UNH Wins Six Events in Runner-Up Finish at Jaylin Rainford Invite

Friday, March 27

Smithfield, R.I.

10 AM

University of New Hampshire

Jaylin Rainford Invitational

Yoofi Abaka-Amuah_AETF Champs - Day II-62_RM

Photo by: Ryan Moran

UNH Wins Six Events in Runner-Up Finish at Jaylin Rainford Invite

3/27/2026 8:55:00 PM | Men's Track & Field

Yoofi Abaka-Amuah Finishes Second in MVP Points

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Seniors Yoofi Abaka-Amuah (Worcester, Mass.), Liam McGovern (North Kingstown, R.I.) and John Murphy (Deerfield, N.H.), junior Gunnar Sokol (Berwick, Maine) and sophomore Ethan Palmer (Bowdoin, Maine) all won individual titles to highlight the University of New Hampshire men's track & field team's 2026 outdoor opener at the Jaylin Rainford Invitational, which was held Friday at the Bryant University Track & Turf Complex.

UNH, which also won the 4x800 meter relay, placed second with 117 points. Bryant topped the 14-team standings with 137 points and the Wildcats were followed by College of the Holy Cross (101 points).

Abaka-Amuah finished second as the men's MVP by scoring 18 points from his first place finish in the discus and second in hammer.

CLICK HERE to view complete meet results.

"I'm happy with how the team performed at our outdoor opener," said Anna Magle-Haberek, the director of cross country and track & field teams. "We had some PRs as well as individuals who competed well and won events. I'm looking forward to seeing what this team will do this spring."

McGovern led a Wildcats' podium sweep of 1-2-3 finish in the hammer throw with a winning toss of 61.03 meters (200 feet-2 inches). He was followed by classmates Yoofi Abaka-Amuah (Worcester, Mass.) in second placed at 60.32m (197-10) and Caden Zalenski (Milford, N.H.) in third with a throw of 57.76m (189-6). Jack Washam (Nashua, N.H.), another senior, finished eighth at 51.87m (170-2).

A Wildcat sat atop the hammer leaderboard at the end of every round. Zalenski led the way in the first two rounds and Abaka-Amuah moved to the top in round three. McGovern climbed from fourth to first place on his fourth attempt and recorded the winning distance on his last throw.

Abaka-Amuah took the top spot in the discus with a throw of 48.04m (157-7) recorded on his attempt in the finals flight – fourth throw overall. Senior Max LaPointe (Amesbury, Mass.) climbed into fourth place with his mark of 45.69m (149-11) in the fifth round, and that was his final placement.

Murphy led a trio of 'Cats in the top six overall with a winning time of 14:32.37 in the 5,000m that was seven seconds faster than the nearest runner. Sophomores Gavin Malark (Stratham, N.H.) and Xavier Lemieux (Buxton, Maine) crossed the finish line three seconds apart – in 15:10.59 and 15:13.39 – to earn fifth and sixth place, respectively.

Sokol recorded his first-place effort of 7.11m (23-4) in the third round of the long jump. In the field of 19 competitors, Sokol had four of the five marks of 7.0+ meters. He also had leaps of 7.02m, 7.07m and 7.10m.

Palmer bested the field of 10 entrants in the triple jump with a leap of 14.56m (47-9.25), which was more than a meter – or nearly four feet – better than the runner-up. Palmer was atop the leaderboard with the winning mark on his first attempt.

UNH also won the 4x800m relay with the combination of Porter Hurteau (Milton, Vt.), Jake Kollmer (Saranac Lake, N.Y.), Christian Cerullo (Yardley, Pa.) and Ian Smith (Munster, Ind.).

Sokol also ran the anchor leg of UNH's fifth-place 4x100m relay quartet, which of James Gecek (High Bridge, N.J.), Evan Wong (Beverly, Mass.), Michael Mulcahy (Weymouth, Mass.) and Gunnar Sokol (Berwick, Maine) crossed the finish line with a time of 43.37 seconds to finish in fifth place.

Wong raced to fifth place in the 400m by crossing the finish line in 51.05 seconds.

Senior Kyran Maher (Andover, Mass.) took third place in the pole vault by clearing the bar at 4.50m (14-9). Maher passed until the bar was set at 4.50m and he cleared the height on his second attempt.

Sophomore Danny Anderson (Naugatuck, Conn.) recorded the third fastest time in the 400m hurdles by crossing the finish line in 58.01.

Junior Julian Rime (New City, N.Y.) finished fourth in the 1,500m with a personal-best time of 3:59.15; it is his first sub-4 in the 1,500m and bested his previous best of 4:05.19 established in the 2024 outdoor season.

Freshman Ryan Zumbach (Hampton, N.H.) was the fourth fastest runner in the 800m –32 runners in five heats – with a time of 1:55.87.

UNH Results

Hammer
- McGovern, first place, 61.03m (200-02)
- Abaka-Amuah, second place, 60.32m (197-10)
- Zalenski, third place, 57.76m (189-6)
- Washam, eighth place, 51.87m (170-2)
5,000m
- Murphy, first place, 14:32.37
- Malark, fifth place, 15:10.59
- Lemieux, sixth place, 15:13.39
Discus
- Abaka-Amuah, first place, 48.04m (157-7)
- LaPointe, fourth place, 45.69m (149-11)
Long jump
- Sokol, first place, 7.11m (23-4)
- Rio Calle (Weare, N.H.), ninth place, 6.36m (20-10.5)
Triple Jump
- Palmer, first place, 14.56m (47-9.25)
4x800m Relay
- Hurteau, Kollmer, Cerullo, Smith - first place, 8:09.99
Pole Vault
- Maher, third place, 4.50m (14-9)
400m Hurdles
- Anderson, third place, 58.01
1,500m
- Rime, fourth place, 3:59.15 [PB]
- Kollmer, 22^nd place, 4:12.57 [PB]
- Smith, 26^th place, 4:13.85
- Cerullo, 34^th place, 4:21.02
800m
- Zumbach, fourth place, 1:55.87
- Carter Norton (East Greenbush, N.Y.), 10^th place, 1:57.86
- Hurteau, 18^th place, 2:00.02
400m
- Wong, fifth place, 51.05
4x100m relay
- Gecek, Wong, Mulcahy and Sokol - fifth place, 43.37
200m
- Gecek, 12^th place, 22.89
Javelin
- Jayson Blaisdell (Barrington, N.H.), 12^th place, 45.12m (148-0)
10,000m
- Zachary Hooper (Concord, N.H.), 13^th place, 31:18.79
- Carson Eames (Littleton, N.H.), 16^th place, 31:55.31
110m Hurdles
- Avery Cipcic (Suffield, Conn.), 14^th place, 17.36

The UNH men's track & field team returns to action Saturday, April 4 (11am) for the Jim Boulanger Invitational at the Reggie F. Atkins Track & Field Facility.