BLOOMINGTON, IN - The Iona College men's indoor track and field team completed its 2022 campaign at the NCAA East Preliminaries at Haugh Track & Field Complex on the campus of Indiana University. Three Gaels competed in two events Friday evening.
1500-METER QUARTERFINAL
Junior
Mael Gouyette competed in the 1500 quarterfinal round and finished ninth overall in the second heat of the event. His time of 3:43.35 was his second fastest time of the season and 19th among the 24 competitors in the event.
Gouyette completed his first campaign in Maroon & Gold as a two-time MAAC medalist, earning a gold in the indoor distance medley relay and silver in the indoor 800. He also posted the third fastest time in school history in the outdoor 1500 event.
5000-METER SEMIFINAL
Senior
Ehab El-Sandali and sophomore
Joshua DeSouza completed their seasons in the second heat 5k semifinal. El-Sandali was 13th in the heat with a time of 13:57.58. He was 24th overall in the 46-runner race field. DeSouza crossed 15th in the heat in 14:00.38. He was 28th overall.
DeSouza was a silver medalist this year in the 2021 MAAC Cross Country Championship and 2022 MAAC indoor 5k. His fourth and fifth medals of his Iona career, following silvers in the 2021 outdoor 1500 and 2020 indoor mile and a bronze in the 2020 indoor 3k.
El-Sandali completes his Iona career as one of the most decorated athletes in program history.
El-Sandali competed in five NCAA Cross Country Championships earning two All-America and three All-Northeast Region honors. He was the 2021 NCAA Northeast Regional Champion and 2019 MAAC Champion. In five MAAC Cross Country Championship events, he finished first in 2019 and third in 2018, 2020-21 and 2021.
On the indoor track, he was a five-time MAAC medalist, earning gold in the 2002 mile and distance medley relay, silver in the 2018 DMR and 4x800 and bronze in the mile. El-Sandali earned his third NCAA All-America honor at the 2022 NCAA Indoor 5k event.
Outdoors, El-Sandali earned five MAAC gold medals and competed at the NCAA East preliminaries in four straight seasons. He earned first place in the 5k in 2018 and 2021, in the 10k in 2019 and in the 1500 in 2021 and 2022. El-Sandali was an NCAA semifinalist in the 5k in 2018, 2021 and 2022 and in the 10k in 2019 and 2021.
In total, El-Sandali was a three-time All-American and a 14-time MAAC medalist. He earned Iona's Joseph O'Connell Award as the department's top senior student-athlete in 2021.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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