ORONO, Maine - The University of Maine at Farmington men's track and field team placed second overall at the 2026 North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Championship in heartbreaking fashion, finishing just one point behind first-place Thomas College.
In a back-and-forth battle, the Beavers headed into the final event needing to outscore the Terriers by 10 points to force a tie. The last event was the discus, where the Beavers secured nine points and came up just short in their quest to repeat as conference champions.
Top Beaver Performances;
The Beavers got an incredible performance from junior thrower Alex Crews, who finished with 28 individual points. Crews earned first place in both the hammer throw and the shot put before finishing second overall in the discus. In Friday's hammer throw, Crews dominated the field, reaching 44.85 meters with his winning attempt—nearly five meters farther than any other competitor. Crews continued his strong showing in the shot put, reaching 14.91 meters with his best throw to be crowned NAC champion. His 41.36-meter throw in the discus came up just 0.98 meters short of first place.
Junior Andrew LaFlamme (Nashua, N.H.) had a nearly flawless day on the track. LaFlamme earned the NAC championship title in the 5,000 meters while also posting second-place finishes in the 1,500 meters and the 3,000-meter steeplechase. He finished nearly 27 seconds ahead of the field in the 5,000 meters with a time of 15:50.91. In the 1,500 meters, he finished just 0.71 seconds shy of first place with a time of 4:05.66. He posted a time of 10:21.48 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in his runner-up effort.
Sophomore Owen Booker (Lisbon, Maine) had a busy meet, competing and scoring in six different events. Booker earned a second-place finish in the javelin, tied for second in the pole vault, placed third in the triple jump, fourth in the long jump, fifth in the 110-meter hurdles, and sixth in the high jump. Across the six events, Booker totaled 28 points for the Beavers. He reached 49.75 meters in the javelin, cleared 3.25 meters in the pole vault, posted a mark of 12.62 meters in the triple jump, 6.45 meters in the long jump, cleared 1.77 meters in the high jump, and finished in 17.45 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles.
Sophomore Logan Burns (Islesboro, Maine) delivered a standout day as well for Farmington, scoring in three individual events. Burns placed second overall in the long jump, third in the 100 meters, and fourth in the 200 meters. His best long jump measured 6.69 meters, while he posted times of 11.38 seconds in the 100 meters and 23.29 seconds in the 200 meters.
Junior Ethan Linscott was crowned the NAC champion in the 800 meters, earning the title with a time of 2:01.06. He also placed third overall in the 1,500 meters, finishing in 4:10.83. Across the two events, Linscott secured 16 points for the team.
Senior James Riley (Shrewsbury, Mass.) earned the top spot in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and added a sixth-place finish in the 5,000 meters. Riley paced the field in the steeplechase with a time of 10:19.79. In the 5,000 meters, he finished in 17:16.80.
First-year Lucas Witkowski (Cromwell, Conn.) scored 14 key points for the Beavers, placing second in the 400 meters and third in the 200 meters. Witkowski finished just 0.01 seconds shy of first place in the 400 meters with a time of 50.74 seconds. In the 200 meters, he posted a time of 23.26 seconds in his third-place effort.
First-year Noel Matista (Danbury, Conn.) scored in all three throwing events in which he competed. He earned second place in the hammer throw and fifth in both the discus and shot put. Matista's best hammer throw measured 40.18 meters, while he reached 10.66 meters in the shot put. His top discus mark was 34.79 meters.
First-year Hans Bakke (York, Maine) scored in all three individual events in which he competed. Bakke's best finish came in the 400-meter hurdles, where he placed third with a time of 1:01.74. He also finished fourth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 11:15.26 and added a sixth-place finish in the pole vault, clearing 2.65 meters on his second attempt.
Sophomore Alexander Gagnon (Goffstown, N.H.) placed fifth in both the 1,500 meters and the 5,000 meters. He finished the 1,500 meters in 4:19.14 to secure two points and posted a time of 17:19.14 in the 5,000 meters.
First-year Chase Nixon (Milton, Mass.) scored in a pair of events for Farmington, placing fifth in the 100 meters and third overall in the 110-meter hurdles. Nixon finished in 11.63 seconds in the 100 meters and 16.92 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles.
Samuel Perkins (Jay, Maine) and Jordan Castonguay (Sabattus, Maine) also scored points in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Perkins finished fifth in 11:15.95, while Castonguay placed sixth in 11:20.00.
Sophomore James Fenton (Portland, Maine) placed fifth overall in the hammer throw with a best mark of 36.09 meters.
Farmington took second place in both the 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relays. The 4x100-meter team of Nixon, Witkowski, Jake Lepper (Blue Hill, Maine), and Burns finished in 43.47 seconds. The 4x400-meter team of Burns, Bakke, Linscott, and Witkowski finished in 3:37.73.
