Pursuing a Division II football career is a bold decision for any player from Maine. So is moving almost halfway across the country to take that shot.

It’s all working out for Ryan Laubauskas of Mexico.

Laubauskas, an all-state offensive lineman and part of two state championship teams at Mountain Valley High School, is starting at center in his sophomore season at Saint Joseph’s College of Rensselaer, Ind.

The 6-foot, 284-pound Laubauskas is part of a Pumas pass blocking unit that has paved the way to more than 250 yards per game through the air.

St. Joe’s has struggled a bit in the won-lost ledger this fall. The Pumas’ lone victory is a 35-27 verdict over Robert Morris (Ill.) 35-27 on Oct. 1.

FULL SAIL FOR BOURASSA

Bates College basked in rare regional attention this past week, vaulting to No. 9 in the New England Division III football rankings after back-to-back wins over Tufts and Williams.

Ever so quietly, another Maine program that has been a mainstay in that poll has reclaimed that customary spot.

Maine Maritime ranked seventh with a gaudy 4-1 record heading into this weekend, and local playmaker Nick Bourassa of Jay has his fingerprints and cleat marks all over those accomplishments.

Bourassa, a senior co-captain, leads the Mariners with 656 all-purpose yards.

His 340 rushing yards rank third in Maine Maritime’s high-powered attack. Bourassa is cashing in at a clip of 8.3 yards per carry.

Seven total touchdowns tie Bourassa for the team lead. Four catches for 89 yards rank him second among the run-oriented Mariners. He’s also the primary kick returner.

COWIN CRASHES CAGE

Imagine missing three games and still accounting for 44 percent of your team’s total offense.

That’s the kind of season T.J. Cowin of Newry (Telstar) is enjoying in her first year with the Saint Joseph’s College field hockey program.

Cowin, a sophomore transfer, has scored 12 goals in her first nine starts for the Monks. Nobody else on the squad has rattled the cage more than four times.

Five of the Monks’ eight game-winning goals have come off Cowin’s stick.

During a five-game winning streak, Cowin scored a hat trick against New England College, two goals apiece against Rivier and Thomas, and the only goal in a 1-0 shutout of the University of Maine at Farmington.

Cowin was named NAC player of the week for second time this season Oct. 4.

NOOR’S LONG RUN

The region’s college cross country accomplishments literally cross the country, in at least one case.

Mohamed Noor, who picked up the sport as a junior at Lewiston High School, is now a college senior and one of the top runners at Eastern New Mexico University.

Prior to that stop on his journey, Noor was a junior college All-American at Garden City Community College in Kansas.

In 2010, his first season at Eastern New Mexico, Noor was the first Greyhounds runner to earn all-region recognition in four years and only the second ever. He led the team in every meet and set the school 8-kilometer record.

Eastern New Mexico is ranked ninth nationally in NCAA Division II, and Noor‘s success has been significant. His best finish of the season so far was third in the New Mexico Highland University Jamboree.

Noor also performed admirably against the highest level of competition, finishing 83rd in the Cowboy Jamboree at Division I Oklahoma State.

Other local running news:

— Bates men’s country exploded from 22nd to ninth in the Division III national rankings after winning Hoffman Invitational at St. Lawrence University. Devin Dilts, a senior, finished fourth in a field of 265 runners. Tully Hannan and Mike Martin also turned in top-10 results.

— University of Southern Maine junior Dylan Lajoie of Lewiston (Poland Regional High School) finished 35th as the Huskies won the Pop Crowell Invitational at Gordon College in Wenham, Mass.

koakes@sunjournal.com

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