WILLIAMSTOWN, MA. –  The 2026 NESCAC Men's Track and Field Championship was one for record upkeep as the Wesleyan men's track and field team, placing seventh of 11 teams, broke three school records while led by two-time NESCAC champion Steve Paul '28. The two-day event, hosted by Williams College, saw Wesleyan field 13 Top 10 finishes.

RESULTS

HIGHLIGHTS

• Amherst won the 2026 NESCAC title with 159 points. Tufts (154) followed as did Middlebury (141), Bowdoin (90), and Williams (67). Colby (56) was sixth, followed by Wesleyan (53), Bates (34), Trinity (25), Hamilton (22), and Conn. (18).
• The highlight of the weekend was Paul's performance in the sprint events, beginning Saturday, April 25, when he broke his own record in the 100m preliminary heat. Paul ran a 10.57, besting his previous 10.59 set at the Amherst Spring Fling. Reaching the finals, Paul crossed the finish line in first place with a final 10.59. Paul followed his run in the 200m dash, clocking in at 21.25 and first-place honors. Paul is the first Cardinal for the men's program to place first in an event since 2015 and earns All-NESCAC honors.
• The Cardinals' 4x100m relay team comprising of Auren Director '29, Reese Connors '29, Alex Hofmann '29, and Paul broke their own school record in the event, placing fourth with a combined 41.61. The team breaks the previous record time of 42.23 set on April 6.
• A second relay record went to the 4x400m team made of Doug Clement '29, Hyatt Hicks '28, August Doetsch '29, and Hofmann, setting a brand-new time of 3:20.30 while earning ninth place. The team breaks a seven-year record in the event, surpassing the previous 3:20.66 set in 2019 by Kevin DeLoughry, Christian Denny, Griffin Maristany, Kyron Roberts.
• Connors ran a stellar weekend for the Cardinals with top placements in three events. Connors placed third in the 200m, following Paul with a 21.67, earning All-NESCAC honors before placing fifth in the 100m with a 10.82 finish.
• More all-conference honors belong to Dylan Cote after placing second in the 10,000m as his final time stopped with a 30:27.24.
• Liam Calhoun '26 placed fourth with a 14:39.09 in the 5000m, leading all Cardinals in the event.
• Debuting in the championship 3000m steeplechase, Dan Irish '29 placed 10^th while claiming a final 9:34.67.
• Ben Taffett '26, Daniel Manning '28, Sam Benham '27, and Ben McKinney '27 placed ninth as the 4x800m relay team, crossing the line with a 7:57.98 final.
• Eli Liedtka '27 earned a fifth-place finish in the discus, reaching a distance of 43.09m. Ethan Dangel '28 followed in ninth place, reaching 41.81m.
• Featuring in the hammer throw, Elias Warner '28 earned eighth place with a final distance of 45.51m.

The Cardinals will take the week to prepare for the New England DIII Championship beginning May 1, at Springfield College.