Ever since his graduation from Jay High School, Justin Easter’s athletic seasons have ended in predictable fashion: with a berth in an NCAA championship competition.

Easter, a junior at Bates College in Lewiston, kept his cross country streak alive over the weekend when he finished third in the NCAA Division III New England qualifying meet at Westfield (Mass.) State College.

Easter’s time of 25 minutes, 6 seconds over the five-mile course earned him his third straight trip to the NCAA championships. He qualified as an individual last season and was a member of the Bates team that qualified in 1999.

In addition, Easter has qualified for the NCAA skiing championships twice and is a two-time All-American in outdoor track after finishing in the top six in the steeplechase at the NCAA Division III championships.

Easter has finished in the top five in five of six Bates cross country meets this season, finishing 24th overall in the open New England championships, in which Division I athletes also compete.

Easter will compete in the NCAA Division III cross country championships at Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill., on Saturday.

St. Pierre among USM captains

Senior guard Jason St. Pierre of Bangor has joined Geoff Grigsby of Bridgton as co-captains of the University of Southern Maine men’s basketball team.

“Jason and Geoff are a pair of highly competitive, seasoned veterans who will prove to be ideal captains for this year’s team,” USM coach Dan Costigan said.

St. Pierre is a three-year starter at USM and averaged a team-high 12.3 points per game for the 8-16 Huskies. He also finished fourth in the Little East in 3-point shooting percentage (.393).

St. Pierre was a NEWS All-Maine first-team selection in 1997 and a third-team pick after helping the Rams to a state title as a junior.

Bengal hosting tournament

The University of Maine-Fort Kent men’s and women’s basketball teams officially begin their home seasons this weekend with the annual Bengal Tip Off Classic.

The University of Maine-Machias, Atlantic Baptist of Moncton, New Brunswick, and Fisher College of Massachusetts will participate in the event, which will be held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

“This is the traditional start to the basketball season at UMFK,” men’s coach Derek Johnson said. “It provides us with the opportunity to kick off our season at home and to provide an exciting weekend of basketball action for the campus and community.”

Crockett among USM captains

Kara Crockett of Bangor will join Niki Dominiczak of Dixfield and Jaime Zahm of Montpelier, Vt., as captains of the University of Southern Maine women’s basketball team this season.

Crockett, a 6-foot-1 junior forward, emerged as one of the Little East’s premiere players as a sophomore, scoring 11.1 points per game and grabbing 6.6 rebounds a contest. In addition, she led the team in field goal percentage (.548) and blocked nine shots in a game on two occasions.

Crockett finished the season averaging 3.4 blocks per game, which ranked first in the league and sixth in the nation.

She was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Little East Conference tournament.

“[Kara] is a tremendous rebounder, runs the floor very well and was among the conference’s most dominant players by the end of the year,” USM coach Gary Fifield said.

Peavey to lead Wentworth squad

Senior guard Kyle Peavey of Palmyra has been named a tri-captain of the Wentworth Institute of Technology men’s basketball team.

Peavey joins the Leopards after playing one season at the University of Southern Maine and two years at Central Maine Technical College of Auburn.

Wentworth went 11-14 in 2000-2001.