SCSU Win Program's 17th NE10 Indoor Track & Field Title.
BOSTON, Mass. - Southern Connecticut men's track & field claimed its sixth straight Northeast 10 Conference Indoor Championship, and 17th all-time, at The TRACK at New Balance in Boston, Mass. The Owls piled on 230 points. Southern has now won 11 straight indoor shot put championships.
After Nate Llanos won the Pole Vault Championship and Adelino Deveiga won the Weight Throw Championship on the first day of competition, the Owls added four more titles on the second-day of the event. Cameron Belton (Shot Put), Jonathon Volpe (800 Meters), Shane Smith (Heptathlon) and Jason Sawicki (High Jump) all led Southern. In addition to its six Gold Medals, the Owls also added six Silver and three Bronze.
Belton successful defended his Shot Put titled with his second straight Championship in the event with a season-best mark of 17.53, hitting thee DII provision mark. Bernardo Mbaya, who was the 2020 NE10 Indoor Shot Put Champion, won Silver in the event with a mark of 16.26, while Natanael Barbosa Torres and Mekhi Barnett finished fourth and fifth respectively, with Daveiga finishing eighth to pick up a point for Southern.
Shane Smith also won his second consecutive Heptathlon with a NE10 Championship record 4,847 points, which passed former Owl standout Philip Quaye's mark of 4,788. Smith won the Shot Put, Pole Vault and 1000 Meters Run, and finished second in the Long Jump, to power him to his second title in a row. Dylan Torok claimed the Silver Medal in the Heptathlon with 4,456 points which included a win in the 60 Meters.
Jonathan Volpe also captured the 800 Meter Championship and set a new NE10 record after claiming Gold in the 4x800 last season. Volpe also finished second in the 1 Mile and now has four NE10 medals in two seasons.
Jason Sawicki also claimed the NE10 High Jump Championship, while freshman Kenneth Okoye won Silver in the event.
Other medalists include Christ N'Dabian (400 Meters, NCAA provisional finish) and William Lamburn (3,000 Meters) who won Silver medals, while Ramsley Exantus (400 Meters, NCAA provisional finish) and Jared Russo (60 Meter Hurdles) claimed Bronze Medals on the second day.
N'Dabian finished just outside of the top three in the 200 Meters, but finished sixth to pick up four points for the Owls while Nolan Freeman and Tariq Phillips also scored in the event. Phillips also finished fourth in the 60 Meter Dash while Nolan Freeman finished sixth overall.
The 4x400 Relay team of Ramsley Exantus, Nolan Freeman, Osaretin Osagie and Chris N'Dabian won Gold with a NE10 Championship Record time of 3:17.35, breaking an 11-year old record set by former member UMass Lowell in 2012. Exantus win his second 4x400 relay championship after also winning in 2020. In addition, the 4x800 Relay team of Evan Boland, Besufekad Opstrup, Shea Kenney and Owen Gagne claimed SIlver with a time of 7:48.34.
Seven additional athletes met provisional standards. Two came from AIC with Worlf Malivert's 14.45m mark in the triple jump and Gabe Medina's mile time of 4:06.96. Assumption's Tre'Sean Bouie was the third with a 400M time of 48.20.
The remaining four all came in the 200M - Christopher Holt of Adelphi (21.47), Tre'Seasn Bouie of Assumption (21.47), Jean Paul Castro of AIC (21.57) and Stephen Harris of Franklin Pierce (21.64).
-Release provided by SCSU athletic communications-
Men's Most Valuable Athlete
Jordany Dely, New Haven
Men's Most Outstanding Track Athlete
Christopher Holt, Adelphi
Men's Most Outstanding Field Athlete
Shane Smith, SCSU
Elite 24
Caden Bry, New Haven
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 13 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
