MIDDLETOWN, CT. – After showing out in one of the most dominate performances of his career, Wesleyan men's track and field sophomore Steve Paul was named the 2026 NESCAC Sabasteanski Award winner as the most outstanding performer at the NESCAC Championships as announced by the conference office on Friday, May 1. Paul, Reese Connors, and Dylan Cote all take home All-NESCAC honors.

In two historic runs for the Cardinals, Paul became the first Cardinal to place first at the NESCAC Championship in over a decade and became just the second Cardinal to garner the Sabasteanski Award and the first since LaDarious Drew won the honor in 2014 and 2015.  Dominating the sprint events as a freshman and now as a sophomore, Paul won the 100m and the 200m dash races and joined Drew as the only Cardinals to win the events at the conference championship.

Paul opened the championship weekend with a record breaking run the 100m preliminary heat. Cracking his own record of 10.59, Paul ran a 10.57 to qualify for the event finals. Paul followed in the finals with a top time of 10.59.

With the 200m dash under his belt as his most dominant event this season, Paul crossed the finish line in first place with a final championship time of 21.25. Paul also contributed to the record-breaking run by the 4x100m relay team (41.61) as the team placed fourth.

Connors earns his first career All-NESCAC honors after a stellar run in the 200m. Following Paul in third place, Connors clocked in a final time of 21.67. Connors also placed fifth in the 100m dash, finishing with a 10.82 final. Connors served as a member of the 4x100m relay team with Paul and has been a massive asset to the relay teams  all season.

Placing second in the 10,000m distance race, Cote earns his first All-NESCAC track and field honors following a second-place finish in the event. Cote finished in 30:27.24 and sits just four seconds behind the school record 30:23.31.