March 1, 2020

The Basics

• The lead: The Stevens Institute of Technology men's indoor track & field team totaled 121 points on the second day of competition to vault from fifth place to first and capture the program's second consecutive indoor conference championship Saturday at the Middle Atlantic Conference championship meet.
• Location: Tom & Helen Flynn for Recreation, Wellness and Health Sciences (The PLEX) - Reading, Pa. (Hosted by Alvernia University)
• Short Story: The Ducks captured gold in three different events and earned an additional six finishes that resulted in either silver or bronze to capture its second indoor title in as many seasons. The Ducks earned the program's first indoor title one season ago in Stevens' final season in the Empire 8 Conference. All totaled, Stevens scored in 14 different events in climbing from fifth place to first. 
• The Score: Stevens finished atop the 14-team field with 136 points. Widener placed second with 125. Stevenson claimed third with 120, with DeSales (73) and Lebanon Valley (72) rounding out the top-five. The championship was Stevens' seventh conference title since joining the MAC last July.
• The Awards: Stevenson's Patrick Watson was named the MAC Track Athlete of the Year. Watson was also the cross country national champion. Eastern's Evan Wildermuth, King's Jackie Ni and Widener's Valiant McKee were named the league's Co-Field Athletes of the Year, while Stevenson's Damani Jones and Stevens freshman David Springstead were tabbed the MAC's Co-Rookies of the Year. Springstead placed second in the heptathlon, winning three of the six events. Additionally, head coach Lance Harden was voted Men's Indoor Track & Field's Coach of the Year for his fourth Coach of the Year accolade since taking the helm of the Ducks' track & field program in the fall of 2018.

Conference Champions

• The heptathlon provided some of the best results of the meet for the Ducks, with sophomore Aeden Angelone topping the field with a score of 4,518 points, which ranks sixth in the region. Springstead's total of 4,485 points was good for silver and slots seventh in the Atlantic Region. Although he fell just shy of bronze (103 points), sophomore Jonathan Scamardella placed fourth with 4,273 points as the Ducks claimed three of the top-four finishes. In his second collegiate heptathlon, freshman Alex Schwindt placed seventh (3,762 points) to score a pair of points for the Ducks. Four of the eight scoring finishes were claimed by Stevens, who netted 25 points towards the team total.
• Senior Nicholas DiMaria placed first in the 400-meter dash with a time of 50.19 seconds. The Spotswood, New Jersey native is ranked ninth in the Atlantic Region and 42nd in Division III. DiMaria also claimed silver in the 200, finishing in a time of 22.50 seconds. He is ranked seventh in the Atlantic Region in the 200.
• The Ducks' quartet of senior Daniel Kaba, junior Amar Bindra, DiMaria and junior John Mullen topped the field in the 4x400-meter relay race. DiMaria ran the anchor leg and helped the Ducks finish with a time of 3:27.15.

Scoring Results

• Two Ducks placed in the 800. Graduate student Tom Selvaggi completed the race in 1:58.07 to finish fifth, while sophomore Trevor LaDue scored two points with a time of 1:59.90.
• LaDue earned bronze in the mile with a time of 4:27.72. The Monroe, New York native was one of three Ducks to score in the race, with Selvaggi placing fifth (4:32.05) and sophomore Robby Russo placed sixth (4:32.27).
• Kaba and Bindra reached the finals of the 60-meter hurdles to add to the team total. Bindra ran a new personal-best time of 8.72 seconds in the preliminary heats and placed seventh with a time of 8.73 seconds. Kaba finished right behind the Bernardsville, New Jersey native, taking eighth with a time of 9.09 seconds after posting a time of 8.54 seconds, to earn the top seed after the preliminary heat.
• Selvaggi returned for the 4x800-relay, running the opening leg as the Ducks finished second to earn eight points towards the team total. Following Selvaggi, senior Sean James, freshman Ronnie Melao and LaDue, completed the race in 8:04.83.
• The Ducks also scored in the distance medley relay. The quartet of Selvaggi, Mullen, LaDue and Russo placed third with a time of 10:29.51.
• In the high jump, Springstead led a group of three Ducks to earn points, posting a height of 1.92 meters to set a new PR. Following Springstead in the standings were freshman Kevin Finck (1.89 meters) and Scamardella (1.83 meters).
• Three Ducks also scored in the pole vault, led by sophomore Enis Rama, who reached 4.50 meters to finish second and set a new personal-best. Senior Andy Accardi cleared 4.30 meters to place and sophomore Nicolas Re finished fifth with a height of 4.20 meters.
• Freshman Kenneth Howell finished fifth in the long jump with a distance of 6.75 meters to set a new indoor personal-best.
• In just his fourth collegiate meet, freshman Hikmat Sabeh placed second in the triple jump with a career-best distance of 13.17 meters. Junior Adam Moninghoff hit 12.74 meters on his first jump to place eighth.
• In the weight throw, senior Max McCauley placed fourth with a career-best distance of 15.85 meters on his final attempt. The Livingston, New Jersey native also set a new PR in the shot put, hitting 13.12 meters on his final attempt;

From the Blocks (Head Coach Lance Harden)

• "With 14 teams, this is one of the largest and most competitive conference meets in Division III. We had to bring our 'A' game to score in any of the events."
• "We would like to thank Alvernia, the MAC staff, and everyone who helped host the meet."
• "We told our team before the meet that the two days would be a roller coaster, full of highs and lows, and that we had enough depth and breadth on our team to make up for poor performances in some events. Sure enough, the meet played out exactly as we described it and we are so proud of our team for overcoming the setbacks we faced and finishing the meet strong."
• "There were several unforgettable moments and inflection points during the meet, but the one that stands out to me as the apex was when David Springstead cleared 1.92 meters in the high jump at the same time as Nick DiMaria passed the anchor runner from Widener on the final turn of the 4x400-meter relay. These two simultaneous performances gave us enough points to ensure the team title and our entire team knew it as it was happening, letting out a collective, cathartic release of jubilation as they celebrated our comeback."
• "Our heptathletes, jumpers, and vaulters were simply outstanding on Saturday. Pole Vault, Triple Jump, High Jump and the Heptathlon were all among the final events, and we scored 52 points from these four events due to some clutch efforts by Hikmat Sabeh, Adam Moninghoff, Kenny Howell, Enis Rama, Andy Accardi, Nick Re, Kevin Finck, Aeden Angelone, Jonathan Scamardella, David Springstead, and Alex Schwindt."
• "Hikmat Sabeh has had an incredible season coming back from injury, as this was only his third meet triple jumping in college, and he placed second with a big jump in the final round."
• "Enis Rama tied the school record in the pole vault, clearing the winning height, but losing on misses. He had two clutch third-attempt clearances at 4.20 meters and 4.40 meters to stay in the competition. Likewise, classmate Nick Re was down to his final attempt at 4.20 meters and also cleared to earn fifth place. Senior Andy Accardi did his part by getting over his opening bar of 4.30 meters to place third."
• "After doing seven events over two days, David Springstead continued for one more event: the High Jump, and matched his lifetime-best that he had set the previous day with a big 1.92-meter jump on tired legs. The other coaches in the conference were so impressed with his grittiness that they named him Co-Rookie of the Year. Fellow freshman, Kevin Finck, came through with a personal best of 1.89 meters to qualify for regionals, and more importantly, earn four huge points for the team."
• "We asked a lot of our middle distance runners, and they responded, scoring in multiple events. Trevor LaDue and Tom Selvaggi each scored in the same four events: Distance Medley Relay, Mile, 800 and 4x800-meter relay. Like their teammates, they sacrificed the individual success of focusing on one primary event for the team goal. Robby Russo was excellent anchoring our DMR, scoring in the mile and nearly scoring out of the slow heat of the 3,000."
• "Max McCauley was a monster in the throwing events, putting the pressure on the field in the weight throw with a big PR on his first throw that put him into the lead. He followed that up with three additional improvements and five of his six throws exceeded his previous PR. He returned in the shot put and went over 13 meters for the first time in his career, indoor or outdoor."
• "Nick DiMaria was solid as ever, winning the 400, placing second in the 200, and then anchoring our 4x400m to victory."
• "Amar Bindra had a nice PR to sneak into the finals of the 60m Hurdles and pick up two points."
• "I would like to thank my assistant coaches - Tim Wilson, John Kolibab, and Veronica Montrose - for their hard work, technical expertise, and poise under pressure. They have been a joy to work with this year and made some great decisions over the course of these two days to get us on the top of the podium."

Up Next

• Men's Indoor Track & Field heads north to Rochester, New York for the All-Atlantic Region Indoor Track & Field Championships, hosted by Nazareth College at its new Golisano Training Center on March 6th and 7th.

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