South Hadley, MA --- The WPI men's track and field team surged into first place after the opening day of the 2025 NEWMAC Championships at Mount Holyoke's Kendall Sports & Dance Complex on Friday.
 
Junior Gavin Fleck (Bend, OR) captured the conference crown in the pole vault, clearing 4.80m to win the event and earn NEWMAC All-Conference honors. His mark currently ranks 23rd nationally in Division III. Graduate-student Chris Nguyen (Tewksbury, MA) and sophomore Ajay Bellamy (Stratford, CT) also scored in the event, finishing fourth and fifth, respectively.
 
In the javelin, senior Michael Neff (West Hartford, CT) posted a personal-best throw of 57.67m to finish second overall, earning All-Conference honors. Sophomore Matt Richards (Peabody, MA) also delivered a personal best of 55.99m to place third, with seniors Ben Furman (Groton, MA) and Lucas Anthony (Lincoln, MA) adding sixth- and seventh-place finishes with throws of 53.53m and 52.00m, respectively.
 
On the track, junior Alex Cole (Weymouth, MA) broke the program record in the 100m prelims, sprinting to a time of 10.69 seconds, to qualify for Saturday's final. His new mark bettered the 10.70 ran by Brian D'Amore in 2016. Sophomore Sam Manteria (Wilbraham, MA) also moved on with a 10.73, while Bellamy advanced in 10.94. Freshman Justin Serrecchia (Lakeville, MA) placed 14th overall.
 
Sophomore Daniel Kim (Orange, CT) set a personal best in the 110m hurdles prelims, advancing to Saturday's final with a time of 15.25.
 
In distance action, freshman Jackson Hunt (Hopedale, MA) scored four points for the Engineers with a fifth-place showing in the 10,000 meters, crossing in 32:58.08. Graduate-student Ben Trantanella (Westford, MA) contributed a point with an eighth-place finish, while senior Sean Corman (Waterford, CT) and freshman Jackson Sobelman (Redding, CT) placed ninth (33:33.04) and 12th (34:16.77), respectively.
 
Sophomore Ethan Anderson (North Haven, CT) added six points with a third-place finish in the hammer throw, tossing 45.53m. Freshman John Cummings (Dallas, PA) placed sixth with a throw of 41.89m, and sophomore Michael Zuo (Worcester, MA) finished eighth with a mark of 41.42m to complete WPI's scoring in the event.

Wrapping up the field highlights, freshman Zachary Parodos (Acton, MA) placed 11th in the long jump with a mark of 5.76 meters.
 
In the decathlon, freshman Ethan Ramirez (Burlington, CT) turned in a stellar day one, finishing among the top three in each contested event. Ramirez placed second in the 100 meters, long jump, and high jump, while adding third-place efforts in the 400 meters and shot put to sit in strong position entering the final day.
 
After one day of competition, WPI leads the team standings with 52 points. MIT sits second with 39 points, followed by Babson (30), Coast Guard (27), Springfield (24), and Wheaton (22).
 
The 2025 NEWMAC Championships continue Saturday at Mount Holyoke, with the men resuming competition at 10:30am.