WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (April 27, 2024) – Sophomores Caleb Stephen and Mick Barbi joined first-years Ryan Paradine and Chris Persico in posting event victories Saturday to lead the Stevens Institute of Technology men's outdoor track and field team at the Monarch Open, hosted by King's College at the Betzler Outdoor Track.

Stephen won the 800-meter run in 2:02.54, while Barbi won the 400-meter hurdles in a personal-best 1:00.14 to climb into 22nd in the conference. Paradine, meanwhile, complete the 1500 in 4:11.49 to set a new collegiate best, while Persico cleared 3.72 meters to top the field in the pole vault.

Additionally, the Ducks sent a relay team to compete at the prestigious Penn Relays. In the 4x400-meter Pop Haddleton/MAC race, the Ducks' quartet of sophomore Brandon Kiefer, Barbi, graduate student Kajetan Leitner and sophomore Connor Robinson finished fourth in a season-best time of 3:29.69. The event is named after longtime Haverford College men's cross country coach A.W. "Pop" Haddleton, who began the Fords' program in the 1920's.

The Rundown

• In the 100-meter dash, first-year Tyler Hackett placed fourth with a time of 11.68 seconds. In his first outdoor season, the Brick, New Jersey native ran three sub-11.5 second times. Hackett also placed fourth in the 200 with a time of 23.37 seconds, marking his second-fastest outdoor 200.
• Sophomore Mark Bigsby was fourth in the 800 with a time of 2:06.79 – his second-fastest time of the season.
• The pole vault was the top event of the day for the Ducks. Following Persico's first-place finish, sophomore Kyle Miller took second (3.72 meters) and senior Andrew Anantharajah followed in third with a mark of 3.40 meters. 
• Competing in his first collegiate long jump, junior Rai Bindra finished fourth with a mark of 5.67 meters on his third attempt, although it came with a +4.3 tailwind. Lim was right behind in fifth place with a mark of 5.54 meters on his final attempt that was also wind aided.
• Sophomore Cooper Kinsley finished third in the shot put with a mark of 11.06 meters on his third attempt. First-year Aidan Greene was close behind with a mark of 10.68 meters.
• Junior Braedan Joyce took second in the javelin with a mark of 39.89 meters. 

Top Performers

• First-year George Maroun placed ninth in the 100 with a time of 12.04 seconds.
• First-year Chase Kosiba made his collegiate debut in the 200 and 400. He finished just outside the top-10 in the 200 with a time of 24.38 seconds, while the Sayreville, New Jersey product finished sixth in the 400 with a time of 53.87 seconds.
• Graduate student Andrew Donahue took seventh in the 800 with a time of 2:10.63.
• First-year Joshua Lim placed sixth in the high jump, clearing 1.72 meters.
• Stevens had three throwers place inside the top-10 of the discus. Junior Brandon Fox led the way with a fourth-place mark of 36.83 meters to set a new season best. Senior Colin Keady was right behind in fifth with a distance of 35.20 meters, while Kinsley placed eighth with a mark of 29.95. Fox also finished third in the javelin with a mark of 39.22 meters on his fourth attempt.
• Greene led the charge for the Ducks in hammer, coming in fourth with a personal-best distance of 33.82 meters on his first attempt. Kinsley was sixth at 33.68 meters, while Fox was ninth (29.85).

For the Opponents

• The hosting Monarchs won five events.
• Andrew Novrocki set multiple records in the 200, winning the race in 22.18 seconds to set a new facility and meet record.

Around the Middle Atlantic Conference

• Arcadia, FDU-Florham and Misericordia joined Stevens in competing at the Monarchs' annual event.
• Justin Soto was the top performer for Arcadia, winning the 110-meter hurdles in a time of 18.36 seconds. Robert Carter also won an event for the Knights, topping the field in the javelin with a mark of 44.80 meters on his fourth attempt.
• Emmanuel Torode and Oluwatomiwa Adegboye each had a second-place finish to lead FDU-Florham. Torode finished the 5000 in 17:21.18, while Adegboye placed second in the high jump with a mark of 1.87 meters.
• Misericordia won four different events. Richard Billings won the 100-meter dash in 11.18 seconds, Nathan Horn won the 400 in 51.81 seconds, Caleb Shea won the 5000 in 17:09.07 and Stephen Gihr won the hammer with a toss of 50.15 meters on his second attempt for his second-longest mark of the season.

Up Next

• Men's Outdoor Track & Field heads to Chester, Pennsylvania for the three-day Middle Atlantic Conference Championships May 2-4. Widener will serve as site host and the Ducks were picked second in the pre-championship poll. Appropriate event links will be posted to StevensDucks.com once available.

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