CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Seniors John Mieszczanski and John Everett won the 3,000 meters and the weight throw respectively in the first meet of the year for the Bates men's track and field team.

The Bobcats recorded 57 points as a team, finishing in second place behind host MIT but ahead of the University of Southern Maine.

Mieszczanski (Chelmsford, Mass.) ran the 3,000 meters for the first time in his collegiate career and placed first out of 12 runners with a time of 8:44.19. Teammate junior Ryan Smith (Westport, Conn.) ran a career-best time of 8:55.39 to finish second in the race.

Everett (Winchester, Mass.) recorded a personal record distance of 52' 4.75" in the weight throw on his third attempt of the meet. It was enough to earn him first place out of eight competitors. Junior Liam Byrne (Ridgefield, Conn.) placed third in the event with a personal record heave of 52' 2". Byrne also set a new P.R. in the shot put at 46' 11.5", good for fourth out of 12 competitors and second on the Bobcats. Sophomore Jacob Goff (Scarborough, Maine) finished in third place in the shot put in his first indoor meet of his collegiate career, just ahead of Byrne, with a top throw of 47' 2.5".

Junior Colby Stakun-Pickering (Wellesley, Mass.) moved into fourth place on Bates' all-time performance list in the 60 yard dash, finishing runner-up in the event with a time of 7.15 seconds. Junior Derek Shen (Bellevue, Wash.) took third in 7.19, good for fifth on Bates' all-time performance list. First-year Truman Williams (Montclair, N.J.) took fourth place in the event in 7.28 seconds, which puts him 10th on the all-time list at Bates. He scored in the 400 meters as well, finishing third in 51.93 seconds.

The Bobcats host the Bates Invitational this Friday and Saturday at Merrill Gymnasium. Friday is the multi events starting at 4pm while Saturday will be the bulk of the meet, starting at 11am. Fans can watch the Bates Invitational on the Northeast Sports Network.