Men's Track & Field Successfully Mines for Gold at America East Championships

Freshmen Liam Meginniss and Iosif Papa, senior Michael Arnold and the 4x4 relay squad reach the top of the podium in Albany.

ALBANY, N.Y. – The UMBC men's track and field program produced a huge day on Sunday, collecting four golds, a silver, and a bronze at the 2023 America East Outdoor Championships.

The Retrievers finished in fifth place, matching their 2022 team performance. The four golds achieved are the most since UMBC also earned four in 2017.

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Among the four gold medalists the men boasted, two of those set personal-records in the process including Liam Meginniss and Michael Arnold.
The sixth-best qualifier, Meginniss captured the 800m run with a time of 1:51.48 in a thrilling race. At the halfway point, the UMBC freshman was in sixth place, but he came from off the pace to defeat runners from UMass Lowell and UAlbany by .09 seconds.
Arnold obliterated his previous low time by racing around the track at a 52.16 clip during the 400 hurdles, well over one second faster than his top qualifying time. The senior recorded the second-fastest mark in school history and the best time in America East in 2023.
Iosif Papa capped his phenomenal freshman campaign as a champion, placing first in the discus throw with a 53.15m.
The fourth and final winner from the final day was the last event of the Championships when the 4x400m quartet of Marquis Miller, Jayo Adegboyo, Arnold, and Nicolas Alphonse took the last possible gold medals available by posting a 3:14.09.
Shavar Staats grabbed the silver medal for his 100m dash speed, cruising to second at 10.52 seconds for a crucial eight points.
The bronze went to the Dawgs courtesy of Alphonse's legs, leaping and sprinting his way to the tune of a 14.77-second clip in the 110 hurdles.
The longest race of the day saw a new benchmark fall as Baraka Sila ran the 5,000m at a 15:16.18 pace.
Top-eight finishes were commonplace for the Retrievers as Jayo Adegbayo came in eighth for the 400m (48.83), Aidan Walker took seventh during the discus (46.03m), Ibra Khairat snatched fourth in the triple jump (14.43m), and Alphonse recorded eighth with his 400 hurdles outing (55.20).
The 4x800m relay team of Zachary Taylor, Lamine Fofana, Mulisa Reggasa, and Meginniss collected a fifth-place allotment for four points by completing a 7:48.55.