BRUNSWICK, Maine - The University of Maine at Farmington track and field teams opened up their season at the UBears Alumni Invitational on Saturday, competing against Bowdoin, Bowdoin Alumni, and Husson University. The Beavers started the season with a bang, posting 23 top-10 performances in school history.

Men's Highlights

Seamus Reeve (Kittery, Maine) won the 60 meter dash, posting a time of 7.37 seconds. Connor McFarland (Damariscotta, Maine) finished in 3rd place with a time of 7.48 seconds while Raymond Brickle (Winterport, Maine) posted a time of 8.11 seconds to place 4th.

The Beavers had seven of the top-nine finishers in the 5,000 meter run. Justin Castaldo (Scarborough, Maine) placed 1st posting a time of 15:52.79. The time from Castaldo was the 2nd fastest 5k in program history. Jimmy Reel (16:01.36) came in 2nd place with Andrew LaFlamme (16:08.65) finishing behind him in 3rd. James Riley (16:24.72), Connor Freeman (16:27.54), and Luke Bliss (16:33.55) placed 5th through 7th. Ethan Linscott (Lakeville, Maine) placed 9th with a time of 17:08.87.

Nathan Trussell (Brewer, Maine) had a great race in the 60 meter hurdles, posting a time of 8.73 seconds to place 2nd overall, The time from Trussell set a school record and also qualified him for the New England Regional Championship.

The Beavers four-man team of Brickle, Brett O'Brien (Lynn, Mass.), Trussell, and Reeve finished the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 3:44.01 to place 1st overall and just .72 second ahead of the four-man team of Castaldo, McFarland, Thomas Gingras (Gardiner, Maine), and Linscott who placed 2nd.

O'Brien picked up a 2nd place finish in the high jump, clearing the 1.80 meter mark.

Charlie Thompson (Coventry, Vermont) recorded a program record in the pole vault, clearing the 3.10 meter mark on his final attempt.

Alixx Canwell (Chelsea, Maine) picked up where he left off after being named the North Atlantic Conference Field Athlete of the Year a season ago. Canwell recorded a pair of 1st place finishes in the shot put and the weighted throw. Canwell posted a distance of 13.57 meters in the shot put and a 15.60 meters in the weight throw. Canwell also was able to qualify for the New England Regional Championship in both events. 

Alex Crews (Winslow, Maine) and Alex Sheran (Nashua, N.H.) placed 4th and 5th respectively in the shot put. Crews posted a distance of 11.86 meters while Sheran finished with a distance of 11.24 meters.

Sheran added a 3rd place finish (11.57 meters) in the weight throw while Crews placed 7th (9.82 meters.

Women's Highlights

Cara Perry (Stoughton, Mass.) placed 3rd overall in the 60 meter dash with a time of 8.44 seconds. The time from Perry was the 2nd fastest 60 meter dash in program history. Kennedy Todd (Scarborough, Maine) placed just behind Perry in 4th with a time of 8.70 seconds. 

The Beavers had three place inside the top-eight of the 200 meter dash. Perry placed 5th with a time of 29.33 seconds. Erica Johnson (Nobleboro, Maine) placed 7th with a time of 29.44 seconds while Todd placed 8th with a time of 29.61 seconds.

Carrie Burr (Pittsfield, Maine) placed 1st in the 1,000 meter run posting a time of 3:28.35. The time from Burr was 3rd fastest 1,000 meter time in program history.

Joy Evans (Farmington, Maine), Anna MacDonald (Bangor, Maine), Eve Poteet (Fairhill, Maryland), and Abigail MacDonald (Bangor, Maine) placed 2nd through 5th in the 5,000 meter run. Evans finished with a time of 20:10.04, Anna MacDonald posted a time of 21:16.08, Poteet a 21:35.89, and Abigail MacDonald Finished with a 22:29.98 time. 

Johnson finished in 3rd place with a time of 10.36 seconds. 

Ilana Lybarger (Brussels, Belgium) and Emily Hargreaves (New Gloucester, Maine) had big day for the Beavers. Hargreaves placed 4th in the shot put posting a distance of 9.36 meters while Lybarger placed th overall with a throw of 9.20 meters. Lybarger broke the UMF program record in the weight throw with a distance of 12.38 meters to place 3rd. Hargreaves then broke Lybarger's record with a throw of 13.05 meters, placing 2nd overall. 

Kaitlyn Harmon-Bolding (Biddeford, Maine) placed 5th in the weight throw with a throw of 11.46 meters.

UP NEXT

The Beavers return to action next Saturday at the Elm City Challenge hosted by Colby College.