LEWISTON – One hundred and ten long years has done little to diminish the fire burning in the eyes of every athlete and coach that walked through the field house doors Saturday night.

Countless previous regular season meetings did not remove the smell of anticipation in the air or the taste of possibility from the mouths of four hungry teams.

In 1895, the University of Maine, Bates, Bowdoin and Colby colleges got together to compete in the first men’s track and field State of Maine Championships. Those athletes marked the first pages of track and field history in a book that is still unfolding more than a century later.

Fast forward to Bates campus, winter of 1969. The Clifton Daggett Gray Athletic Building is abuzz with the unmistakable echo of clapping and cheers. Scoring just 40 points, the Bobcats had captured the first indoor State of Maine Championship.

“I was a sixth grade student at Pettingill School when I watched the first indoor state meet. It was an exciting meet contested in the old Bates cage,” said Bowdoin coach Peter Slovenski. “It came down to the last event, and Bates pulled out a narrow upset victory. The banked curves in the old Bates cage were difficult to run, and the Bates runners used their familiarity with the curves to their advantage. A large Bates crowd in the balcony helped create the atmosphere for the upset.”

Thirty-five years, eight titles, and a new home facility later, Bates did it again – and they did it big.

“We left no doubt on that,” said Bates coach Al Fereshetian after Bates captured their ninth state championship Saturday with a resounding 54 point triumph, the second largest margin of victory in history.

Bates regained the coveted trophy for the first time since 1999 and the ninth time in history. Bowdoin has won the meet seven times, including the last four, and six of the eight most recent contests.

“This is the truest team championship all year,” said Fereshetian. “We see these opponents at least four times during the season, but nothing matter until this meet. This is our CBB all right here all in one night.”

The Bobcats scored 214 points. Bowdoin was a distant second with 160, followed by USM (87) and Colby (51).

With five individual champions and one winning relay apiece, the battle to the state title between Bates and Bowdoin came down to heart and guts.

Bates clawed past Bowdoin for 16 second- and third-place finishes, while the Polar Bears only picked up six.

“The Bates sprinters and throwers really gave inspired performances,” said Slovenski. “We came into the field house and did our best to get the momentum for Bowdoin. But, in every event Bates athletes rose up and outperformed other teams tonight.”

The Bobcats ran away with 70 points in the sprints (55-meter hurdles, 55-meter dash, 200-meter, 400-meter), behind three state champion performances.

Adam Macbeth began the night with a 7.97 second victory in the hurdles, becoming the third Bates athlete in the last five years to win the event. Joel Colony continued the onslaught with a win in the 55 dash. His 6.60 effort was a personal best.

Rookie Matt Capone completed the trio of champions with a gutsy unexpected victory in the 200. His 22.95 effort knocked four-tenths of a second off his previous best, and propelled him to the record books for the second fastest time in Bates history.

“We had three guys break into the top-10 all-time performance lists in the 55 and the 200,” said Bates assistant coach Hob Brooks. “The sprinters were simply amazing tonight.”

No athlete epitomized this team mentality more clearly than Bates’ Joe Northrup, who scored in all five events he competed in. The outdoor All-American decathlete picked up a second in the 55 (6.62), third in the hurdles (8.2) and triple jump (41-2), fourth in the pole vault (14-0) and fifth in the long jump (20-).

Although Bowdoin and Colby churned out wins in the 600, 800 and 1,000, it was not enough to stop Bates.

The middle-distance runners came through with a vengeance, stealing points from under the Polar Bears in the 600 when rookie Sam Thomas pushed past Bowdoin during the final turn to a 1:26.97 second-place finish. Pat Wales-Dinan had the strongest performance of his career, with his blazing second-place 1:59.24 personal best and D3 qualifying time in the 800.

Bowdoin’s Andrew Combs came back to win his second event in the 1,000. Combs, who was honored with the Jim Westcott Most Valuable Track Athlete award, earned the one-mile title earlier. Bates pushed Combs the entire race and the effort paid off at the finish line, where Bates runners went 2-3-5-6 for 17 points.

The only new meet record was set by Wil Snyder of USM, who won the pole vault, clearing 15-8. Snyder’s mark is the first to break the elusive 15-foot barrier since Tim Leadbetter set the record at 15-7 in 1976.

Bates finished the last event of the night the very same way they started – with a state champion. Defending titlist Dustin Gauthier picked up his second victory of the night with a 50- toss in the shot put. Earlier the All-American threw 54-10 to lead Bates to five of the top six places in the 35-pound weight throw.

After Saturday night’s momentous indoor track and field win, Bates maintains sole possession of all three state championship trophies. For now they are enjoying the title, but they have their eyes set on the outdoor season and the chance to clinch the elusive triple-crown.

As coach Fereshetian pronounced to a tired yet elated group of Bates men after the awards ceremony, “Without hesitation, one of the most impressive meets in Bates history,”

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