The Middlebury men's track and field team hits the road to Middletown, Connecticut for the NESCAC Championship. Wesleyan serves as the host for both genders, with the first event starting at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday.

ABOUT MIDDLEBURY

• The Panthers are competing for their third championship, having won back-to-back crowns in 2018 and 2019.
• Middlebury has claimed a top-three placing 15 times at the conference meet, with the most recent coming in 2022.
• The squad earned six individual all-conference honorees and a pair of NESCAC Championship winners and five of those athletes are returning.

PANTHERS TO WATCH

• Dave Filias tallied his second-consecutive NESCAC crown in the hammer throw a season ago, hurling the weight to a school-record effort of 61.22 meters. The Panther has won the event three times this season, including a season-best throw of 60.37m at the Julie LaFreniere Commonwealth Invitational that featured Division I and Division III competitors. That toss also paces the conference and ranks sixth nationally.
• In the 3,000 steeplechase, Ziggy Goddard looks to defend his championship performance. Goddard, a two-time All-NESCAC honoree in the event, has the second-fastest time coming into the weekend (9:24.20).
• Dan Urchuk claimed bronze in the discus last season, heaving the implement a distance of 43.99m. The Panther ranks fourth in the conference with his season-best throw of 44.50m. Teammate Ben Martin is right behind in fifth (43.93m). Urchuk also has the third-farthest heave in the hammer throw with a toss of 52.56m.
• In his final season, Xander Swann looks to build off a third-place showing last spring in the 400m hurdles. Swann has the second-fastest time of 52.52 seconds clocked during the squad's invitational last Saturday. That mark is also an Allan Dragone Track & Field Complex record and fourth across Division III.
• Middlebury's final all-conference honoree from a season ago is Caleb Smith, who placed third in the javelin with a throw of 54.09m. The Panther has the fifth-farthest throw (51.50m) in the NESCAC.
• The squad has two athletes in the top five for the shot put. Urchuk has claimed third or better three times in the event this season and paces the conference with a toss of 15.23m. Logan Cosgrove sits three spots behind (14.59m).
• Drew Donahue has the best clocking in the 1500, stopping the clock at 3:52.03.
• In the 100, Marco Motroni owns the third-fastest time at 10.70 seconds. Sam Opawuyi ranks third among league peers in the triple jump, leaping to a program-record mark of 13.95m.
• Finn Albright is the final individual top performer with the fifth seeding in the 110 hurdles (15.00).
• The Panthers have two relay teams sitting inside the top three. The quartet of Motroni, Donnell Harvey Jr., Aidan Castanon and Emerson Kington clocked the third-best time of 41.94 in the 4x100 relay. Kington, Hayden Bobowick, Joey Caspar and Swann also sit third in the 4x400 (3:18.74).

ABOUT THE COMPETITION

• Three-time defending champion Tufts returns four top finishers from a year ago. In the javelin, Randy Hamilton leads the way after winning the event with a distance of 59.00m. Edward Kimbama looks to repeat as the high jump winner (2.03m), while Josh Wilkie attempts to secure the 110 hurdles, coming in with the fastest time in the conference at 14.38 seconds.
• Amherst has two reigning conference champions who return. Jordan Harrison looks to grab the top spot in the 100 after crossing the finish line in 10.66 seconds a season ago, while Michael Abbey returns to the triple jump looking to beat his leap of 14.28m.
• Zachary Liu-Walter of Williams (800) and Colby's Myles Thorton-Sherman (pole vault) each have a chance to defend their titles.
• Multiple athletes rank in the top 10 nationally in their respective events. Levi Biery of Colby is second nationally in the 400 hurdles (52.19 seconds) and 10th alongside Jackson Coelho, Peter Martel and Samuel Graubart in the 4x400 relay with a time of 3:14.24. 
• Bowdoin's Ian Stebbens (pole vault - 5.00m) and Adepoju Arogyndade (400 hurdles - 53.40) are tied for sixth and 10th in Division III. Tufts' Sahr Matturi is eighth nationally in the long jump with a distance of 7.34m.

CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY

• Hosted by Wesleyan University
• Championship Central

The Panthers have four meets following the conference championships before the NCAA field is announced on May 16.