Gwynedd Valley, Pa. – (11/21/2025) – Just a couple weeks from the first competition of the 2025-2026 season, Gwynedd Mercy University Head Men's and Women's Track and Field Coach Brendan Soubik is thrilled to highlight the events ahead. "I cannot wait for my first season as this program's head coach. We have a young and talented roster. We are going to use this indoor season to get stronger and gain experience in different events so come the outdoor season, we are more prepared for huge performances at the conference championships."
 
"We have a good variety of meets on the indoors schedule," stated Coach Soubik. "Alvernia's (University) events will allow us to compete against most of the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC), which offers great competition for our student-athletes. Also, the Franklin and Marshall Mini Dip is a unique meet, in the sense that they offer the 300-Meter and 500-Meter races; it's rare for an indoor meet, but it could greatly benefit some of our distance and sprint competitors."

The 2025-2026 Gwynedd Mercy University track and field season begins on Saturday, December 6 (10:00 a.m.), with Alvernia University's Rust Buster. The indoor season continues with additional competitions scheduled for the end of January and throughout February.
 
Following the Rust Buster, the Griffins visit Ursinus College on January 24 (9:00 a.m.) for the familiar, Bow Tie Invitational. From there, they return to Alvernia University on January 31 (10:00 a.m.) for the Golden Wolves' PLEX Shootout. February's scheduled competitions place the Red and Gold at Franklin and Marshall College's Mini Dip Invitational on the 7^th (10:00 a.m.) and Haverford College's Keogh Invitational on the 21^st (10:00 a.m.).
 
"Come outdoor season, I want to see improvement in our conference rankings and see our student-athletes hitting the goals they set for themselves," expressed Coach Soubik. "We will be going to larger meets this spring, like West Chester's (University) Purple and Gold Invitational, Widener's (University) Danny Curran and Paul Donahue Invitationals, and Rowan's (University) Oscar Moore Invitational."

After a month layoff, competition moves outdoors as March, April, and May send the Griffins to West Chester University for the Purple and Gold Opener (Mar. 21, 10:00 a.m.), Widener University for the Danny Curran Invitational (Mar. 27 & 28, 4:00 p.m./10:00 a.m.), Rowan University for the Oscar Moore Invitational (Apr. 11, 11:00 a.m.), back to Widener University for the Paul Donahue Invitational (Apr. 17 & 18, 2:30 p.m./9:00 a.m.), and twice to Immaculata University for the Mighty Macs' Last Chance Meet (Apr. 25, 10:00 a.m.) and the 2026 Atlantic East Conference (AEC) Men's and Women's Track and Field Championships (May 2 & 3, TBA).
 
In 2025, the AEC Men's and Women's Track and Field Championships took place at the Gwynedd Mercy University Athletic Complex. Battling their league adversaries as well as, mother nature, the Griffins finished third in the men's six-team field with 102 points (3rd of 6, 102 points) and fifth in the women's six-team field with 64.5 points (5th of 6, 64.5 points).
 
Senior Victor Cruz (New Castle, Del.) headlined the Red and Gold's performance in the men's championship events with his first-place finishes in the 100-Meter (1st, 11.01, 10 points), 200-Meter (1st, 22.2, 10), and 400-Meter (1st, 49.19, 10), as well as his contribution to the 4x100-Meter Relay (3rd, 43.77, 6) and 4x400-Meter Relay (2nd, 3:33.56, 8). The Red and Gold also enjoyed a first-place Hammer (1st, 43.34, 10 points) and Discus (1st, 38.06, 10 points) from now sophomore, Tyson Scheitrum (Harrisburg, Pa.) and a first-place Pole Vault (1st, 3.00, 10 points) from senior Matt Edwards (Bensalem, Pa.). Cruz's 49.19 400-Meter run and 21.79 200-Meter preliminary run, as well as, Scheitrum's 43.34 Hammer throw were all recognized as meet records; the former also rewrote the University's record in for the third time with this distance.
 
Meanwhile, Fanta Dukuly (Philadelphia, Pa.) made a splash in her AEC Women's Track and Field Championships debut with a first-place finish in the 100-Meter (1st, 12.82, 10 points) and a second-place finish in the 200-Meter (2nd, 26.68, 8). The Red and gold also got a major contribution from graduate – and now assistant coach - Natalie O'Neill (Philadelphia, Pa.), who pointed in the 100-Meter Hurdles (2nd, 18.10, 8), High Jump (2nd, 1.40, 8), 400-Meter Hurdles (2nd, 1:14.11, 8), Long Jump (4th, 4.43, 4), and Triple Jump (3rd, 10.32, 6), and Heft who threw for some more in the Shot Put (5th, 9.65, 2) and Javelin (5th, 28.64, 2).
 
Following the completion of the 2024-2025 competition calendar, Cruz was named the AEC Men's Track Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive season after earning All-AEC First Team recognition in the 100-Meter, 200-Meter, and 400-Meter, as well as his contributions to the 4x100-Meter Relay and 4x400-Meter Relay finishes.
 
Griffin newcomers, Scheitrum and Dukuly were also recognized with major awards as the former was credited as the 2025 AEC Men's Field Athlete of the Year for his impressive All-AEC First Team performances in the Hammer and Discus, while the latter garnered the 2025 AEC Women's Track and Field Rookie of the Year honor for her All-AEC First Team finish in the 100-Meter and her All-AEC Second Team finish in the 200-Meter.

In addition to Dukuly's All-AEC performances, Gwynedd Mercy University also celebrated all-league performances from O'Neill, who earned Second Team honors in the 100-Meter Hurdles, High Jump, and 400-Meter Hurdles (2nd, 1:14.11, 8). Cruz and Scheitrum were joined on the 2025 All-AEC Men's Track and Field roster by Edwards, Soubik, and senior Christion Johnson (Middletown, Del.); Edwards earned All-AEC First Team recognition in the Pole Vault, Soubik earned All-AEC Second Team in the 400-Meter Hurdles (2nd, 1:00.55, 8 points), while Johnson earned All-AEC Second Team honors in the Shot Put (2nd, 11.40, 8). The Gwynedd Mercy University men's 4x400-Meter Relay team also earned All-AEC Second Team laurels for their second-place finish (2nd, 3:33.56, 8); the lineup included senior Mike Marable (Philadelphia, Pa.), freshman Jamar Gauda (Delran, N.J.), Soubik, and Cruz.
 
"All of these events offer a good mixture of MAC, PSAC (Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference), and NJAC (New Jersey Athletic Conference) schools that feature great NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Division II and Division III schools to test ourselves against. We will use these meets to tune up for the AEC Championships in May."
 
The 2026 AEC Men's and Women's Track and Field Championships are scheduled for Saturday, May 2, and Sunday, May 3, at Immaculata University.