Bates senior squash player Ahmed Abdel Khalek won his 50th consecutive match on Sunday, beating Moustafa Bayoumy of St. 3-2 in a 7-2 loss for the Bobcats.
Abdel Khalek, the 2015 College Squash Association national champion, hasn’t lost since his freshman year, and carries a career record of 73-2.
Locals shine for USM indoor track
The University of Southern Maine indoor track team opened the 2016 portion of its schedule by hosting its second USM Invitational of the season on Saturday. A handful of local athletes made themselves feel right at home in the meet.
A pair of local jumpers captured first place in their respective events. Auburn native and Edward Little graduate Connor Harris won the high jump with a best leap of 6 feet, 2 inches, while Sabattus’ Drew Gamage took the triple jump with a top mark of 44 feet, 5.5 inches.
Another former Red Eddie, Roger Charest, was second in the 600-meter run, and former Lewiston Blue Devil MK Mohamed was on the winning men’s 1,600-meter relay team.
On the women’s side, Winthrop native Rachel Ingram won the triple jump. Her longest leap spanned 33 feet, 11.25 inches. Lewiston native Heather Kendall was second in the 55-meter dash.
Banner week for Bobcats
It was an all-around good couple of weeks for the Bates men’s basketball team. On Monday, senior Mike Boornazian was named Maine Co-Player of the Week by the Maine Men’s Basketball Coaches and Writers Association, sharing the honors with Colby’s Ryan Jann. For the week ending January 3, Boornazian averaged 15.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, shooting 40 percent from the floor and 43.3 percent from 3-point range. Boornazian followed that up by putting up double-digit points in consecutive games this past weekend, as he scored 10 in a victory over Colby and 20 in a loss to Bowdoin.
Bates sophomore guard Shawn Strickland was named the MVP of Naismith Classic tournament in Springfield, which the Bobcats won with victories over Brandeis and Husson. Strickland hit the game-winning 3 against Brandeis, which lifted the Bobcats into the championship game against Husson. The sophomore averaged 14.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists across the two games.
Bates head coach Jon Furbush recorded his 100th career victory in the win over Brandeis.
Connors captures honors
Bates women’s basketball junior guard Bernadette Connors was named to the Maine Women’s Basketball Coaches Association weekly honor roll. Connors poured in 18 points and added five assists, three rebounds and three blocks in a loss to Bowdoin on January 2. Connors is currently averaging 8.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game for the Bobcats.
Mileikis on the mark
Former Edward Little standout Ian Mileikis provided some heroics for his new team — the St. Joseph’s College Monks men’s basketball team — in a win over Norwich on Thursday. The freshman guard from Auburn hit a game-winning 3-pointer at the Buzzer to lift the Monks to a 63-62 victory. Mileikis totaled 12 points and six rebounds in the win.
wkramlich@sunjournal.com
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