LEWISTON, Maine -- The Bates men's track and field team won their sixth straight outdoor state title in exciting fashion, taking first place out of nine schools at the 125th annual Maine State Collegiate Championship, held Friday and Saturday at Russell Street Track & Field. 

The Bobcats scored 145.5 points as a team, just sneaking past runner-up Colby (141.5), with the University of Southern Maine (125.5), and rival Bowdoin (103.5) rounding out the top four. Bates captured the Frank E. Lowe Trophy for the 20th time in their last 23 tries, continuing their dominance of the outdoor state meet that dates back more than two decades. Before 2002, the Bobcats had won only eight outdoor state titles. With a few exceptions, the Maine State Collegiate Championship has been held yearly since 1895. 

With the victory, the Bobcats complete a sweep of the state meets (cross country, indoor, and outdoor) for the second straight season and the fourth time in the past five years.

Meet Highlights

• The Bates 4x400 relay team of senior captain Reuven Frye (Montclair, N.J.), first-year Briggs Catino (Rye, N.H.), junior Ryan Harding (Wellesley, Mass.), and senior captain Evan Migdole (Westbrook, Conn.) won their race in 3:21.28, earning 10 points in the process. Colby's 4x400 relay team took third, picking up six points. The four-point differential in the penultimate event on Saturday proved to be the difference for the Bobcats.
• Junior Evan Berthiaume (East Greenwich, R.I.) won the 100-meter dash in 10.80 seconds.
• Junior Jack Crum (Bristol, Vt.) won the Chet Jenkins 1,500 meters in a personal-record time of 3:55.15. The Bobcats took five of the top eight spots in the event. Sophomore Max Hoffman (Wellesley, Mass.) was third in 4:00.05, sophomore JJ Rocha (Cumberland, R.I.) finished fifth in 4:02.67, and first-year Sam Cashman (Brunswick, Maine) won his section while placing sixth overall in a personal-record time of 4:05.69.
• First-year Colin Manning (Lake Oswego, Ore) won the 5,000 meters in 15:41.65.
• Sophomore Henry Hood (Hinsdale, N.H.) won the Frank Sabasteanski Hammer Throw with a personal-record heave of 166-4 (50.70m) and classmate Ryan Glaser (Rockport, Maine) was the runner-up with his throw of 156-3 (47.64m).
• Senior Aydan Gedeon-Hope (Norton, Mass.) placed third in the 200-meter dash with a personal-record time of 22.23 seconds, good for ninth on the Bates all-time performance list.
• Frye took fifth in the C. Ray Thompson 400 meters with a personal-record time of 51.22 seconds.
• Sophomore Andrew Batista (Roselle Park, N.J.) was seventh in the Peter Slovenski Pole Vault with a personal-record clearance of 13-7.25 (4.15m).
• Sophomore Nick Nicolazzo (Wellesley, Mass.) scored in three events for the Bobcats, placing fourth in the Walter Slovenski Long Jump at 21-8 (6.60m), fourth in the triple jump at 42-8.75 (13.02m), and eighth in the Jim Wescott High Jump at 5-9.75 (1.77m). 

The Bobcats are back in action next weekend at the NESCAC Championships, hosted this year by Williams College at the Weston Athletic Complex.