Freshmen Throwers Koletsi and Papa Shine in Debuts At Weems Baskin Invite

Jafar Hussen and Nicolas Alphonse lead the way on the track for UMBC.

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The UMBC men's track and field program had two student-athletes set personal-records and another pair of Dawgs claim medals on the first day competing at the University of South Carolina.

Day 1:

In his first career collegiate event for UMBC, freshman Gabriel Koletsi made the best first impression one can have, claiming the gold medal in the javelin toss with a throw of 69.15m.
Jafar Hussen was the other Retriever to earn a spot on the podium, finishing as the runner-up during the 5,000m run in a time of 14:56.96.
Ibrahim Khairat was the lone man to claim a top-ten finish on top of a personal-best, coming in sixth place for his 7.05m long jump.
Lamine Fofana slotted in sixth during the 3,000m steeplechase (10:07.10) and Mack McKeever crossed the finish line right behind for seventh (10:24.05) with both Seun Olajide (10.98 in 100m) and Toren Burr (52.10m in hammer throw) rounding out those who would score if points were kept.
Other notables included a ninth-place allotment for Alexander Ianniello during the pole vault event (3.90m) along with Jayo Adegboyo setting a new PR in the 400m (50.19).

Day 2:

Iosif Papa was the lone medalist on day two, placing second for the silver with a personal-record distance of 51.98m. The throw is the second-best mark amongst America East competitors in the early stages of the outdoor season.
A pair of Retrievers landed in eighth place as Aiden Walker did so in the discus (46.58m) and Nicolas Alphonse slotted there for his 55.80-second 400m run. Alphonse came in ninth in the 110 hurdles (14.89) and he stands with the top mark in America East through two weekends of competition.
Thomas Foulkes came in ninth with a PR time of 8:58.26 during the 3000m, Daron Taylor came in right behind Foulkes at 9:06.05 (tenth), and Seun Olajide set a new personal-low time in the 200m (21.92).