MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Junior Kole Matta (Castleton, Vt.), sophomore Gabe Kean (Thornton, N.H.) and freshman Jack Taylor (Bellingham, Mass.) posted the top finishes for the Plymouth State University men's indoor track & field team as the Panthers opened the 2026 portion of the schedule at the Middlebury Snowflake Invitational hosted by Middlebury College at Virtue Field House on Saturday.
 
Matta was second in the weight throw with a heave of 14.32 meters, while also placing sixth in the shot put. Kean was the runner up in the 60-meters after a season-best time of 7.17 seconds, in addition to running a leg of PSU's 4x400-meter relay, while Taylor placed second in the 800-meter run in 2:08.31.
 
The non-scoring meet featured representatives from 11 different institutions from all three NCAA divisions.
 
 
The Basics:

• Middlebury Snowflake Invitational – No Team Scoring

Meet Highlights:

• Kean was second in the 60-meters with a season-best time of 7.17 seconds.
• Junior Shea McLaughlin (Byfield, Mass.) finished fifth in the 60-meter hurdles in 8.99 seconds.
• Taylor and freshman Cristian Lytle (Merrimack, N.H.) were second and fourth in the 800-meter run. Taylor posted a 2:08.31, with Lytle finishing in 2:25.82.
• Juniors Ben Colby (Manchester, N.H.) and Connor Phillips (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) were fourth and fifth in the 1,000-meters as both finished with personal bests. Colby posted a 2:41.20, while Phillips crossed the line in 2:43.46.
• PSU was well-represented in the 3,000-meters, where junior Angelo DeLuca (Lynnfield, Mass.) was the top finisher in fifth (9:22.88). Sophomore Noah Francis (Bethlehem, N.H.) was right on his heels with a PR of 9:28.54 to finish sixth, while senior Max Goodman (South Salem, N.Y.), freshman Alex LeClair (Presque Isle, Maine) and junior Nathan Beauregard (Merrimack, N.H.) were all in the top 11.
• Freshmen Griffin Massahos (Londonderry, N.H.), Devin Schlegel-Barber (Milton, Vt.), Kean and sophomore Isaias Aguasvivas Pena (Marblehead, Mass.) combined for a fourth-place finish in the 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:39.40.
• Freshman Enzo Valenti (Montville, Conn.) was fourth in the shot put with a heave of 12.54 meters. Freshman Kellen Bateman (Exeter, N.H.) and Matta were sixth and seventh after throws of 12.16 meters and 11.98 meters, respectively.
• Matta took second in the weight throw after clearing 14.32 meters. Valenti was fourth (13.58m), while senior Bryce Harmon (Barrington, N.H.) was seventh with a toss of 12.42 meters.

 
Up Next:

• Plymouth State is home next Saturday (Jan. 17) for the Panther Invitational. The team will honor its seniors prior to the meet, with events starting at 10 a.m.