BOSTON, MA (December 8, 2024)—The Beacons' men's track and field team took to the TRACK at New Balance on Sunday and dropped a plethora of stellar performances. The meet saw seven top-five finishes, six personal records, and several collegiate debuts as the Beacons initiated the 2024-25 indoor season with a statement and set themselves up for a big season.

• Junior Derrick Touba (Yonkers, N.Y.) opened his season in the 60m dash with a 7.19 in the preliminary race to qualify for finals, where he dropped a new career-best 7.10s to take third overall in the event.
• Junior Melvin Wiltshire (Boston, Mass.) took fourth overall in the men's 200m dash, consisting of 16 total runners, with a new career-best 23.48s. Wiltshire just missed out on the 60m dash finals following a new career-best in the 60m dash with a 7.41s.
• First-year Elaijah Monteiro took fifth overall in the men's 400m dash, opening his collegiate career as a Beacon with a 53.47s finish, the quickest finish among three Beacons out of 13 total runners.
• First-year Skye Roberts-Clarke (Boston, Mass.) opened in the 800 solidly, taking third place out of eight runners with a 2:12.44 finish to open his collegiate career on the indoor track.
• The 4x200m relay of Prabhdeep Bassan (London, Eng.), Alex Martins, Ryan Meacham (Trumbull, Conn.), and Daniel Thomas (Milton, Mass.) made four laps around the banked track in 1:38.49s as the first iteration of the Beacons 4x200m relay team this season. Together, the four took fifth overall out of seven teams.
• The 4x400m team consisting of sophomore Hugo Dos Santos (Cambridge, Mass.), Wiltshire, Martins, and sophomore Justin Riley (Weymouth, Mass.) was the first among two teams for UMass Boston to finish second overall out of six teams competing in the event. Together, they delivered the baton for a total of 1,600m in 3:37.32s to open the season in style.
• Riley was the top finisher for the men in the long jump. In his first time competing in the event, the combo sprinter leaped for a 5.98m (19.62 ft) best to take fifth overall in the event out of 12 jumpers.
• In the shotput, the Beacons bomb squad lived up to its name, as juniors Arthur Grant (Sam) (Walpole, Mass.) and Neville Richards (Wellington, Fla.) registered career bests in both the shotput and weight throw to lead the throwing unit in both events. Richards took sixth in the weight throw with an 11.03m heave, followed by Grant in seventh place with a chuck of 11.00m. Richards obtained the edge in shotput as well, finishing third with a 12.41m throw, followed by Grant with a 10.22m toss.

Coaches Corner:

"Our team meet was a resounding success." said Head Coach Ozzie Brown in reaction to the squad's performance. He added, "We had several unexpected yet promising developments. It provided a clear reflection of our current standing and process while also highlighting the potential for continued growth. As we look ahead to January, we are eager to build upon this strong foundation and maintain our upward trajectory!"

The Beacons continue to develop over the winter break during the holidays before picking up the spikes again for the Reggie Payou Invitational in Waltham, Massachusetts, on January 18^th for the first competition of the 2025 calendar year. Stay tuned for the meet preview and coverage for the event.

For all things UMass Boston Athletics, stay tuned at UMass Boston - Official Athletics Website.