Four from Track & Field Collect USTFCCCA All-East Region Honors

NEW ORLEANS, La.—Four members of the Babson College track & field program were recognized for their success in competition with United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-East Region accolades on Wednesday afternoon. 

Graduate student Anthony Rodriguez (Prairie View, Ill.) earned his third straight honor in the men’s 10,000 meters and received his second consecutive award in the 5000 meters, sophomore Chris McDonough (North Andover, Mass.) garnered all-region laurels in the 100-meter dash for the second year in row, and first-year Aithan Bezanson (Danvers, Mass.) is the Beavers’ first all-region selection in the decathlon. Fellow rookie Amrit Rehal (Alpharetta, Ga.) also became the first Babson female to collect USTFCCCA All-East Region recognition since 2022 with her success in the high jump. 

Since 2015-16, the USTFCCCA has been awarding all-region honors to the top five individuals in each event in addition to the members of the top three relay teams. 

Rodriguez, who claimed his third straight NEWMAC title in the 10,000 meters last month, recorded a season-best time of 29:43.74 at the Raleigh Relays on March 27 that was tops among east region competitors this spring. He also competed in the 5000 meters three times this spring and his best time of the year (14:27.16) achieved at Bucknell’s Bison Outdoor Classic on April 13 ranked third in the region. 

A two-time NCAA National Championships qualifier, Rodriguez is now a three-time USTFCCCA All-East Region honoree in the 10,000 meters (2023, 2024, 2025) and two-time recipient in the 5000 meters (2024, 2025). He also owns five conference titles, was selected as the NEWMAC Track Athlete of the Year in 2023 and 2024, and is the program-record holder in both the 5000 meters (14:18.05) and 10,000 meters (29:43.61). 

McDonough collected USTFCCCA All-East Region accolades for the second year in a row after ranking second with his time of 10.56 in the 100-meter dash at MIT’s Sean Collier Invitational on April 19. The mark was the second fastest in program history behind his school record of 10.54 set last March at the Raleigh Relays. 

Bezanson ranked first among east region athletes in the decathlon with his school-record score of 6355 achieved at the UMass Multi Meet on April 8-9. He recorded his top marks of the season in the long jump, shot put, 400 meters, pole vault and 1500 meters at UMass, and also set a school record in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 54.94 at MIT on April 19.

Rehal put together a terrific rookie season that included breaking a 23-year-old record in the high jump while ranking second in the region in the event. She broke the record by clearing 5-feet, 5-inches in her collegiate debut at the Alan Connie Shamrock Invitational on March 22 and then bettered the mark by clearing 5-feet, 5.25-inches in the Farley Inter Regional at Williams on May 10. 

Rehal, who narrowly missed out on qualifying for the NCAA National Championships, joins Angelina Raffone ’19 (2019) and Katherine Jacobs ’22 (2021, 2022) as the only Babson females to earn USTFCCCA All-East Region honors.