MIDDLETOWN, Conn. — 

Throwing specialists from the Unites States Coast Guard Academy track & field team opened their 2026 outdoor seasons at Wesleyan University's Swanson Spring Classic. Coast Guard sent six cadet-athletes to compete at the meet.

Posting the top mark of the bunch was junior Vincent Grillo (Wilmington, Del.), who placed eighth in shot put with a 13.76-meter heave (45' 1.75"). It was a personal record and qualifying mark for New England Division III Championships, as well as an improvement on his CGA #9 position.

Also placing well was senior Liam Kuperman (Bremerton, Wash.), who was fifth in javelin with a best throw of 47.75 meters (156' 8"). Kuperman also competed in hammer throw, where his best attempt went 37.01 meters (121' 5").

The busiest man of the day for USCGA was freshman Anthony Gasparovic (Ocean City, N.J.), who made his collegiate debuts in the outdoor shot, discus, and hammer. His best mark in shot put was 11.75 meters (38' 6.75"), and he was the Bears' top performer in discus and hammer with respective marks of 36.15 meters (118' 7") and 39.04 meters (128' 1"). Joining him in the latter was classmate Christian Schlauch (Annapolis, Md.), who posted marks of 32.11 meters in disc (105' 4") and 37.41 meters in hammer (122' 9").

Competing from the women's side were sophomore Tyler Dickson (Severna Park, Md.) and junior Jasmine Mendez (Cromwell, Conn.), who both competed in shot put and javelin. Dickson posted respective marks of 10.05 meters (32' 11.75") and 23.04 meters (76' 9"), while Mendez went for 9.06 meters (29' 8.75") and 20.88 meters (68' 6"). The sophomore also got some work in on the track, running the 100 meters in 14.41 seconds.

Full results for Wesleyan's Swanson Spring Classic can be viewed here.

The upcoming week is setting up to be a busy one for USCGA track & field as the Bears are scheduled to compete in three meets. First up are the Raleigh Relays on March 26th at North Carolina State University, where the team's top runners are expected to compete against some elite competition. The throwers will be back at it in Springfield on March 28th when they take on American International College's Yellowjacket Open, and the rest of the team will make their 2026 outdoor debuts that day in New Jersey at the Monmouth Opener.