NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Represented by only five athletes, the Eastern Connecticut State University men's track and field team compiled 25 points in three sprint events and one relay to finish fifth among ten teams at Southern Connecticut State University's Art Kadish Elm City Challenge which concluded its two-day meet Saturday at the Moore Field House.
 
At the meet, senior Kaito Yasuda (Columbia) qualified for the New England Division III Championships with the fastest times this year in the Little East Conference at 60 meters (6.97) when he was timed in 6.48 seconds Friday in finishing third in a 36-person field at 55 meters and he also qualified at 200 meters (22.53) on Saturday when he placed second among 24 in an LEC-best time. In the 200, he placed second only to Nolan Freeman of host Southern Connecticut, when he ran a meet-record time of 22.04.
 
Yasuda totalled 14 points in those two events and also ran a leg of the 4x400 relay which placed third in a nine-team field Saturday and netted six additional points. Also teaming on the relay which clocked the fastest time in the LEC this year were juniors Eric Phongsa (Pomfret), Adam Schimmelpfennig (Pomfret) and Michael Monty (Clinton).
 
In addition to Yasuda, Schimmelpfennig improved his LEC-leading time in the 60 hurdles when he was clocked in 7.77 in the preliminaries and eventually placed fifth among 12 with a time of 7.85 in the finals, for four points.
 
Phongsa was timed in 6.64 in the preliminaries of the 55, missing out on the finals by .02. Still, his converted time of 7.14 is the third-fastest 60 meters in the LEC this season.
 
Behind Yasuda at 200 meters Saturday were Phongsa (6^th/23.41), Schimmelpfennig (12^th/23.95), junior Elijah Johnson (Stratford) (16^th/24.80), and  Monty (18^th/25.21). Phongsa earned one point in the event.
 
Johnson also ran the 55 and Monty the 55 hurdles. In the preliminaries, Johnson was timed in 7.08 and Monty 8.78 in their respective events.
 
Host Southern won the team title with 163 points, with fellow Division II institutions University of New Haven second (138) and Felician University third (88) and Division III Farmingdale State College fourth (45).
 
Eastern competes at the University of Rhode Island Invitational Jan. 20.