By Kalle Oakes,Staff Writer

Chris Gatchell hit the ground running in his first varsity men’s cross country season at Castleton State College in Vermont.

The Waterford native and graduate of Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School has claimed two major North Atlantic Conference awards in the opening two weeks of the trail season.

Gatchell is currently the NAC Rookie of the Week after he finishing 46th in a field of over 200 runners in the New York University Invitational at Van Cortlandt Park. He crossed the wire in 29 minutes, 40 seconds.

One week earlier, Gatchell was his league’s Runner of the Week after leading the pack at his home course in the Castleton State Invitational. Gatchell negotiated the eight-kilometer course in 28:44, which was 22 seconds ahead of the runner-up.

That followed a ninth-place run at the New England College Invitational in Henniker, N.H., on Sept. 3.

Locals land at Thomas

After years of competing against each other in memorable Mountain Valley Conference and Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference contests, six top field hockey players are giving Thomas College of Waterville a decidedly local flavor.

Junior fullback Kari Grant of Lewiston, sophomore midfielder Breanne Petrini of New Gloucester (originally Winthrop) and back Annette Fuller of Harrison (Oxford Hills) have started every game for the Terriers this season.

Joining them on the roster are sophomore defender Jana Fetterhoff of Jay, junior midfielder Kim Drosdik of Farmington (Mt. Blue) and freshman middie Mallory Thurston of Rumford (Mountain Valley).

Josh Samson, a junior halfback from Buckfield, is seeing time at Thomas with the men’s soccer team.

Last line of defense

Beth Melanson has adjusted nicely to her new surroundings as starting goaltender for the Wentworth Institute of Technology women’s soccer team.

Now a sophomore at the Boston school, Lewiston grad Melanson had four saves in the Leopards’ most recent victory, 3-2 over the University of New England.

She has started all six games with a 2.07 goals against average. One of Melanson’s three wins was a shutout, and she has logged 44 saves while turning away nearly 80 percent of the shots she’s faced.

Melanson went 2-1 with a 1.25 GAA in limited time as a freshman.

She shoots, she scores

Senior Devin Edwards (Oxford Hills) is one of nine different University of Southern Maine women’s soccer players to notch a goal already this season. Edwards reached the scoring column by giving the Huskies their first strike in a 4-1 victory Sunday over Rhode Island College.

Edwards has started six of USM’s seven games. The Huskies are 5-2.

Quick hits

Stephanie Jette of Lovell (Fryeburg Academy) ran a strong race in her first collegiate cross country start at USM. Jette finished 62nd out of 264 runners at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth Invitational. The USM women’s team ran eighth overall … The Bates men’s golf team captured the CBB Championship by 11 strokes over Bowdoin in that annually anticipated meet at Martindale Country Club. It was the Bobcats’ second CBB triumph in the last three seasons. Katherine O’Connor of Bates took the women’s overall championship.