Papa, Ojulu Earn Major Awards as UMBC Takes Third at AE Outdoor Championships

LOWELL, Mass. - The UMBC men's outdoor track & field team placed third at the America East Outdoor Track & Field Championships, totaling 137 points. UMass Lowell won the men's championship with 166.5 points, while UAlbany snuck past UMBC with 140. This is the fifth third-place finish in the AE Championships for the UMBC men and the third straight season with a top-three finish.

The Retrievers grabbed a pair of major awards as Iosif Papa was named Outstanding Field Performer and Martin Ojulu was named Outstanding Rookie.

It was a truly dominant day in the relays for UMBC, starting with the first track event of the day, the men's 4x100. Fred-Morgan Iheanacho, Alim Raji, Ojulu, and Karell Clement took gold, scoring 10 points for the Retrievers as they tied the meet record with a time of 40.22. The quartet sped their way to tie the fastest 4x100 time in the last 16 years for UMBC.

Late in the afternoon, the 4x800 and 4x400 relays also brought home 10 points and set America East Outdoor Championship records in the process. Sofiane Compaorg, Ryan Hartranft, Joey Ensor, and Justin Banks edged out UAlbany in the 4x800 with a time of 7:24.94, setting the meet record by more than six seconds. The group was just .80 seconds shy of the UMBC program record.

Rhema Nkwocha, Kemarley Hibbert, Justin Febles, and Jacob Martin finished out the championships with a victory in the 4x400, setting the meet record with a finishing time of 3:09.98, the third-fastest time in UMBC history.

The Retrievers earned three more individual gold medals, starting on the track with Ojigwe Olua breezing to a program record, meet record, and gold medal in the 110 hurdles. Olua crossed the finish line in 13.84 seconds to break Trae Proctor's 12-year-old program record. Ojulu grabbed his second gold medal of the day, sprinting to gold in the 200 with a time of 20.73, besting Alpha Balde's 2025 meet record (20.81). Ojulu moved up to third on UMBC's all-time performance list.

In the field, Papa got the job done in the discus throw, winning by more than six meters with a 58.80-meter hurl. Papa broke Travis Robinson's AE Championship record by nearly two full meters to earn 10 points for UMBC.

The Retrievers added a slew of other medalists, starting with Banks, who grabbed silver in the 1,500 with a run of 3:47.77. Raji took silver in the 100, running a time of 10.37 to bump him up to fourth on UMBC's all-time list.

Ensor earned bronze in an extremely tight 800 run, clocking a time of 1:51.50, with Bryant's Ryan Bourke winning the event with a time of 1:51.32. Febles took home bronze in the 400 hurdles with a time of 52.02, earning six points for UMBC. Running alongside Ojulu, Raji grabbed his third medal of the day in the 200, taking bronze with a time of 21.03, tying him for fourth on UMBC's all-time list.

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Players Mentioned

Alpha Balde: Sophomore

Justin Banks: Distance; Sophomore

Sofiane Compaorg: Distance; Junior

Joey Ensor: Distance; Sophomore

Justin Febles: Sprints; Sophomore

Fred-Morgan Iheanacho: Sprints; Senior

Iosif Papa: Throws; Senior

Alim Raji: Sprints; Sophomore

Jacob Martin: Mid-Distance; Freshman

Kemarley Hibbert: Sprints; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Alpha Balde
: Sophomore

Justin Banks
: Sophomore
: Distance

Sofiane Compaorg
: Junior
: Distance

Joey Ensor
: Sophomore
: Distance

Justin Febles
: Sophomore
: Sprints

Fred-Morgan Iheanacho
: Senior
: Sprints

Iosif Papa
: Senior
: Throws

Alim Raji
: Sophomore
: Sprints

Jacob Martin
: Freshman
: Mid-Distance

Kemarley Hibbert
: Freshman
: Sprints