Bates College

Bates senior Elizabeth "Bud" Arens led the Bates women's track and field team to a strong second-place showing among six teams on Friday night at the State of Maine Women's Championships, held at Bowdoin.

The Bobcats won four events at the meet, with Arens (Weymouth, Mass.) responsible for half of them. She claimed first place in both the 800 meters and the mile for 20 of Bates’ points. The savvy veteran and one-time All-American won with her smarts as well as her legs in both races. Arens finished the 800 in 2:19.12, 3.16 seconds ahead of runner-up Laura Duff of Colby. Arens outkicked Bowdoin’s Gina Stalica in the mile, finishing in 5:07.05, 1.76 ahead of Stalica.

In their second straight second-place showing at the meet, the Bobcats pulled closer to front-runner Bowdoin (203.6 to 185.6) than they finished last year (2012 margin: 189-143) while holding off Colby by 1.80 points for second place among six teams.

Arens and the Bobcats compete at the Tufts Cupid Challenge this Saturday, Feb. 9.