Trinity Track and Field Kicks Off Outdoor Season as McKenna Builds on Record-Breaking Winter

Annika Haley ’26

Sports Editor

The Trinity Men’s and Women’s Track and Field teams competed in the UMass Flagship Opener, hosted by UMass Amherst on Saturday, April 5 at the UMass Track & Field Complex. Both the men’s and women’s teams opened with numerous impressive performances. Facing strong competition from a mix of Division I, II, and III programs, both the men’s and women’s teams were able to finish 7th in the team standings. The men’s team secured 25 points and the women’s team secured 27.5 points. The Bantams displayed their depth and talent across both track and field events, achieving several top finishes and personal bests. 

On the women’s side, Jillian Strynar ‘28 showcased a strong sprint performance, winning the 100-meter dash and finishing second in the 200-meter dash. Strynar also contributed to the women’s 4×100-meter relay team, alongside Savannah Cece ‘25, Ava Dubois ‘27, and Jenna Najjar ‘28, which earned a third-place finish and a time of 49.16. Najjar continued her day with a sixth-place finish in the 400 meters with a time of 1:00.39. In the field, Lauren Grattan ‘28 and Gabrieanne Chery ‘27 tied for sixth in the high jump and each cleared 1.53 meters. Amaya Pendleton ’27 threw 11.31 meters in the shot put to place ninth and added an eighth-place finish in the hammer throw with a distance of 44.37 meters.

On the men’s side, Trinity delivered strong results in sprints, distance, and field events. Zuri Johnson ‘26 led the way on the track, placing third in the 200 meters with a time of 22.45 and adding an eighth-place finish in the 400 meters with a time of 50.76. The men’s 4×100-meter relay team, Johnson, Arinze Okigbo ‘28, Nolan McKenna ‘25, and Connor Quiet ‘25, finished fourth with a time of 42.80. Tyler Johnson ‘28 ran a 1:58.90 in the 800 meters to claim seventh place. In the 400-meter hurdles, Jack Darling ‘25 placed fourth with a time of 59.83, and Ryan Martin ‘28 followed Darling and finished sixth with a time of 1:05.29. Dolan Pols ‘27 secured fifth place in the 3000-meter steeplechase (10:17.75). In the 5000 meters, Alex Willard ‘27 (16:06.48) and Saqlain Anjum ‘26 (16:41.11) both achieved top-ten finishes. In the field, Donovan Koukal-Kollie ‘27 took second place in the triple jump with a distance of 13.46 meters. In the shot put, throwers Pete Passaro ‘27 and Noah Falvey ‘27 placed eighth and tenth, respectively. Trinity also packed the men’s hammer throw leaderboard with Andrew Williams ‘27 (39.83m), Noah Falvey ‘27 (38.82m), and Pete Passaro ‘27 (37.50m). Andrew Moran ‘25 rounded out the field efforts with an eighth-place finish in the javelin (44.55m).

The Tripod had the opportunity to speak with Nolan McKenna ‘25 about his record breaking performances in the indoor season, the Umass Flagship meet, and his expectations for the rest of the spring season. McKenna delivered a standout performance at the New England Indoor Championships at the Track at New Balance from February 28th-March 1st, excelling in both individual and relay events. In the 600m, McKenna broke his own school record with a time of 1:20.25, earning a fifth-place finish overall. He anchored the men’s 4x400m relay team, alongside Liam Kelly ‘28, Lars Sippel ‘25, and Zuri Johnson ‘27, to a third-place finish. The group shattered the previous school record by almost two seconds with a time of 3:17.32. McKenna also contributed to a record-setting 400m time of 48.68. 

When asked about his record-breaking performances in the winter as he moves into the spring season, McKenna stated: “The 600m was on Friday at New England and I already had the school record, so I was just trying to PR and break my own record. That was my main goal for the weekend. I did well on Friday which was nice, and then going into Saturday I did not have many expectations. I just wanted to run the 400m well and run the 4x400m well. The 400m was first, and like I said I wasn’t really thinking about breaking that record, I just wanted to run well and hopefully place. It was a really hot track, everybody at that meet both on my team and not on my team ran really fast. I crossed the line and looked up at the time and I was kind of dumbfounded at first, because usually indoor times are a bit slower since you have to do two laps on a curve, but that was a PR and faster than my outdoor time which was really surprising. Going into the 4x400m it felt euphoric because for me and my roommate Lars, we knew it was our last indoor race ever. It was nice and everyone was focused. We had already broken the record earlier in the year so we were hoping to marginally improve on it. Everyone ran super well. We had super good handoffs and we smashed it by an additional two seconds. That was really fun to do with those guys.”

Regarding the beginning of the spring season, McKenna shared both his team’s and his own personal feelings about the start of the outdoor season: “It’s been pretty good. The weather hasn’t been the nicest to us, but it hasn’t really been the nicest to anyone so far. It was snowing at our meet at Umass Lowell two weeks ago, and it was raining all day at Amherst this past weekend. I think people have dealt with it really well. We haven’t been letting the weather get us down and complaining about it because they are long meets. I think at Lowell especially, which was our spring opener, everyone had high spirits, even though it was snowing, which really helps people perform well and makes the meet feel like it’s going by quickly rather than just sitting in the rain or snow for six hours. We are looking forward to some better weather. We have dealt with the cards that we’ve been given pretty well so far.”

Focusing on the Umass Amherst Flagship, McKenna expressed both his teams and personal goals for the meet and if they were accomplished: “We knew the weather wasn’t going to be good so the main goal as a team was to keep the vibes up and support each other because it’s really hard to run in the rain, and it’s especially hard if no one is cheering for you. I was running the 4 x 100m, 400m and 200m and I am not really a 100m specialist so my main goal was, honestly, just not to mess up because we haven’t practiced it a ton. We got the baton around and no one dropped it, so that was a good way to open the season, regardless of whatever time we got.”

Chemistry and energy are very important parts of a successful team, and McKenna said that his team’s chemistry and energy has been, “Pretty good. We just came off a strong indoor season, and people got some time away to do whatever they wanted to do for spring break, relax, and spend time with family. It was a good mental reset because everyone came back ready to roll mentally and physically. At practice and in the weight room there are always good vibes.”

To wrap up his final thoughts, McKenna shared his expectations and goals for the rest of the outdoor season: “The team goal is to send as many people as we can to NESCACs and New Englands. We’ve already had some really strong NESCACs and New England’s marks on the board so far.  For my personal goals, first and foremost I want to stay healthy because I got hurt last year during the spring and it’s just not fun cheering from the sidelines. I want to stay healthy and if I can, try to break the 4 x 400m record outdoors and all four of the guys in the relay have the same goal. We want to see if we can recreate what we did indoors. I also want to place highly in New Englands and maybe PR in the 400m, but first and foremost is the 4 x 400m I am focusing on.