Men's Track & Field Seeks Title at New England DIII Indoor Meet This Weekend

MEDFORD, MA (February 26, 2026) - The six-time New England Indoor Champion Tufts University men's track & field team will compete for another title this weekend at the 2026 New England Division III Championships.

The three-day meet will begin at Tufts' Gantcher Center, which will host the heptathlon on Friday and Saturday. The meet will resume on Sunday with the rest of the events being held at The TRACK at New Balance in Boston.

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2026 New England Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships
Dates: Friday, February 27 through Sunday, March 1
Location: Medford, MA (Gantcher Center) on Feb. 27-28; Boston, MA (The TRACK at New Balance) on Mar. 1
Coverage: LIVE RESULTS – LIVE VIDEO (Tufts) – LIVE VIDEO (Boston)

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Amherst College ended MIT's five-year run as New England Division III indoor champions last year, but the Engineers are the top-ranked New England team in the NCAA DIII Men's Indoor Track & Field National TFRI rankings this season at #4. WPI at #25, Tufts at #27 and Middlebury 29th are the next three New England squads in the national rankings, which represent overall team strength based on top performances nationally.

Tufts will be competing for its first New England indoor title in eight years, when the team won the second of back-to-back championships (2017-2018).

Here's a closer look at the Tufts team heading into the meet:

HEPTATHLON: Junior Ryder Kropiwnicki won the heptathlon at the Tufts Cupid Challenge two weeks ago with a 4806 score, and the mark is the highest out of the 14 competitors who will be in action at the Championships. Sophomore Dylan Moreno also has high-scoring potential as the fourth seed at the meet (4639).

SPRINTS: Freshman Jack Davis is the #4 seed in the 200 meters with the 21.78 time that he ran at the Wheaton Post-Season Qualifier last Saturday. He's also entered in the 60-meter dash with a 7.04 seed time. Junior Charlie Fitzpatrick in the 60 along with sophomore Sebastian Cohen, junior Brady Kamali and senior Josh Wilkie in the 400 also qualified here.

MID-DISTANCE: Tufts will look to load up on points with 13 qualifiers in the four middle-distance races. The top seeds are senior Quinn Hampson in the 1000 meters, who is fourth at a 2:27.92 mark, and junior Sam Kurian who enters the meet as the #5 seed in the 800 meters with a 1:52.47 time. The field for the mile looks stacked, with Tufts senior Cullen McCaleb among the talented competitors as the four seed (4:09.24). Hampson is also qualified in the mile.

Junior Ryan Regan was fourth in the 600 last year with the Tufts school record (1:20.00). Freshman Chris Barbato is Tufts' next seed in the 1000 where six qualified overall. That group includes senior William Cusato, sophomore Liam Lucas, freshman Joey Papanicholas and junior Charlie Krebs. The 600 meters field also includes senior Cam McLeod and sophomore Evan Hankins from Tufts. Freshman Charlie Jacques joins Kurian in the 800.

DISTANCE: McCaleb is also scheduled to go in the mile, where he broke the school record with an 8:10.46 mark at the start of the indoor season. That time stands as the top mark in the event this weekend. Tufts could have two at the front of the 3000 pack, as junior Harris Gulbransen's 8:14.53 time is the #2 seed. Freshman Christopher Hovet leads a group of six Jumbos entered in the 5000 meters, which includes veteran performers in senior Amokrane Aouchiche and junior Jonah Reisner. Tufts sophomore Gabe Grove and freshmen WIlliam Burch and Ben Hester are also in the 24-man field for the 5000.

HURDLES:  Wilkie is one of the top contenders in the 60-meter hurdles with his 8.22 seed time ranking fourth in the meet. The Jumbos also have Kropiwnicki and freshman Jonathan Bailey entered.

RELAYS: Tufts has the second-best time in New England for the distance medley relay with a 9:53.28 run by Cusato, Wilkie, Kurian and McCaleb (line-ups for this weekend are not available). Tufts also has strong potential in the 4x4 with a 3:18.59 finish that is the #3 seed. Cohen, McLeod, sophomore Miles Sandoski and Wilkie were the foursome. Tufts is the fifth seed for the 4x800 (8:05.10).

JUMPS / VAULT: Sophomore Luke Benson was the runner-up in the triple jump at the New England Indoor Championships last year. His season-best mark of 14.46m (47'5 ¼") this year is ranked second in the meet. Senior Sahr Matturi brings similar potential to the long jump, where his 7.02m (23'0 ½") checks in at #4 in the event. A strong freshman class recruited to the Jumbos this year should show up here. Newcomer Tieren Mead is the #2 seed in the high jump at 2.05m (6'8 ¾"), while classmate Jonas Michael is tied for the fifth-best mark in New England this season (4.80m - 15'9"). Junior Sami Witta in the high jump (1.98m - 6'6") could score big, and sophomore Alejandro Rincon in the pole vault will also look to contribute.

Senior Casey Lambert and freshman Collett Kinobe join Matturi in the long jump, while Kinobe is also in the triple jump field with Benson and sophomore Seneca Wallace.

THROWS: Tre Williams has produced a strong senior season indoors and will compete to score for the Jumbos in the weight throw and shot put. His 16.87m (55'4 ½") weight throw is a top 10 mark in New England. Freshman Williams Cipollone has the Jumbos' best shot put distance of the year so far (14.34m - 47'0 ¾").