READING, Pa. (January 20, 2024) – Seniors Jake Aylmer and Liam Concannon finished first and second, respectively, in the 3,000 to lead the Stevens Institute of Technology men's indoor track & field team Saturday at the Alvernia University Winter Invitational at the Tom & Helen Flynn Complex. 

Aylmer completed the race in 8:56.71 to both top the 37-runner field and set a new personal best. The Haddon Township, New Jersey native now holds the top time in the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC). Concannon, meanwhile, finished right behind Aylmer in 8:57.44 for his third-fastest 3000. Concannon is ranked second in the MAC.

Additionally, Stevens placed four runners in the top-10 in the 3000. Graduate student Ronnie Melao finished fifth in 8:59.69, while sophomore Danny Jutras was eighth in 9:18.09. The mark set a new indoor best for the Ducks' fifth-year runner, while Jutras' mark was a new PR.

The event marked the collegiate debut for first-year Aidan Greene.

A total of 14 teams competed in the single-day event, including seven from the Middle Atlantic Conference, and team scores were not compiled.

The Rundown

• Senior Federico Yacoubian had an impressive showing in the 60-meter hurdles. The Denville, New Jersey native ran the second-fastest preliminary time (8.79 seconds) before setting a new PR with a time of 8.65 seconds, which ranked second. He ranks second in the MAC. Yacoubian was the fastest DIII runner in the field. 
• Sophomore Brandon Kiefer had a pair of top finishes. The Severna Park, Maryland native easily set a new PR in the pole vault, clearing 4.05 meters to finish fourth and move into second place in the conference. Kiefer also took sixth in the triple jump, hitting 12.43 meters on his first collegiate attempt in the event. 

Top Performers

• Sophomore Kyle Savino finished ninth in the 60-meter dash, finishing first in his heat and reaching the finish in 7.291 seconds. The second-year sprinter missed the finals by one-thousandth-of-a-second as Kutztown's Steele Wrigley claimed the last spot in the final with a time of 7.29 seconds flat. Among Division III runners, Savino's time ranked fifth.
• Sophomore Connor Robinson took seventh in the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.48 seconds in his first collegiate meet in the event. The Verona, New Jersey native also placed sixth in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.84 seconds.
• First-year Tyler Hackett placed seventh in the 400-meter dash, touching the line in 55.01 seconds. 
• Graduate student Andrew Donahue ran the fastest indoor mile of his career, placing 10th with a time of 4:50.28.
• First-year Joshua Lim placed fifth in the high jump, touching a MAC-qualifying 1.83 meters. Lim also took fifth in the long jump with a mark of 6.13 meters on his final attempt.
• Sophomore Kyle Miller posted a MAC-qualifying mark in the pole vault, clearing 3.90 meters to finish fifth in the event. Senior Andrew Anantharajah finished just behind in sixth.
• Senior Colin Keady took fifth in the weight throw with a distance of 13.71 meters. 

For the Opponents

• Division II Kutztown had a strong meet, winning seven different events: the 60-meter dash, the 200-meter dash, the 60-meter hurdles, the high jump, the pole vault, the long jump and the weight throw.

Around the Middle Atlantic Conference

• Eastern's Ni'Male Greenwood climbed to second in the conference in the 60-meter dash after posting a time of 7.06 seconds at the Alvernia Winter Invite. The Eagles' 4x200-meter relay team posted a time of 1:34.96 to move into second place in the MAC.
• Widener's Samuel Knowles posted a time of 22.63 seconds in the 200-meter dash at the Moravian Indoor Meet to jump atop the MAC standing. 
• King's Andrew Novrocki posted a time of 51.42 seconds in the 400-meter dash at the River Hawk Invite to jump to third on the conference leaderboard.
• John Condon (Messiah) posted a conference-leading time of 4:25.04 in the mile at Houghton's Highlander Invitational. Four of the top miles times in the MAC were set in competition Saturday.
• Arcadia's Myles Sams cleared 1.88 meters at the Collegeville Classic to tie for first place in the MAC.
• FDU-Florham's Michael Bonsignore touched 6.71 meters in the long jump at the Alvernia meet, to rise to second place in the conference standings. Teammate D'Maari Brown reached 14.44 meters in the triple jump to climb to second in the MAC.
• Stevenson's Nathan Williams posted the best mark in the conference to date in the shot put, reaching 16.22 meters at the Collegeville Classic.

Coach's Comments

• "The first meet back from winter break is incredibly challenging. Every year of my coaching career, the team usually takes a small step backwards from where they were at the first meet in December. This is to be expected, as training is much more difficult over winter break. Not only are our athletes on their own, but it's also difficult to procure proper facilities for the few weeks they are training without us. This was the first year I've been a collegiate coach where this hasn't happened. Our group wildly exceeded expectations, and picked up right where they left off six weeks ago from our first meet. This is an amazingly promising sign and a testament to how our group is working hard and doing the right things.  I'm a little shocked and very happy with today's results."
• "We had some great performances today from our men's squad. Brandon Keifer had an incredible day, placing fourth in pole vault and sixth in triple jump. While triple jump is not a part of the heptathlon or decathlon, which are Brandon's main events, he is such a talented athlete he can succeed in just about any event we throw him in. It was great to see him get a triple jump PR after a two-year hiatus from the event. "
• "Federico Yacoubian also had an incredible day, placing second in the 60-meter hurdles with a new lifetime best. Opening your season with a lifetime best in your main event is very impressive and he still has quite a bit of room to grow technically. The sky is the limit for him."
• "The trio of Jake Aylmer, Liam Concannon and Ronnie Melao are picking up right where they left off from a great cross country campaign, placing first, second and fifth in the 3000-meter run. All three of them are wildly talented, and it's a lot of fun seeing them battle on the track all in the same race."
• "Our men's team is looking as deep and as talented as it has since our 2020 indoor championship and I'm excited to see how they grow over the rest of the season."

Up Next

• Stevens heads to Boston, Massachusetts on Jan. 26-27 for the John Thomas Terrier Classic, hosted by Boston University. Links for live stats and video will be posted to StevensDucks.com.

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