The University of Maine’s Justin Gagne was named the Most Outstanding Field Athlete on Sunday after winning two events during the America East Outdoor Track and Field Championships held at Albany, New York.
The senior from Biddeford took home individual honors in the discus and shot put and also finished seventh in the hammer throw to spearhead coach Mark Lech’s Black Bears to a third-place finish with 124 points.
The University at Albany claimed its 10th straight men’s team crown with 208 points and Maryland Baltimore County was second with 165.
UMaine also received individual championships from Kelton Cullenberg in the 5,000 meters and Wilson Adams in the hammer throw.
Gagne outdistanced the field in the discus with a throw of 171 feet, 4 inches, a full 14 feet better than the runner-up. In the shot put, his heave of 55-4¾ took top honors by almost a foot.
Cullenberg, a senior from Chesterville, successfully defended his title in the 5K run with a time of 14 minutes, 29.42 seconds. Adams, a junior from Barrington, Rhode Island, uncorked a throw of 191-9 to win the hammer.
Other UMaine athletes performed well at the meet. Nate Meade turned in a pair of runner-up efforts in the long jump and triple jump.
The senior from Waldoboro went 22-8 in the long jump and leapt 48-10¾ in the triple jump to score 16 points for the Black Bears.
Junior Jake Leithiser of Old Town was the runner-up in the 800 meters with a time of 1:51.42 and junior Alex Parenteau took second in the javelin (193-1), while junior Alex Moser of York Harbor placed third in the 1,500.
Senior Frank Del Duca of Bethel was fifth in the 100 meters and eighth in the 200, senior Ethan Moore took fourth in the hammer and fifth in the discus, and sophomore Joe Slattery of Old Orchard Beach was fifth in the decathlon.
In the women’s meet, also won by Albany, the UMaine women wound up eighth.
Sophomore Jaclyn Masters of Auburn was the runner-up with a pole vault best of 11-7¾, freshman Ashley Donohoe placed third in the discus (134-3) and sophomore Emily Boardman was third in the hammer (161-0).
Freshman Grace MacLean of Bangor made her outdoor championships debut by taking fourth in the heptathlon with 4,059 points. She was fourth in the long jump and the high jump.
Senior Ashten Hackett of Auburn wound up fifth in the 100-meter hurdles and senior Jess McCarthy was sixth in the heptathlon.
UM baseball chasing playoffs
The UMaine baseball team continues to search for more offensive production as it battles for a postseason berth.
The Black Bears dropped two of three weekend games at Stony Brook and scored only six runs in the series. Even so, they remain in the thick of the America East playoff chase.
UMaine (19-25, 6-9 AE) sits in fifth place heading into the final two weeks of the regular season. Only four teams advance to the America East Baseball Championship, a double-elimination tournament scheduled for May 22-24 at LeLacheur Park in Lowell, Massachusetts.
However, because third-place UMass Lowell is not eligible for postseason play because of its provision status as an NCAA Division I program, UMaine actually holds the No. 4 spot in terms of potential playoff qualification.
Intensifying the situation for the Black Bears is the fact they are playing host to each of the teams below them in the standings over the next two weekends.
Albany (9-29, 4-14 AE) will be at Mahaney Diamond in Orono on Saturday and Sunday, before UMaine closes out its regular season May 16-17 against Maryland Baltimore County (13-24, 6-12 AE).
Assuming all remaining league games are played, UMaine needs two wins in its last six contests to guarantee finishing ahead of the Great Danes, who finish up against Binghamton (19-21, 10-10 AE).
If the Bears go at least 3-3 down the stretch, UMBC would need to win five of six games the rest of the way to beat out UMaine. The Retrievers play Stony Brook this weekend.