defeating CCSU's Gabriel Kwarteng by a second-and-a-half. Marchese's time set an NEC track indoor record in the event. Marchese also placed fifth in the 60m dash, and seventh in the 200m dash.
For Marchese, this is his second-straight 500m title. His time of 1:02.54 is also a new NEC Indoor Championship record.
Freshman June Fernandez earned gold in the 200m dash. Fernandez's final time in the event was 24.76. Her preliminary round produced a 24.69 in the 200m, which broke her previous record of 25.18.
The four-time NEC Rookie of the Week also garnered sixth in the 60m dash, fourth in the 400m dash, and second in the 4x400m relay.
Sophomore Julio Martinez was crowned the conference's champion in the pole vault. The Madrid, Spain native cleared a mark of 4.60m to earn first in the event. Fellow Seahawks Ryan Lane and sophomore Eskil Njerve placed second and third, respectively.
Junior Kharlin Watkins earned his first ever first-place finish at the NEC Indoor Championships. The Coram, NY native cleared a height of 1.94m in the high jump. Watkins also placed fifth in the long jump with a mark of 6.75m.
Sophomore Christopher Milillo obtained first place in the weight throw, with a distance of 17.31m. The Iona Preparatory graduate produced his title-winning throw on his first attempt.
Milillo, who was second in the weight throw as a freshman at the 2023 NEC Indoor track & field Championships, concluded with a mark of 17.64m. Milillo also competed in the shot put, with his best distance being 12.66m.
Lane competed in four events at the 2024 NEC Indoor Championships, and finished top-three in all events. The three-time NEC Field Athlete of the Week placed second in the pole vault and high jump, and third in the long jump and triple jump.
Mason entered the Championship meet having won the five out of the eight possible Rookie of the Week honors throughout the season. At the NEC Indoor Championships, Mason produced a Wagner College program record of 7.45m in the long jump, and a 14.26m triple jump for second place in both events.
Mason would come in second in both events, behind FDU's four-time All-American Salif Mane, who won both the long jump and the triple jump at the Championships.
Senior Anthony Bentivegna finished in second in the 5000m run and fourth in the 3000m run. His 3000m run was a personal-best of 8:28.10, meanwhile, his time in the 5000m run was 14:34.46.
Junior Gia Comerford placed fifth in the mile and fourth in the 3000m. Comerford's 3000m time was 9:53.25, which is a personal-best by over 10 seconds. Her time in the mile was 4:58.16. The Staten Island, NY native also participated in the Distance Medley Relay, which placed in second with a time of 12:06.40.
Next up, the Seahawks will begin their 2024 outdoor campaign at the Stony Brook Invite on Saturday, March 16, with the men's team looking to win its fourth consecutive outdoor NEC title.
