BOSTON, Mass. — Jared Steins claimed the title in the mile and was the runner-up in the 800m and Anthony Meng took first place in the high jump as the No. 4 MIT men's track and field team was third at the 2026 New England Division III (NED3) Indoor Track and Field Championship on Sunday at The TRACK at New Balance.
Amherst (103 points) captured the team title, followed by Tufts (101.50 points) and the Engineers (97.5 points). Paced by Steins and Meng, MIT's team score was bolstered by 25 top ten marks, including another runner-up performance from Sean Huckleberry in the triple jump and Jake Cobb lowering his own program record in the 1000m.
THE BASICS:
TOP PERFORMERS - Track Events:
- 60m: Nolan Clement was 5th in 6.87 and Patrick Haertel was 8th in 6.97 in the finals as MIT earned five points in the event. Chidubem Chukwu added a 17th place finish in 7:02 in the preliminary round.
- 400m: Davis Lee picked up two points with a seventh-place finish. Kristian Praizner and Connor Sterling finished 12th (49.75) and 13th (49.76), respectively.
- 600m: Ian Gerard's time of 1:23.10 earned him a 6th place finish and three points in the team standings.
- 800m: Steins and David Whitaker each finished in the eight to claim nine points for MIT. Steins was the runner-up in 1:52.02 and Whitaker was 8th in 1:52.65. Ayman Noreldaim added a 20th place finish in 1:57.82.
- 1000m: Jake Cobb finished in 2:25.40 to drop his own program mark in the event and earn 3rd place and six points for MIT.
- Mile: Steins and classmate Tim Neumann finished 1st and 3rd to net MIT 16 points in the event. Steins finished in 4:09.70 and Neumann had a time of 4:09.84.
- 3000m: Dylan Fiegener was 4th in 8:22.83 to earn five points in the team standings. First year classmate Michael Eischen put down a PR of 8:29.61 to add a ninth-place finish.
- 500m: Nate Martinez and Owen Sondag finished 9th and 10th respectively as MIT had five competitors inside the top 16. Martinez had the top time for MIT in 14:47.95.
- 60m Hurdles: After recording the top time in the preliminaries, Enoch Ellis finished fifth, earning MIT four points in 8.30. Ellis had a PR of 8.10 in the prelims.
- 4 x 400m Relay: Sterlin, Praizner, Whitaker and Lee combined for a time of 3:18.51, taking 4th place and earning MIT five points.
- 4 x 800m Relay: Gerard, Christopher Chan, Wyatt Vick and Charlie Glass finished ninth in 7:58.10.
- Distance Medley Relay: Landon Herin, Vick, Glass and Eischen ran the DMR on Sunday, earning MIT four points with a 5th place finish in 10:12.86.
TOP PERFORMERS - Field Events:
- High Jump: Meng cleared 1.95m and 2.00m on his first attempt at each height before clearing 2.03m (6' 7.75") on his final jump to win the title and 10 points.
- Pole Vault: Jaden McKee and Leo Sun combined to earn 7.5 points for the team. McKee was third, clearing 4.80m (15'9") on his second attempt. Sun took 7th when he cleared 4.60m on his second effort. In all, MIT had five of the top 20 finishers in the pole vault.
- Long Jump: Huckleberry finished in 6th to earn three points.
- Triple Jump: Huckleberry added another top 10 performance to his meet in the triple jump, finishing as the runner-up with a mark of 14.32m (46' 11.75") on his third attempt. Sawyer Quallen was eighth with a PR of 13.89m.
- Shot Put: Justin Buonato was MIT's only competitor in the shot and the weight throw, finishing in the top ten in both. Buonato was third in the shot with an effort of 16.85m (55' 3.5") to establish a new PR.
- Weight Throw: Buonato added a sixth-place performance in the weight throw with a mark of 16.74m (54' 11.25").
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Ellis moved to 13th nationally in the 60H thanks to his top time in the preliminaries.
- McKee is right on the edge of nationals qualifying, as he moved to 29th in the pole vault thanks to his effort.
- Huckleberry is now 37th nationally in the triple jump.
- Buonato moved to 18th in shot put thanks to his new PR.
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