Bates senior David Pless remained unbeaten against Division III competition this outdoor season at Saturday's 114th edition of the Maine State Men's Outdoor Track & Field Championships, leading the Bobcats to their fourth straight team title and their 11th in the past 12 years at the meet.
Pless (Atlanta, Ga.), the eight-time All-American and three-time NCAA champion, won the shot put (55-6.5), hammer throw (193-10) and discus throw (167-7) at the meet for the second straight year, capturing his second Tootel Award as the meet's most valuable field athlete. The runner-up in all three events was his sophomore teammate, Sean Enos (Lynnfield, Mass.).
Pless's marks in both the discus and hammer were season-bests for him. While he remains the top-ranked shot putter in Division III this season (based on his Bates-record toss of 60-2) moved up to 10th place in the national rankings on April 13 at MIT), he moved up to fifth in the country in the hammer and 10th in the discus.
Enos, rose to 19th in the country in the discus with his mark of 160-6, a season-best for him. Enos is also ranked 13th in the shot put from his mark of 53-0 at MIT.
Pless, Enos and the rest of the No. 15 nationally ranked Bobcats will look for their second New England Small College Athletic Conference team title in as many years this Saturday at Tufts.
