The Liberty League has announced its 2026 Men's Outdoor Track & Field major award recipients, selected by the conference's head coaches following the NCAA Championships.
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Nick Lyndaker, Senior, St. Lawrence University
St. Lawrence University senior Nick Lyndaker was selected as the Liberty League Men’s Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year following the 2026 season. The honor marks his first Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year award and his third overall Liberty League Track Athlete of the Year recognition, having also earned Men’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Year honors in both 2024-25 and 2025-26. This spring, Lyndaker made his second appearance at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships, where he competed in the 1,500-meter run. He earned second-team All-America honors for the second straight year, placing ninth nationally with a time of 3:47.48. At the 2026 Liberty League Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Lyndaker successfully defended his titles in both the 1,500-meter and 5,000-meter runs. He won the 1,500 meters in 3:57.26 and captured the 5,000-meter title with a time of 14:35.27 en route to earning Track Performer of the Meet honors. Lyndaker also broke a 52-year-old program record in the outdoor mile, clocking a personal-best 4:03.63, a mark that ranks 10th all-time in NCAA Division III history.
CO-FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Emmett Hansen, Sophomore, University of Rochester
University of Rochester sophomore Emmett Hansen was named the Liberty League Outdoor Co-Field Athlete of the Year following the 2026 campaign, marking his second consecutive track and field season receiving the honor. He was also recognized as the Liberty League Indoor Field Athlete of the Year at the conclusion of the 2025-26 season. This spring, Hansen was the lone men’s qualifier from Rochester to compete at the 2026 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, where he scored 6,378 points to place 15th and earn second-team All-America honors. At the national meet, he produced four top 10 finishes among the 10 events: high jump (5th, 1.83m) and 1,500 meters (5th, 4:35.58), pole vault (7th, 4.15m), and javelin (10th, 47.61m). He qualified for NCAAs after winning the decathlon at the All-Atlantic Region Track & Field Championships, where he posted a season-best 6,596 points. He recorded a pair of event victories at the AARTFC in the long jump (6.80m) and javelin (50.41m). Hansen was the runner-up in the decathlon at the 2026 Outdoor Liberty League Championship with 6,044 points. He ended the 2026 season ranked among the league’s top 10 performers in five different events: decathlon (1st, 6596 points), long jump (4th, 6.80m), javelin (4th, 53.97m), high jump (6th, 1.86m), and pole vault (8th, 4.40m).
CO- FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Tristan Mangin, Senior, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
RPI senior Tristan Mangin was recognized as the Liberty League Outdoor Co-Field Athlete of the Year at the conclusion of the 2026 season. Mangin was one of four RPI athletes to compete at the 2026 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships, qualifying in the javelin throw. On his third attempt at nationals, he recorded a mark of 60.56 meters to place 12th among 22 competitors, earning second-team All-America honors. At the Liberty League Outdoor Championship, Mangin competed in four events and finished among the top three in two. He captured the javelin title with a season-best throw of 65.56 meters and added a third-place finish in the discus (43.06m), earning Liberty League Field Performer of the Meet honors. He also placed 14th in the shot put (11.93m) and 18th in the hammer throw (38.01m). Mangin recorded five javelin victories during the season, winning the event at the Liberty League Championship as well as the Capital District Classic, Trinity Invitational, RPI Under the Lights Invitational, and Wesleyan’s Swanson Invite.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Barack Abdallah, University of Rochester
University of Rochester first-year Barack Abdallah was named the Liberty League Outdoor Rookie of the Year. It marks his second consecutive track and field season earning Rookie of the Year recognition, and he becomes the first Yellowjacket since 2021 to receive the award following the outdoor season. Abdallah was one of the Yellowjackets’ top sprinters this season as he set a new school record in the 100-meter dash at the All-Atlantic Region Track & Field Championships, clocking 10.73 seconds in the preliminaries. He later placed fifth in the final with a time of 10.82 seconds and also competed in the 200-meter dash, finishing 23rd in 23.32 seconds. At the 2026 Liberty League Outdoor Championship, Abdallah competed in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, and 4x100-meter relay. He earned All-Liberty League Honorable Mention recognition with a third-place finish in the 100 meters (10.87 seconds) and was a member of Rochester’s runner-up 4x100-meter relay team that posted a time of 42.57 seconds, earning All-Liberty League Second Team honors. He also added a sixth-place finish in the 200 meters with a time of 22.25 seconds. Abdallah closed out the year ranked second among league leaders in the 100-meter dash and 11th in the 200-meter dash.
COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
The RPI Men’s Track & Field Coaching Staff, led by Head Coach Colin Tory, was recognized as the Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year for the fourth straight year at the conclusion of the 2026 outdoor season. The Engineers captured their fourth consecutive Liberty League outdoor title, totaling 317 points over the two-day meet and finishing 159 points ahead of runner-up Rochester. RPI showcased its depth throughout the championship, winning 10 events and placing multiple scorers in 16 of the 19 individual events. In total, 15 individuals earned All-Liberty League honors across 13 events; RPI swept the top three spots in both the 200-meter dash and 10,000-meter run. 24 athletes were recognized with 35 USTFCCCA All-Region accolades (top-8 individuals in each event for each region) and a league-best four male athletes qualified for the 2026 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. At NCAAs, Jack Czarnecki paced the Engineers with a first-team All-America performance, placing seventh in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 3:46.68. Tristan Mangin and Dominic Peña each secured second-team All-America honors after finishing 12th in their respective events, with Mangin throwing 60.56 meters in the javelin and Peña clocking 1:51.03 in the 800 meters. Evan Lacey rounded out RPI’s qualifiers, placing 20th in the 1,500-meter preliminaries with a time of 3:55.54.
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE FIRST TEAM
100 – Cam Caso, RPI, 10.59*
200 – Cam Caso, RPI, 21.18
400 – Jack DeFeo, RIT, 47.14*
800 – Ben Buffone, Ithaca, 1:52.90
1,500 – Nick Lyndaker, St. Lawrence, 3:57.26
5,000 – Nick Lyndaker, St. Lawrence, 14:35.27
10,000 – Thomas Manson, RPI, 30:08.20
110-hurdles – Naashon Calliens, RIT, 14.60
400-hurdles – Cortez Garrett, RPI, 53.44
3,000 steeplechase – Nicholas McAuley, RPI, 9:22.18
4x100 Relay – RPI (C. Caso, D. Myrick, A. Flynn, R. Stewart), 42.08
4x400 Relay – RIT (T. Goyette, J. Elliot, R. Senf, J. DeFeo), 3:16.83
High Jump – Aadit Jain, Rochester, 1.96m
Pole Vault – Moss Dengler, RPI, 4.85m
Long Jump – Oliver Herrick, RPI, 6.61m
Triple Jump – Quinten Lewis, Ithaca, 14.24m
Shot Put – Ethan Beer, Rochester, 15.00m
Discus – Arthur Hrycak, RPI, 45.13m
Hammer Throw – Erik Stephany, RIT, 52.26m
Javelin – Tristan Mangin, RPI, 65.86m*
Decathlon – Ashton Tokarski, Rochester, 6069 points
* = Liberty League Championship record
First Team = Event Champions at 2026 Liberty League Outdoor Track & Field Championship
Second Team = Second Place at 2026 Liberty League Outdoor Track & Field Championship
Honorable Mention = Third Place at 2026 Liberty League Outdoor Track & Field Championship