PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The 2026 IC4A-ECAC Track & Field Championships got underway on Saturday, with Rutgers in front in both the men’s and women’s scoring after Day One. The Scarlet Knight women racked up 82 points, with Bucknell (56.5) and Duquesne (51.5) rounding out the top three, while the Rutgers men (100 points) sit in front of Bucknell (67) and Princeton (50).
Duquesne freshman Nick Keller took first in the men’s 400, doing so behind a finals time of 47.17. Chase Lopez of FDU followed with a mark of 1:51.38 to claim the men’s 800, with Princeton freshman Tsedeke Jakovics (1:52.82) picking up second place.
The men’s 1500 saw Weston Brown give Princeton an event win with a time of 3:52.64, followed by Wagner’s Florian Henry (3:53.76) and Vermont’s Will Just (3:54.00). Richmond Freshman Andy Condon (14:45.40) held off Cooper Hollinger (14:45.53) of Bucknell in a photo finish to claim the men’s 5K crown.
Sean Matthews (31:26.11) then earned first place in the men’s 10K, adding another 10 points to Rutgers’ team total. In the final men’s track event of the day, Princeton’s Marcelo Parra Ramon (9:11.51) held on to earn the individual title in the steeplechase, with Bucknell’s Mason Barlow (9:12.97) taking second.
Ethan Ruffin turned in a winning mark of 2.16m in the men’s high jump, with Rutgers’ Malachi Yehudah and Gavin Nelson of Monmouth rounding out the top three. The Scarlet Knights dominated the men’s pole vault, with Kevin O’Sullivan (5.60m) setting a meet record to win it and teammates Brian O’Sullivan (5.50m) and Ryan Merlino (5.40m) takins second and third respectively.
Princeton’s Tyler Konopka (18.50m) won the men’s shot put, followed by Matthew Palchak (18.06m) of Army and Wade Shomper (17.86m) of Bucknell. Keenan LaMontagne (52.44m) won the men’s discus for Bucknell, with Princeton freshman Anthony Liaknovich (50.88m) and Shawn Brady (50.76m) of Rutgers both clearing 50 meters.
Christopher Milillo gave Wagner an event win by taking first in the men’s hammer behind a mark of 63.66m. Rutgers took first and third in the men’s javelin, as Justin Kolpan (59.67m) and Nicholas Vannatta (58.60m) were separated only by NJIT senior Jason Ballen (58.86m).
Rutgers teammates Sincere Robinson (8.13m) and Donovan Anderson (7.88m) turned in a 1-2 finish in the men’s long jump. After the first four events of the decathlon, Sacred Heart teammates Ian Crowley (2880) and Langston Pearson (2838) sit and first and second heading into Sunday.
On the women’s side, the Scarlet Knights wasted no time, as Success Duruzor (54.64) and Sierra Latonnel (55.91) picked up first and second in the 400. Sylvia Kashak of Duquesne then won the women’s 800, doing so behind a finals time of 2:07.94.
In the women’s 1500 Monmouth sophomore Emily Simko (4:31.94) grabbed the individual crown, holding off a trio of Bucknell runners in the process. Bucknell’s Shaelan McNally dominated the women’s 5K, as her time of 16:46.43 was more than seven seconds faster than second place.
Lehigh teammates Brenna Dahlgren (38.29.97) and Chloe Browne (39:31.92) took first and second respectively in the women’s 10K to give the Mountain Hawks their first event win of the day. Fordham followed suit with a 1-2 punch of their own, as Meredith Gotzman (10:50.16) and Quincy Biddle (11:11.24) finished as the top two in the women’s steeple.
Jenovia Logan (1.76m) of Rutgers took home first in the women’s high jump, while Fordham’s Zoe Arakelian, Monmouth’s Imke van der Spoel and Caroline Garbe each came up with a mark of 1.68m. Duquesne’s Nadia Contantakis earned first in the women’s pole vault behind a successful clearance of 3.71m.
Teyana Ames’ (Rutgers) toss of 16.22m was good enough to grab the individual shot put title, while Army claimed half the podium in the same event. Manhattan sophomore Thea Dahl came up with a win in the women’s hammer, doing so with a winning distance of 58.51m.
Makayla Keck (51.22m) and Mary Grusky (47.28m), both Duquesne freshmen, turned in first and second in the women’s javelin, followed by a pair of Rutgers upperclassmen.
Celine Brown added to Rutgers’ total with a first-place finish in the women’s long jump, landing at 6.49m. Four heptathlon events concluded on Saturday, with Sacred Heart teammates Magdalena Brogioli (3012) and Sierra Thompson (3000) sitting atop the leaderboard heading into Sunday’s action.
The meet, hosted at Rutgers’ Bauer Track and Field Complex, is set to wrap up on Sunday afternoon.