Papa Sets New Program Best Mark in the Discus Throw at Black & Gold Challenge

ORLANDO - Iosif Papa broke his own program record in the discus throw to get the 2026 outdoor season off to a strong start for UMBC at the UCF Black & Gold Challenge.

Papa was victorious, tossing the discus 59.86 meters to blow past his previous record of 59.12 meters. Papa's program record is more than eight meters further than second on the UMBC all-time list.

Freshman Jacob Martin placed himself inside the top-10 all-time at UMBC in the 800, finishing seventh in the event with a time of 1:50.55 to shoot him up to sixth on the UMBC outdoor list.

The Retrievers also got strong showings in a handful of sprint events, as Kemarley Hibbert and Rhema Nkwocha placed 25th and 29th, respectively, in the 400 with times of 48.64 and 48.90, both narrowly missing 10th-place on the UMBC list.

Alim Raji was just 0.02 off his PR time in the 100, finishing 10th with a time of 10.64.

Next up for UMBC is the Dan Stimson Memorial Invitational next weekend in Williamsburg, Va.

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Players Mentioned

Iosif Papa: Throws; Senior

Alim Raji: Sprints; Sophomore

Jacob Martin: Mid-Distance; Freshman

Kemarley Hibbert: Sprints; Freshman

Rhema Nkwocha: Sprints; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Iosif Papa
: Senior
: Throws

Alim Raji
: Sophomore
: Sprints

Jacob Martin
: Freshman
: Mid-Distance

Kemarley Hibbert
: Freshman
: Sprints

Rhema Nkwocha
: Freshman
: Sprints