NEW YORK, NY– The Saint Peter's track and field programs competed on day one of the 2026 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championships at the Nike Track & Field Center at The Armory, live on ESPN+, Saturday evening. Senior
Amari Campbell led the Peacocks with a gold medal finish in the long jump, soaring to his third consecutive 24-foot mark. Six Peacocks punched tickets to the finals, with
Mercedes Cruz-Fletcher representing the women's team.
Sacred Heart leads the men's standings through six events with 51 points, followed by Mount St. Mary's (45) and Iona (33). Saint Peter's sits in eighth place with 11 points. On the women's side, Quinnipiac leads with 50 points, followed by Sacred Heart (39) and Manhattan (22). The Peacocks sit ninth with four points through five events.
FINALS QUALIFIERS
The top eight athletes advanced to the finals, including the winner of each heat and the next five fastest times.
Freshman
Mercedes Cruz-Fletcher was the lone qualifier on the women's side for Saint Peter's, clocking a personal and team best 9.16 in the 60m hurdles. Mount St. Mary's placed three athletes in the finals, with Marta Gonzalez Alvarez securing the top seed in 8.83. Sacred Heart's Ariyana Jackson took the second seed in 8.89, followed by Quinnipiac's Sydney Lavelle in 8.93.
On the men's side, rookie
Niles Thony and sophomore
Ameen Zubair both punched their tickets to the 60m finals. Thony broke the seven-second barrier for the first time with a 6.99, while Zubair clocked a 7.02. Marist's Amari Mathis (6.75) Mount St. Mary's Joshua Dean (6.92), and Sacred Heart's Colin Brown (6.94) secured the top three qualifying spots.
The men's 400m saw another Peacock duo advance, with freshman
Favour Owolabi recording a personal and team season best time of 48.38 to claim the second seed, while senior
Cashieve Blair qualified sixth in 48.72. Merrimack's Gabriel Qureshi earned the top seed in 48.11, followed by Mount St. Mary's Garrett Wilkerson in 48.43.
Freshman
Brian Yeager rounded out the qualifiers for Saint Peter's, taking third overall in the 800m with a time of 1:53.85. Iona's Aiden Coles secured the top spot in 1:53.71, followed by Canisius' Jaxyn Mahoney in 1:53.79.
FIELD HIGHLIGHTS
Amari Campbell delivered the highlight of the day, claiming the long jump title with a record-breaking leap of 7.47m. He was the only competitor at the championships to surpass the 24-foot mark and broke a 15-year indoor school record, improving his previous personal best by nearly six inches. His mark also landed him at No. 74 on Athletic.net's 2026 DI Indoor Top 100 list.
Ciara Brown and
Kennedy Vaughn both secured top-ten finishes in the women's weight throw. Brown recorded a personal and team best mark of 15.41m, improving by over two feet to place sixth overall, while Vaughn posted a career best throw of 14.27m to finish eighth.
DAY TWO
Due to inclement weather, day two of the MAAC Championships will begin at 12 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Schedule of Events (Saint Peter's)
12:25 p.m. — Women's 60m hurdles finals
12:30 p.m. — Women's pole vault
12:35 p.m. — Men's 60m finals
12:40 p.m. — Men's 400m finals
1:05 p.m. — Men's 800m finals
1:30 p.m. — Men's and Women's triple jump
1:45 p.m. — Women's shot put
7:45 p.m. — Men's 4x800 relay
8:00 p.m. — Women's 4x800 relay
8:15 p.m. — Men's 4x400 relay
8:25 p.m. — Women's 4x400 relay
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