Abaka-Amuah, Sokol Win Two Events, UNH Wins Jim Boulanger Invite

Saturday, April 4

Durham, N.H.

11 AM

University of New Hampshire

Jim Boulanger Invitational

Photo by: Alex Miller

Abaka-Amuah, Sokol Win Two Events, UNH Wins Jim Boulanger Invite

4/4/2026 9:01:00 PM | Men's Track & Field

DURHAM, N,H. – Senior Yoofi Abaka-Amuah (Worcester, Mass.) and junior Gunnar Sokol (Berwick, Maine) both won two individual events to lead the University of New Hampshire men's track & field team to first place in the 3^rdAnnual Jim Boulanger Invitational at UNH's Reginald F. Atkins Track Facility on Saturday.

UNH won 12 events and amassed a total of 125.5 points to capture first place ahead of the University of Vermont (96.5 points) and Plymouth State (69) in a seven-team meet.

Abaka-Amuah and Sokol tied with UVM's Tyler Castillo atop the MVP leaderboard with 14 points apiece.

CLICK HERE to view results.

"The team fought hard today on a windy day and I'm really impressed with the performances by both the men and the women," said Anna Magle-Haberek, the director of cross country and track & field teams. "It's great to come away with the team win on both sides and I'm excited to see what we can do moving forward."

Abaka-Amuah recorded the winning mark of 47.90 meters (157 feet-2 inches) in the discus on his fifth attempt. He climbed to the top spot in the second throw with a throw of 46.12m, but senior Max LaPointe (Amesbury, Mass.) supplanted Abaka-Amuah with a throw of 46.36 on his fourth attempt. LaPointe finished as runner-up with that effort.

Abaka-Amuah led from start to finish in the shot put with a mark of 17.39m in the first round, followed by 17.58m in the next round and a winning throw of 18.27m (59-11.25) on his fourth attempt.

Sokol began his day with a first-place effort of 6.69m (21-11.5) as the Wildcats took the top three spots in the long jump. He climbed from the runner-up position to the top of the leaderboard with that winning leap in the third round. Freshman Ethan Palmer (Bowdoin, Maine) finished in second place after recorded his long mark of 6.67m (21-10.75) on his first attempt and freshman Rio Calle (Weare, N.H.) placed third at 6.41m (21-0.5).

Palmer went on to take top honors in the triple jump at 15.00m (49-2.5).

In the high jump, Sokol cleared heights of 1.77m, 1.82m, 1.87m and 1.92m (6-3.5) on his first attempt to take first place. Sophomore Sam Grube (Dover, N.H.) tied for second place at 1.77m.

Senior Liam McGovern (North Kingstown, R.I.) led UNH's 1-2-3 sweep of the podium in the hammer throw with a toss of 64.11m (210-4). He sat atop the leaderboard from start to finish following a mark of 63.46m in the first round, and he bested that with the winning effort on his third attempt. Classmates Caden Zalenski (Milford, N.H.) and Jack Washam (Nashua, N.H.) finished second and third, respectively. Zalenski recorded his best effort of 61.14m (200-7) in the second round and Washam's best throw of 56.51m (185-4) was on his fifth attempt.

Sophomore Gavin Malark (Stratham, N.H.) won Heat 1 of the 1,500m with a time of 4 minutes, 1.09 seconds and that proved to be the fastest time of the 36 runners in the event. Senior Zachary Hooper (Concord, N.H.) won Heat 2 and placed third overall in 4:05.05 and sophomore Xavier Lemieux (Buxton, Maine) finished in fourth place at 4:06.26.

Senior Jayson Blaisdell (Barrington, N.H.) took top honors in the javelin with a throw of 48.44m (158-11) that he recorded on his first attempt.

Senior Nathan Fletcher (Portsmouth, N.H.) crossed the finish line in 49.94 seconds to win the 400m dash.

Senior John Murphy (Deerfield, N.H.) immediately went to the front of the pack and was first to cross the finish line in the 3,000m steeplechase with a time of 9:42.27.

Junior Julian Rime (New City, N.Y.) dominated the field of 800m runners with a winning time of 1:55.80 that was 5.55 seconds faster than the runner-up. Sophomore Christian Cerullo (Yardley, Pa.) finished third in 2;03.37.

UNH's quartet of Norton, Zumbach, Rime and Lemieux ended the meet by winning the 4x400m relay in a time of 3:29.60.

The UNH men's track & field team has a split squad next weekend with the Friar Invitational (Providence College) on April 10 and Ed Daniels Classic (SNHU) on April 11.

The next home meet is the Wildcat Invitational on April 24-25.

UNH Results

Hammer
- McGovern, first place, 64.11m (210-4)
- Zalenski, second place, 61-14m (200-7)
- Washam, third place, 56.51m (185-4)
- Shawn Beaudreau (Hudson, N.H.), fifth place, 44.43m (145-9)
- Noah Buchanan (Murrieta, Calif.), seventh place, 39.23m (128-8)
- Tyson Patch (Walpole, N.H.), eighth place, 36.65m (120-3)
Long Jump
- Sokol, first place, 6.69m (21-11.5)
- Palmer, second place, 6.67m (21-10.75)
- Calle, third place, 6.41m (21-0.5)
Discus
- Abaka-Amuah, first place, 47.90m (157-2)
- LaPointe, second place, 46.36m (152-1)
- Boudreau, fourth place, 43.03m (141-2)
- Patch, fifth place, 41.79m (137-1)
High Jump
- Sokol, first place, 1.92m (6-3.5)
- Grube, second place, 1.77m (5-9.75)
Shot Put
- Abaka-Amuah, first place, 18.27m (59-11.25)
- Zalenski, third place, 15.43m (50-7.5)
- Buchanan, fourth place, 13.80 (45-3.5)
800m
- Rime, first place, 1:55.80
- Cerullo, third place, 2:03.37
- Evan Wong (Beverly, Mass.), ninth place, 2:04.29
- James Gecek (High Bridge, N.J.), 14^th place, 2:06.19
400m
- Fletcher, first place, 49.94
- Daniel Anderson (Naugatuck, Conn.), sixth place, 52.99
Javelin
- Blaisdell, first place, 48.44m (158-11)
- Avery Cipcic (Suffield, Conn.), eighth place, 37.67m (123-7)
3,000m Steeplechase
- Murphy, first place, 9:42.27
Triple Jump
- Palmer, first place, 15.00m (49-2.5)
4x400m Relay
- , first place, 3:29.60
- , second place, 3:37.01
1,500m
- Malark, first place, 4:01.09
- Hooper, third place, 4:05.05
- Lemieux, fourth place, 4:06.26
- Carter Norton (East Greenbush, N.Y.), eighth place, 4:09.57
- Jake Kollmer (Saranac Lake, N.Y.), ninth place, 4:09.66
- Carson Eames (Littleton, N.H.), 10^th place, 4:10.03
- Ryan Zumbach (Hampton, N.H.), 15^th place, 4:12.82
- Porter Hurteau (Milton, Vt.), 22^nd place, 4:24.19
4x100m Relay
- Gecek, Wong, Anderson, Grube, second place, 44.02
5,000m
- Ian Smith (Munster, Ind.), fourth place, 15:04.82