UMaine men win NAC title> Oliver, McCormick set league records

DEDHAM, Mass. – Andrew Oliver of the University of Maine established a league record in the javelin toss here Saturday, then the Black Bears took advantage of a disqualification in the final event while winning the North Atlantic Conference men’s outdoor track and field championship.

Maine won the school’s first NAC title, scoring 114 points to edge out New Hampshire, which tallied 112 points in the tightly contested meet. The Bears wound up third last year.

Delaware would likely have earned the title, but settled for third place with 108 points after its 4×400 relay squad was disqualified in the last event of the day.

Host Northeastern finished fourth with 107.

“(The disqualification) helped, but if it happened in the early part of the meet no one would have noticed,” said Ballinger, who explained that a Delaware relay runner interfered with a Vermont runner, disqualifing the Delaware team.

The Maine women wound up sixth in the team competition, but junior Patty McCormick set a NAC record in the 5,000 meters with a time of 17 minutes, 21.70 seconds.

Northeastern won the women’s crown with 206 points, with Boston University taking second with 116 and Vermont third with 110. Maine had 35 points.

Oliver’s throw of 210 feet, 11 inches, which was also a school record, was followed up by a second-place effort of 185-8 by Patrick Jude. Maine also claimed the top two spots in the 1,500 meters, where Dereck Treadwell and Sean Tynan finished first and second, respectively.

Treadwell was clocked in 3:53.95 seconds, while Tyan was timed in 3:54.03

“It was a really close meet,” Ballinger said. “Finishing one-two in the javelin and the 1,500 really did it for us.”