By Kalle Oakes,Staff Writer

It’s been an All-American week at Bates College.

The rewards from Bates’ record-setting women’s basketball season continue to roll in. D3hoops.com has named senior forward Olivia Zurek to its NCAA Division III All-America first team.

Zurek, who was New England Small College Athletic Conference Player of the Year, was the only New England player named among the nation’s top 20 players by the small-college basketball web site.

D3hoops.com also ranked Bates No. 1 in the nation for three straight weeks during February.

The Bobcats advanced to the third round of the NCAA tournament before losing to the University of Southern Maine in overtime on March 11.

A senior from Arlington, Mass., Zurek averaged 16.6 points and 9.9 rebounds per game.

She led the Bobcats in 16 different statistical categories.

Justine Pouravelis of Bowdoin and Ashley Marble of USM were two of D3hoops’ five honorable mention choices.

On the same weekend of the wild Bates-USM playoff game, women’s indoor track and field thrower Kelly Godsey earned the seventh and eighth All-America honors of her career.

Godsey, a junior from Parker, Colo., finished second with a personal-record distance in the 20-pound weight throw and took fourth in the shot put in the NCAA Division III championship meet at Illinois Wesleyan University.

The top eight finishers in each event are named All-Americans.

Not only was Godsey’s weight throw distance of 65 feet, 11 3/4 inches a personal best, it marked the third time during the event that she briefly held the NCAA meet record. Robyn Jarocki of Wisconsin-Oshkosh trumped the mark on each occasion and ultimately walked off with the title.

“I threw what I wanted to throw. I came in second, but I made Robyn work for it,” Godsey said. “She had to throw a personal best in order to beat me.”

Bates’ men weren’t outdone, producing six more indoor track All-Americans. They were Joel Anderson (5,000-meter run), Dustin Gauthier (35-pound weight throw) and the 4×400 relay team of Joe Northrup, Joel Colony, Sam Thomas and Mitch Krauss.

Super sophomore

One of Bates’ rivals produced a track All-American with local roots. Sophomore Sarah Crispin of Auburn was the lone individual competitor to earn that distinction for the Tufts University Jumbos this winter.

Crispin, who entered the NCAA 800-meter competition as the 12th seed, finished eighth with a time of 2:21.39. To qualify for the finals, Crispin ran almost six seconds faster (2:15.46) in a preliminary heat.

Burke begins in style

The University of Southern Maine men’s tennis team dropped its spring season-opener March 16 at Colby College, but local players enjoyed a splendid afternoon for the Huskies.

Freshman Mike Burke of Lewiston notched a victory in both singles and doubles. Burke, starting in the fourth singles slot, dispatched Tom Gildersleeve, 7-5, 5-7, 6-2.

On the doubles side, he hooked up with Jason Ouellette to edge Gildersleeve and Fraser Moncure, 8-6.

Chris Chaffee, a sophomore from Fryeburg, earned Southern Maine’s other point with a triumph over Dan Cherif.

Talkin’ baseball

Two Auburn natives have made their college debut as freshman outfielders for New England programs. Jay Verrill, who played for New Auburn Legion and split his prep career between Edward Little High School and Hotchkiss School in Connecticut, is a left-handed hitting outfielder for Babson College.

Closer to home, EL grad Colby Souders is the lone Maine player on the roster at Colby College.

Another freshman, Quinn McAllister of Bethel and Gould Academy, saw time at second base and helped Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute hammer out a 5-3 record during its annual spring swing in Florida.

More hoop honors

Two area Saint Joseph’s College women’s basketball players have been named to the NCAA Division III All-Independent Team.

Senior Margaret Blauvelt was selected to the first team and was a finalist for Player of the Year. Blauvelt, a Mt. Blue graduate and Dixfield resident, led St. Joe’s in scoring and rebounding. Val Dumais of Lewiston snagged second-team honors. Dumais moved into the starting lineup after taking two years away from basketball and led her team in both minutes played and 3-point field goal percentage.

Members of the the All-Independent squad are chosen from 17 NCAA schools across the country that aren’t affiliated with a conference.