BRUNSWICK, Maine - Three University of Maine at Farmington men's track and field athletes qualified for the New England Championships with standout performances on Saturday at the Lynn Ruddy Invitational, hosted by Bowdoin College. Two athletes provisionally qualified, while one automatically qualified.
Top Beaver Performances
Junior thrower Alex Crews (Winslow, Maine) was the lone Beaver to automatically qualify for the New England Championships, doing so in the shot put. Crews won the event and set a new Farmington program record with a massive 14.30-meter throw on his final attempt in the finals. His best throw was 0.73 meters farther than any other competitor. Crews continued his strong day with an 11.93-meter throw in the weight throw, placing seventh in the event.
First-year Chase Nixon (Milton, Mass.) and sophomore Logan Burns (Islesboro, Maine) were the two athletes who provisionally qualified for the New England Championships. Nixon did so in the 60-meter hurdles, while Burns qualified in the long jump. Nixon posted a time of 8.92 seconds and placed second out of three competitors. In the long jump, Burns tied for fourth overall in the loaded 16-athlete field. His furthest and qualifying jump measured 6.39 meters. Burns tied with teammate and fellow sophomore Owen Booker (Lisbon, Maine), who also reached 6.39 meters on his best attempt.
Nixon also competed in the 200 meters and the high jump. He placed eighth overall in the 200 meters with a time of 23.96 seconds. He cleared the 1.67-meter bar in the high jump en route to a third-place finish. Burns finished just one spot behind Nixon in the 200 meters, placing ninth in 24.11 seconds.
Lucas Witkowski (Cromwell, Conn.) also competed in the 200 meters, finishing less than a tenth of a second ahead of Nixon. He placed seventh overall in 23.87 seconds. Witkowski also posted a time of 1:26.08 in the 600 meters, placing first overall in the event.
First-year Hans Bakke (York, Maine) earned a fifth-place finish in the 800 meters after completing the race in 2:09.83.
In the mile, the Beavers were led by junior Andrew LaFlamme (Nashua, N.H.), who posted a time of 4:31.80 and placed third overall. Bakke, junior Joe Burgess (Gray, Maine), and first-year Jordan Castonguay (Sabattus, Maine) also competed in the event, placing 11th, 14th, and 15th, respectively.
Farmington had three runners place inside the top eight in the 3,000 meters. Senior James Riley (Shrewsbury, Mass.) led the way in fourth place (9:22.24). Sophomore Alexander Gagnon (Goffstown, N.H.) followed in fifth (9:24.82), and sophomore Samuel Perkins (Jay, Maine) finished seventh (9:34.88).
First-year Noel Matista (Danbury, Conn.) added a ninth-place finish in the weight throw, reaching 10.58 meters on his best attempt.
UP NEXT
The Beavers will return to action next Friday at the Mule Tune-Up, hosted by Colby College.
