EWING, N.J. - The TCNJ men's track and field team grabbed six first-place finishes on Day 2 of the NJAC Championships Sunday afternoon to take second in the meet with 228 points. The Lions' runner-up finish marks the program's fifth straight dating back to 2021.
 
Jayvee Dumas (Decathlon), Christian Farhat (Shot Put), Steve Daramola (Discus), Maxim Rychkov (100m & 200m) and Lucas Lattimer (800m) won their respective events to keep TCNJ over 140 points clear of third-place Stockton.

THE CHAMPS 

• Dumas' title was never in doubt, with the junior holding a 94-point lead after the opening day of events. On Day 2 the junior finished second in the 110m hurdles (15.12), discus (28.06 meters), javelin (40.53m) and 1500 (5:15.06) while cruising to a victory in the pole vault (4.65m) – a mark that would have won him the open event held Saturday.
• Farhat was the only competitor to clear 15 meters en route to his first-place finish in the shot put, launching the weight 15.31 meters on his first attempt and holding serve to protect his indoor title.
• Daramola was next to take gold in the discus. The senior entered his fifth attempt in second place, but cleared 44.87 meters on his fifth to jump into first by over two meters where he remained.
• Lattimer repeated as the Outdoor Champion in the 800, beating out Rutgers-Camden's Jacob Dinerman with a time of 1:53.92 to take the top spot.
• Rychkov was untouchable all afternoon, winning the 100 with a time of 10.51 before following that up with another win in the 200, crossing the line in a blistering 20.98.
  • The freshman's time in the 200 makes him the first TCNJ athlete to run sub-21 seconds in the event in program history, setting a record that also sits as the fourth-fastest time in Division III this season.

THE MEDALISTS

• Jayden Wright joined Farhat on the podium in the shot put, finishing third with a mark of 14.86 meters.
• Both the men's 4x100 and 4x400 teams finished as the runners-up to Rowan. The 4x100 team of Ray Schmitt, Rychkov, Noah Traverso and Jack Attali crossed the line in 41.77 before Traverson, Nate Adams, Anthony Senatore and Tyrese Gilbert combined for a second-place finish in the 4x400 with a time of 3:16.31
• Michael Rodriguez and Brandon Chen finished second and third in the 1500 behind only Dinerman. Rodriguez was first to cross the line in 3:55.63, with Chen coming in just behind in 3:55.88.
• Thomas Blach finished third in the 800 for the second time in his career at the NJAC Championships, crossing the line less than three-tenths of a second after Lattimer in 1:54.16.
• Adams also showed out in the 400-meter hurdles, finishing second with a time of 52.72. The sophomore's mark is the ninth-fastest in Division III this season and narrowly missed out on setting a new program record.
• Chen and Matt Granizo were the final podium-placers for TCNJ, finishing second and third in the 5000 with times of 14:57.85 and 15:07.39 respectively.

OTHER POINT-SCORERS

• Jayson Lewis (5th / 13.66 meters) and Daramola (8th / 13.18 meters) also earned points in the shot put, giving the Lions four of the top eight finishers.
• Farhat and Brandon Kuse narrowly missed out on the podium in the discus, finishing in fourth and fifth with marks of 40.04 and 39.65 respectively.
• Kevin Matthews climbed one spot on the final lap to finish sixth in the 1500, crossing the line in 4:00.27.
• Adams paired his runner-up finish in the 400-meter hurdles with a fourth-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles, crossing the line in 15.03.
• Schmitt and Traverso earned points in the 100 and 200 respectively, with Schmitt finishing in fourth with his time of 10.66 before Traverso's time of 21.93 earned the freshman sixth.
• Jahmir Anderson also finished in sixth place in the high jump, clearing 1.83 meters on his second attempt.
• Rodriguez was a fifth-place finisher in the 800, beating out a runner from Stockton by five-hundredths of a second with his time of 1:56.15. Senatore matched the senior's finish in the 400-meter hurdles, placing fifth with a time of 54.56.
• Phil Pace (15:17.82) and Anthony Guarino (15:39.72) were the final point-scorers for TCNJ, finishing fifth and eighth in the 5K respectively.

UP NEXT

• The Lions are back in action Monday, May 12 to compete in the Widener Last Chance Meet.