Bates senior David Pless continues to rewrite track and field record books around New England -- team, meet and facility records are falling wherever the six-time All-American competes.
Four marks were rewritten in a matter of hours last weekend, as the Bates men's track and field team hosted the New England Division III Men's Indoor Championships, a meet that has been held every year since 1980.
In the weight throw, Pless (Atlanta, Ga.) passed the former meet record of 63-7.5, set by Chinedum Umachi of MIT in 2012, while also surpassing Bates’ team and facility records, both of which were represented by former Bobcat Lucas Adams’ 64-2 effort from 2000.
Pless then claimed his third straight New England indoor title in the shot put and set another meet record in the process, topping out at 59-5.5, a whopping 17.5 inches beyond the former mark of 57-10 set by MIT’s Uzoma Orji in 2006.
Pless's performance helped the Bobcats place second among 22 scoring teams at the meet. His weight throw vaulted him into third place on the nationwide Division III performance list, and he remains ranked second in the country in the shot put, based on his Bates-record 61-0.25 mark at the BU Terrier Classic on Jan. 25.
It was the second consecutive venerable indoor track meet whose record books were rewritten by Pless. At the 45th Maine Men's Indoor Championships on Feb. 2 at the University of Southern Maine, Pless’s winning weight throw of 62 feet and 1 1/4 inches sailed 18 inches beyond the former meet mark set by his friend and former teammate Chris Murtagh ’11 in 2011. Pless also broke his own shot put meet record, a mark he set last year, going 58-10.25.
Pless and teammates compete this weekend at Open New Englands, hosted by Boston University.
