Colby’s London breaks 1,500 mark

Ian London of Colby College in Waterville has qualified for the NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships by breaking the school record in the 1,500 meters.

London, a senior from Topsham, finished second overall in Saturday’s New England Open Championships. Competing against runners in Divisions I, II and III, he ran the race in 3 minutes, 49.27 seconds, erasing the Colby record of 3:50.91 set in 1981 by Kelly Dodge.

London, who finished behind Jeremy Zagorski of Boston College (3:47.59), also bettered his previous personal best by more than five seconds.

London, who ranks third nationally in Division III, will compete May 24 in the 1,500 trials in the NCAA meet at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

William Smith honors Saucier

Liz Saucier was honored by the William Smith College athletic department during its recent athletics awards banquet.

The senior from Old Town received the Marion Harrison Greene ’20 Award, which is presented to an outstanding senior athlete.

Saucier scored eight goals and registered a team-high 17 assists for a career-best 33 points last season, helping lead the Herons to an 18-4 record. She finished her career at William Smith with 21 goals, including five game-winners, and 29 assists.

Bowdoin coaching legend dies

Sally LaPointe, the first women’s coach in the Bowdoin College athletic department, died recently at age 73.

LaPointe, who last year was inducted into the Bowdoin College Athletic Hall of Honor, supervised the entire Polar Bears women’s athletic program upon her arrival in 1972. She coached Bowdoin field hockey for 20 years, leading her teams to 131 victories and two state championships.

In 1974, LaPointe founded the women’s lacrosse program and coached it for 19 seasons, accumulating 103 wins. She also led the women’s basketball team during its first season of play and was the longtime women’s squash coach.

“Sally was a remarkable pioneer at Bowdoin,” school president Barry Mills said in a news release. “All four of the programs that she helped establish have developed into nationally recognized programs.”