“OLD” IC4A CHAMPIONSHIPS
SHOW NEW LIFE AT 150TH: YEAR:
By ELLIOT DENMAN
At the age of 92 and a quarter, I feel eminently qualified to join the Antiquities Section of the Travel Writers of America.
So I felt right at home last Sunday (April 19) sitting through the cold rain during the second and final day of the All-American Undergraduate Track and Field Championships. yes 150th American Intercollegiate Athletic Association Championship Anniversary Meeting and 149th Performance (known to the running world as, of course IC4A:)
The location was also ancient, the Rutgers University campus in Piscataway, New Jersey, just a few miles from the site of the first American football game, Rutgers 6, Princeton 4, on November 6, 1869, remember?
They didn’t make much money out of these 150th Anniversary status – but they should ha e. Unfortunately, it was the closest American traffic ever got to America’s 250th birthday. But never mind, they’ll get a chance to welcome 150th The actual IC4A meeting is next April, 2027.
(To explain these calendar calculations: 2025 was the actual 150 of IC4Ath the year of birth and 2026, the anniversary year, but 1917 IC4A was canceled at the start of World War I; and the 2020 IC4A has been deleted since the start of the Covid pandemic).
Back when IC4A was born it was a sideshow to the 1875 Intercollegiate Rowing Championships. But it came out on its own on the 18th. And pay attention to the “amateur athletes” in his title. The students drove it themselves… and they were definitely amateurs. No? As far as now is Saturn’s first journey.
Well, it grew and grew and grew to become one of the biggest events in all of college sports.
But the birth of the NCAA Track and Field Championships in 1921 was to herald IC4A’s gradual departure from king of the hill status.
Oh, there have been many wonderful IC4A meetings throughout the year. Some of the greatest names in athletics history have been IC4A title holders; Bernie Weffers, Alvin Krenzlin, Ralph Craig, Frank Wyckoff, Barney Ewell, Andy Stanfield, Lindy Remigino, Ted Meredith, Bill Carr, Ben Eastman, Charlie Jenkins, Phil Edwards, Bill Bonthron, John Woodruff, Tom Courtney, Gene Launer Makian, Mi Le Maceich Horace Ashenfelter, Charlie Moore, Jim Fuchs, Fred Tootell, Harold Connolly… and much more.
In 1984, the IC4A meet boys were joined by the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) women’s girls to form a brilliant double bill.
But the eventual emergence of the NCAA Regionals/First Round Qualifier also squeezed the optimal dates on the IC4A/ECAC calendar and has been sledding downhill ever since.
Now the good news, hopefully promising for IC4A/ECACers, is that the solution is at hand. That solution: Move all three IC4A/ECAC title dates forward one month – Cross Country to October, Indoor to February, Outdoor to April – by one month to provide additional scheduling options for each member school.
“We’re certainly not going to get everyone back, we know that, but we’re hoping to get a lot more than we’ve had the last couple of years,” said Joe Kompany, who brought a number of major honors to Monmouth University during his 24-year tenure as Hawks coach, was president of the IC4A Coaches Association and continues to headline the ICA Games.
“It worked well,” Compagni said after the 2026 outdoor IC4A’IC4A’s’ECAC booth. “We had 400 more athletes than last year and Rutgers was a great host.”
“Rutgers head coach Bobby Farrell was just that, the Knight athletes, staff and campus support team. And downright dominant too.
It The Rutgers men scored 160 points to take on RU First IC4A team title since 2005 The Rutgers women scored 161 points to dominate the ECAC meet. In total, Rutgers athletes have won 14 gold medals.
“We are very excited to host this championship,” said Coach Farrell. “It is a historic meeting. Both teams competed very well and overcame some difficult conditions (on Sunday’s pitch). We are proud to bring both titles back to Rutgers.”
For example:
of RU Kevin O’Sullivan cleaned up 18-4 ½ (5.60 meters), reclaiming his school record in the pole vault after his brother Brian broke the previous record a week ago at the Rutgers Relays. Bryan finished second at 18-0 ½ (5.50) and teammate Ryan Merlino cleared 17-8 ½ (5.40) for third. Statistics, people. Was it the all-time college same-day best 1-2-3?
of RU Honest Robinson leapt in the vault: LJing 8.13 (26-8 ¼) and HJing 6-6 ¾ (2.0 ). That number 8.13 looks familiar. That was the exact mark Jesse Owens achieved in May 1935, and it would remain a world record for 25 years. Robinson’s brilliant LJ silver medalist was a teammate Donavan Anderson at 25-10 ½ (7.88)
Rutgers also went 1-2 in the triple jump Joseph Oduro jumped 49′ 7 ¼ (15.1′) and Anderson is second at 49- (15.06). Oh, and Malachi Judah took second place in the high jump 7-1 (2.16)
They RU jumps coaches, Corey Crawford and: PV specialist Brad Gelmert, obviously works wonders.
Rough weather slowed runners, but Rutgers still won the 100 (Daniel Duncan 10.50), 400 hurdles (Bryce Tucker 52.57), 3000 (Ryan Smith 8:40.64), and 10000 (Sean Matthews 31:26.11)
The Rutgers women were led by gold medalist high jumper Genovia Logan (5-9 1/4/1.76), shot putter Teyana Ems, 53-2.24/16.22 m. Of course, visitors to Piscataway also had plenty to cheer about.
Some other excellence of men. Duquesne’s Nick Keller (47.17 in the 400); Fairleigh Dickinson’s Adam Lopez (1:51.38), Army West Point’s Austin Hernandez (14.42 in the 1100H) followed Princeton’s Easton Tan in 13.88 at the trials; Princeton’s Marcelo Roman (9:11.51 sprint); FDU’s Ethan Ruffin (7-1, 2.16 gh jump); Princeton’s Tyler Konopka (60-8, 18.50 shot put) and Bucknell’s Keenan LaMontagne (173-0, 52.44 discus).
Monmouth’s Maggie Hansen threw the discus 165-2 (50.35) and teammate Emily Simko won the 3,000 (9:37.50). Sacred Heart’s Nyahingiva Noiva ran the 100 in 11.50.
Following Rutgers’ 160 points in the IC4A men’s team were Sacred Heart (78.5), Bucknell (71), Monmouth (69.5), Wagner (620) and Army West Point (59). Rutgers’ 161 points in the ECAC were Monmouth (127.9) and Duneck (127.5) and Duneck (127.5). Lehigh (57).
Bottom lines: Will the IC4A/ECAC Championship ever be ranked number one in the nation again? Definitely not.
But a century and a half later, is the grand old event alive and well, still living and breathing? Yes, indeed, and there is much that meat will become healthier in the years to come.
NOTE: New York University senior Elliott Denman won the 1956 IC4A Indoor Championships in the one-mile track (unearned) at Madison Square Garden, New York.
Complete IC4A 2026 Outdoor Championship results, results on AthleticLIVE.com, schedule per Blue Ridge Timing. https://blueridgetiming.live/meets/60899
