Bridgewater, NJ -- After returning to the NEC Men’s Indoor Track & Field mountaintop last winter, the reigning conference champions are favored to go back-to-back in 2026.
 
Central Connecticut earned eight first-place votes to earn preseason favorite status as the Blue Devils look to repeat as champs for the first time in program history.

2025 runner-up Wagner grabbed a pair of top spot nods to finish second in the rankings.

Stonehill was selected to finish third for the second straight year, while Chicago State was predicted to finish fourth in its sophomore season as a NEC program.

FDU and LIU rounded out the top five as the Knights and Sharks tied for the fifth spot. LIU took home the final first-place vote as the Sharks seek their first league title since 2017.

The final spots in the poll were claimed by Saint Francis (seventh), NEC newcomer New Haven (eighth), Le Moyne (ninth) and Mercyhurst (tenth).

The ten squads will compete for this year’s crown on February 15 & 16 at Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in Staten Island, NY, where the meet has been hosted since 2016. This marks the 10th consecutive year the championship meet will take place at the state-of-the-art facility.

Coming off a "Triple Crown" season, CCSU has already secured the first leg with its cross country title in October and now turns its attention to indoor track as it chases another sweep.

CCSU stockpiled the points last year as it tallied a meet record 179 on its way to the third conference crown in program history and first since 2018. Led by veteran head coach Eric Blake, the Blue Devils return a roster that is poised for another strong season.

Returning to defend their individual titles are Lucas Figueiredo (Sophomore/Waterbury, CT) in the 400m dash along with Kymoy Phillip (Senior/Brooklyn, NY (St. Francis Brooklyn)) in the 500m run. The Blue Devils also bring back Most Outstanding Field Performer (Throws) and Most Outstanding Rookie Greyson Golda (Sophomore/Bethel, CT), who placed second in both the shot put and the weight throw.

Figueiredo and Phillip will be joined by Jayden Brown (Sophomore/East Hartford, CT) to defend their 4x400m Relay gold medal while Aidan Budge (Senior/Newtown, CT) and Max Czarnecki (Junior/Amston, CT) both return from last winter’s Distance Medley Relay championship squad.

Looking to claim its fifth championship in the last six years, Wagner returns a slew of 2025 individual champions. Sprinter Alex Taddeo (Senior/Staten Island, NY) is the lone multi-event champion from last season, winning gold in the 60m and 200m dashes.

In the field events, Most Outstanding Field Performer (Jumps) Jack Mason (Junior/Prescott, AZ) sets his sights on back-to-back triple jump titlesm while Julio Martinez (Senior/Madrid, Spain) and Christopher Millilo (Senior/Yonkers, NY) both aim to complete three-peats in the pole vault and weight throw, respectively.

Two squads are set to make their NEC indoor debuts this season: Mercyhurst and New Haven. The 2025–26 campaign marks the Lakers’ inaugural year on the track, while it will be the Chargers’ first as an NEC and DI member.
 
About The NEC

Now in its 45th season, the NEC is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of ten institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to a number of the largest markets in the United States including New York (#1), Chicago (#3), Boston (#9). Hartford/New Haven (#32) and Syracuse (#88). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 25 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 16 different NCAA Championships. NEC full member institutions include Central Connecticut, Chicago State, FDU, Le Moyne, LIU, Mercyhurst, New Haven, Saint Francis U, Stonehill and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website (www.necsports.com) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, all @NECsports.