The Middlebury men's track and field team heads to South Hadley, Massachusetts this weekend to take part in the Division III New England Championships, hosted by Mt. Holyoke.

ABOUT MIDDLEBURY

• The Panthers have participated in the Division III New England Championships every year since 2000.
• As a team, Middlebury has placed in the top-10 on 13 occasions, with its best-ever finish coming in 2018, when the team secured third-place out of 32 squads.  
• This season, 28 Panthers and two relay teams qualified for the regional championship and will compete across 17 events.
• At last year's New England Championships, Middlebury had 13 athletes finish in the top-10 spots, including one champion and one runner-up to earn a ninth-place team showing.

PANTHERS TO WATCH

• Dave Filias has been phenomenal this spring in the hammer throw, winning the event four times. At last weekend's NESCAC Championships, the junior was crowned the conference champion with a school-record toss of 61.22 meters, which currently ranks fourth nationally. Last season, Filias won the hammer throw at the Division III New England Championships with a distance of 58.80m. The Panther will also challenge fellow teammate Logan Cosgrove in the shot put. Filias is second in the Mideast (14.77m), while Logan Cosgrove ranks fifth with a toss of 14.23m.
• In the decathlon, Caleb Smith qualified with a score of 6,335 points, set during a victory at the Carla Coffey Invitational. His point total ranks first in the Mideast region by over 800 points and is 14th in Division III.
• Sam McGarrahan will participate in both the high jump and the long jump. The Panther is tied for the top spot in the region in the high jump, clearing the bar at 1.97m. 
• Also competing in a pair of events is Xander Swann, who will take part in the 400-meter hurdles and the 200. Swann's top time of 54.02 seconds in the 400 hurdles leads the region and is 24th nationally. Parker Loupessis is just behind Swann in the 400 hurdles, with a clocking of 55.60 seconds, which is third in the Mideast.
• A duo of Panthers will challenge for the title in the shot put. Filias is second in the Mideast (14.77m), while Logan Cosgrove ranks fifth with a toss of 14.23m.
• Aidan Tam leads the way for Middlebury in the 110 hurdles, crossing the finish line in 15.07 seconds which is fourth in the region. Jefferson Hill is seventh with a time of 15.29.
• James Hetherington ranks fifth in the Mideast in the hammer throw (51.94m), while Joel Kofman is tied for fifth regionally in the pole vault (4.55m).
• In the discus, Dan Urchuk and Sam Maxwell are fifth and sixth in the Mideast region with tosses of 44.11m and 43.74m, respectively. 
• In the triple jump, Sam Opawuyi paces the Panthers with a leap of 13.79m.
• At the NESCAC Championships, Shef West set a personal record of 3:53.84 in the 1,500 which is tied for sixth regionally.
• The quartet of Marco Motroni, Tam, Swann and Colin Breen will compete in the 4x100 relay, while the team of Lachlan Bishop, Benjamin Hughes, Zach Utz and West will look to take the top-spot in the 4x800 relay.

ABOUT THE COMPETITION

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is ranked #7 in the latest United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) national poll, while numerous teams are regionally ranked. The Engineers won the meet a season ago, finishing with 143 points.
• The field of competition returns 14 individual champions from last year, including David Bennett of UMass Dartmouth who claimed the 200 and 400 titles, as well as his teammate Cameron Rodgers who won the 400 hurdles.
• MIT returns four winners from 2023. Walter Truitt (110 hurdles), Pablo Arroyo (3,000 steeplechase) Jackson Bliey (high jump), Sam Engebretson (discus) will all look to retain their crowns this spring.
• Other previous winners include TJ Carelo of Brandeis (800), Amherst's Jordan Harrison (100) and Adrian Friedman (long jump), Aidan Hennessey of Eastern Connecticut State, Southern Maine's Ben Drummey (pole vault), Eric Bottern of Babson (shot put) and Corey Stalters of Bridgewater State (javelin).

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION

• Host School: Mount Holyoke
• Location: South Hadley, Massachusetts