Several athletes with local ties had standout performances at the NCAA Division III outdoor track and field championships over the weekend at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts.
Senior Connor Harris of Auburn and sophomore Drew Gamage of Sabattus finished first and second in the triple jump for the University of Southern Maine.
Harris, an Edward Little graduate, won the event by jumping a career-best 48 feet, 3.5 inches. Gamage, who graduated from Oak Hill, was the runner up at 47-9.25. The Huskies duo also had a one-two finish a week earlier at the Alliance/Little East championships.
Harris also placed fifth in the long jump at the New England championships, while Gamage tied for eighth.
A pair of other local athletes set or helped set USM records at New Englands. Adela Kalilwa, a freshman who attended Lewiston, beat her own school record in the women’s triple jump with a 39-3.75. She placed fourth in the event. She also was eighth in the triple jump and ran the anchor leg of the Huskies’ third-place 4×100-meter relay.
Another Edward Little graduate, Trey Rogers, a junior at USM, teamed with Jared Marshall, Jonathan Hendrickson and Zach Miller to take second in the men’s 4×100, running the fastest time (41.70 seconds) in school history. That time broke the record the four set a week earlier.
The USM women finished fourth and the men placed fifth. MIT claimed the men’s and women’s championships.
The Bates College men and women each finished third at the New England championships.
The Bates women’s finish, their highest since 2006, was highlighted by several broken records.
Allison Hill, Paige Rabb, Ayden Eickhoff and Claire Markonic set new meet, facility and school records in the 4×400 relay, finishing in 3:50.16.
Hill (Brunswick) also won the 100 hurdles. Her 14.04-second time also set new meet, facility and school records. Hill, a senior who last week was named the NESCAC’s Most Outstanding Performer, also placed second in the 200-meter dash.
Eickhoff (Corvallis, Montana) broke facility and team records in the 800 (2:11.17), and Jessica Wilson (Cumberland) broke the Williams College facility record in the 1,500 (4:31.47).
Junior Adedire Fakorede (Newark, New Jersey) earned titles in two events for the Bates men: the hammer throw (180-8), and for the second year in a row at New Englands, the discus (167-8).
Fakorede, who last week was named the NESCAC’s Most Outstanding Performer, also placed third in the shot put.
Another Bates junior, Jack Kiely (Severna Park, Maryland) claimed a New England championship, as well, winning the 1,500-meter run with a time of 3:51.43.
Bobcats row-ll
The top-ranked Bates women’s rowing team kicked off the postseason by dominating the New England rowing championships on Quinsigamond Lake in Worcester, Massachusetts.
The Bobcats’ top two boats went undefeated Saturday.
In its first varsity eight trial heat, Bates (7:34.844) soundly defeated New Hampshire (7:51.099) and five other boats.
The Bobcats’ first eight (7:16.790) then defeated No. 2 nationally ranked Wesleyan (7:27.316) by more than 10 seconds in the grand final.
Bates second varsity eight won its heat with a time of 7:52.290, more than 18 seconds faster than second-place Tufts. The Bobcats then won the six-boat grand final with a time of 7:38.919.
The Bates men had one of the program’s best performances at the New England championships, finishing second in the varsity eight grand final and first in the second varsity eight grand final.
The Bates rowing teams return to Worcester this Saturday for the National Invitational Rowing Championships.
Bone marrow drive Tuesday
The Bates women’s soccer team is hosting the All For Ally bone marrow drive Tuesday, May 9, from noon to 5 p.m. at the Fireside Lounge in the college’s commons.
The drive is in support of Univeristy of Southern Maine player Ally Little, who was recently diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia, a rare disease in which bone marrow stops producing healthy blood cells. A bone marrow transplant is currently the only cure for this disease, and there is no match for Little in the marrow registry.
“Ally may not be a Bobcat, but she’s a member of the Maine college soccer family and we’re looking forward to helping find her match,” Bates women’s soccer head coach Kelsy Ross said.
The drive is being conducted in partnership with Be The Match. All it takes to become a registered donor is some paperwork and a cheek swab.
For more information about the All for Ally bone marrow drive, email Ross at kross@bates.edu.
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