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Easton, MA – History was made and records were broken on the final day of the Northeast Conference (NEC) Men's Outdoor Track & Field Championship.

Central Connecticut set three individual meet records and shattered the team points mark with 235 en route to its second straight outdoor title, the program’s first back-to-back spring crowns since a four-peat from 2014 to 2017.

CCSU’s 235 points broke Monmouth’s 2009 record of 232, which had stood for 16 years.

CCSU also won the NEC's unofficial "Triple Crown" for the first time after capturing the cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field titles, each time in commanding fashion.

Meet host Stonehill posted its best team finish on the outdoor circuit, coming in second with 105.5 points. Rounding out the top-five were LIU (100) in third, Wagner (96.5) in fourth and Saint Francis U (91) in fifth.

Senior Eddie Nicholas made noise early as he broke the 3000m steeplechase record, crossing the tape in 9:00.15 run to earn gold. Fellow senior Yankarlos Diaz finished close behind Nicholas to place second and also eclipse the previous mark, clocking a 9:00.91. Nicholas crushed the previous record that was set in 2023 by Wagner’s Dominic Palermo (9:07.69) by seven and a half seconds.

That wouldn’t be the first distance event to have its record broken by a Blue Devil. Junior Aidan Budge crossed the finish line in 3:47.53 to win the 1500m run and beat the previous meet-best time by 1.45 seconds.

In the throws, graduate transfer Colin Winkler shined in his NEC Outdoor Championship debut as he topped a 12-year-old javelin record. The two-time NEC Field Athlete of the Week registered a 71.98m throw to land atop the podium.

The Blue Devils also received standout performances from freshman Greyson Golda in the throws and senior James Sullivan in the distance events. Golda added his third silver medal of the weekend today after a 47.87m toss in the discus to garner Most Outstanding Field Performer (Throws) and Most Outstanding Rookie Performer honors. Building off his 10,000m gold medal on Saturday, Sullivan added a first-place finish in the 5000m run to take home Most Outstanding Track Performer (Distance) accolades.

The Blue Devils also collected gold medals from Lucas Figuieredo (400m) and their 4x400m Relay squad.

Trying to replicate their performance from their NEC Indoor Championship debut, Chicago State benefited from another MVP performance out of senior Raymond Oriakhi. The veteran sprinter won both the Most Valuable Performer and Most Outstanding Track Performer (Sprints) awards. Winning both the 110m hurdles (13.95) and the 400m hurdles (53.18), Oriakhi also ran as part of the Cougars’ third-place 4x400m relay team.

Athletes from five different schools shared Most Outstanding Field Performer (Jumps) as they all finished the meet with equal point totals. Four honorees were event winners in Chicago State’s Eric Sanchez (triple jump), FDU’s Ethan Ruffin (high jump), LIU’s Philip Baynes Jr. (triple jump) and Wagner’s Julio Martinez (pole vault), while Saint Francis U’s Tyler Craft placed third and fourth in the triple jump and long jump, respectively.
 
Men’s Most Valuable Performer 
Raymond Oriakhi, Chicago State
 
Men’s Most Outstanding Track Performer (Sprints)
Raymond Oriakhi, Chicago State
 
Men’s Most Outstanding Track Performer (Distance)
James Sullivan, Central Connecticut
 
Men’s Co-Most Outstanding Field Performers (Jumps)
Eric Sanchez, Chicago State
Ethan Ruffin, FDU
Phillip Baynes Jr., LIU
Tyler Craft, Saint Francis U
Julio Martinez, Wagner
 
Men’s Most Outstanding Field Performer (Throws)
Greyson Golda, Central Connecticut
 
Men’s Most Outstanding Rookie
Greyson Golda, Central Connecticut

Final Team Standings
1. Central Connecticut - 235
2. Stonehill - 105.5
3. LIU - 100
4. Wagner - 96.5
5. Saint Francis U - 91
6. Chicago State - 87
7. FDU - 79
8. Le Moyne - 21