STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The Hunter College men's indoor track and field team kicked off its 2025-26 campaign this weekend at the Youree Spence Garcia Invitational at Ocean Breeze, hosted by St. John's, turning in a promising opening meet highlighted by top conference marks and multiple strong performances across the board.

Benjamin Landheim led the Hawks with a standout effort in the 400m dash, placing sixth overall in a field featuring competitors from all three NCAA divisions. He clocked 53.08, followed by teammates Ethan Sarante at 55.70 and Niemifise Ogundiran at 56.12. Landheim later added a 14th-place finish in the 200m dash, recording a time of 24.05.

Hunter excelled in the distance events as well, with Brian Arias finishing 11th overall in the 3,000m run. His 9:48.98 currently stands as the top time in the City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC). Hengzhi Zhu followed with a strong 9:54.18, and Leonardo Kaplan rounded out the group in 10:06.21.

Closing out the track portion of the meet, Dylan Asuncion paced Hunter in the 60m dash, crossing in 7.30, the No. 7 mark in CUNYAC so far this season. He was followed by Joscan Crespo at 7.55.

Asuncion carried his momentum into the field events, posting a 12.04m triple jump, the No. 2 mark in the conference to date. He also earned a seventh-place finish in the long jump with a leap of 5.63m, highlighting a strong season debut for the junior.

Hunter returns to action on Jan. 2 at the Wagner Invitational, once again competing at Ocean Breeze.