UMaine women place third at New Englands

DEDHAM, Mass. – The University of Maine men’s and women’s track teams competed on Friday and Saturday at the New England Outdoor Championships held at Northeastern University’s Solomon Track. The Black Bear women, the 2003 champions, finished in third place with 65 points, while the men finished 22nd with 11.5 points.

In the first day of competition, Stephanie McCusker won the long jump with a distance of 18-foot-1. Shira Panelli finished sixth in the pole vault with a height of 11-5.75, setting a school record. In the shot put, Katie Page finished third with a throw of 45-1.75. Amelia Williams finished eighth in the javelin with a distance of 121-9. For the men, Jesse Ludwig finished seventh in the long jump with a distance of 22-1.50.

On Saturday, the women’s team continued to have a strong showing. Kathryn Souviney won the heptathlon with 4,638 points, which broke the school record of 4,633 points set in 1991 by Carol Beale. Freshman Hana Pelletier finished second in the 800-meter with a time of 2:09.91, the second-best time in school history. Heather Jovanelli took eighth in the 1,500 in 4:39.29. Claire Poliquin cleared 5-5.75 in the high jump for second place. Katie Page added a second in the discus with a throw of 142-4. For the men, Nate Holmes finished seventh in the 100 in 11.14. Holmes also finished fourth in the 110 hurdles in 14.60, which broke his school record set last season. Kyle Irvine finished sixth in the pole vault, clearing 15-0.