Bates wins seventh straight Maine State Men's Outdoor Championship

Bates sophomore Adedire Fakorede won the Tootel Award as most outstandiing field performer as Bates won its seventh consecutive Maine State Men's Outdoor Championships on April 23, 2016 at Colby. (Al Fereshetian)

WATERVILLE, Maine -- The oldest collegiate track and field meet in the United States went Bates College's way for the seventh straight year, as the Bobcats scored 222 points to Bowdoin's 200 to win the Maine State Men's Outdoor Championships at Colby.

The Bobcats have now won the 117-year-old meet in 14 of the past 15 years. Southern Maine placed a distant third with 97 points, followed by Colby (77), UMaine-Farmington (13) and Husson (5).

Sophomore Adedire Fakorede (Newark, N.J.) won the Frederick Tootel Award as the meet's
outstanding field performer, placing first in both the hammer throw and discus throw and finishing second in the shot put, with career-best marks in the hammer and shot. Senior teammate Nick Margitza (Waterville, Maine) also placed among the top two in all three events. Combined, the All-America duo scored 54 of Bates' points.

Fakorede won the hammer at 182-6, over five feet beyond his previous best mark of 177-3. His winning mark in the discus was 157-1 and his second-place shot put mark was 47-3, over six inches past his previous best.

Margitza nearly matched Fakorede in the hammer, posting a career-best 181-8, over 21 feet beyond third-place John Pietro of Bowdoin. Margitza won the shot put at 51-1.75 and placed second in the discus at 141-8.
Other top-four event performances by the Bobcats included:

• Senior Allen Sumrall (Albuquerque, N.M.) won the 5,000 meters in 14:56.05, with junior Michael Horowicz (Montclair, N.J.) taking second (15:12.87).
• First-year Tyler Harrington (Haverhill, Mass.) won the javelin throw at 191-8, moving from sixth to fifth place on Bates' all-time performance list.
• Sophomore Ben Tonelli (Seattle, Wash.) won the 3,000-meter steeplechase in a career-best 9:34.84, taking over 10th place on Bates' all-time performance list in the event. Junior Evan Ferguson-Hull (West Hartford, Conn.) placed second in 9:42.88.
• Senior Jack Aherne (Bronxville, N.Y.) placed second in the 400 hurdles with a career-best time of 56.84 seconds, moving into eighth place on Bates' all-time performance list.
• Junior Colin Kraft (Northborough, Mass.) placed second in both the 100-meter dash (11.07) and the 200 meters (22.41).
• Junior Joe Doyle (Glastonbury, Conn.) placed second in the 10,000-meter run in 32:34.72, with sophomore Matt Morris (Bethesda, Md.) third in 33:08.93.
• Sophomore Garrett Anderson (Raleigh, N.C.) placed second in the pole vault with a season-best mark of 14-1.25, while first-year Edward James (Scarborough, Maine) placed fourth (12-7.5).
• Senior Gregg Heller (Walla Walla, Wash.) placed second in the 1,500 meters at 4:04.61, with sophomore Jack Kiely (Severna Park, Md.) fourth in 4:09.58.
• Junior Patrick Griffin (Harvard, Mass.) placed second in the 400-meter dash (50.57).
• Junior captain Jeffrey Jones (College Station, Ga.) placed third in the triple jump at 46-1.5, his career-best mark not aided by wind.
• First-year Ryan Corley (Oakland, Calif.) tied for third in the 200 meters (22.82).
• Junior Blake Downey (Eliot, Maine) placed fourth in the high jump (5-10) and fifth in the javelin throw (153-2).
• Sophomore Kawai Marin (Reading, Mass.) placed fourth in the 110 hurdles in 15.64 seconds.
• Sophomore Rob Flynn (Bedford, N.H.) placed fourth in the 800 meters (1:57.02).

Bates will compete at the NESCAC Championships next Saturday, beginning at 9am at Amherst College. The Bobcats placed third at the meet a year ago.

Recap courtesy of Bates College