LEWISTON — Call David Pless one of the best throwers in a ridiculously rich Bates College track and field history.

Call him double trouble at this weekend’s NCAA Division III indoor championships in Grinnell, Iowa, if you like.

Just don’t call him the defending champion, because according to Pless there is no such animal.

“I still feel the same anxiety and nervousness as I did going into the championships last year,” Pless said. “I don’t look at it as a defense. There are a lot of kids out there performing at the level that I’ve been performing. There’s not a favorite in this event ever. There’s just an opportunity to excel. ”

Pless, a junior from Atlanta, is the, ahem, reigning gold medalist in shot put at indoor nationals.

He is less interested in discussing that past distinction, however, than his present status as a top-six seed in both the shot put and 35-pound weight throw. Or the future possibility of wearing dual All-American laurels when the weekend is over.

Weight throw is scheduled for today, followed by shot put Saturday.

“The only similarity is that they’re thrown out of the same circle,” Pless said. “There’s not much of a correlation between someone’s ability in the shot put and someone’s ability in the weight throw. I’m very fortunate to excel in both of those and have the ability to do so.”

Bates’ sixth national indoor champion, Pless has padded his personal and school records in shot put at almost every meet this winter.

His triumphs anchored the Bobcats’ first-ever New England Division III team championship Feb. 18, an accomplishment piggybacked two weeks later by the ECAC title.

“It’s nice going into any big meet knowing you’re starting with 18 to 20 points right off the bat with David. Usually in a big meet 50, 60, 70 points does something,” Bates coach Al Fereshetian said. “He will be equally competitive in both events, so it’s going to be exciting.”

Pless enters the circle ranked fourth in shot put and sixth in weight throw, although he uses his sophomore season to demonstrate that past results are never a reliable barometer of future success.

He was seeded sixth prior to his 2011 indoor title. That momentum carried into the spring season and put Pless on top of the list headed into outdoor nationals, where he settled for eighth.

“The attitude I carried through (this year) was I won indoors and what could I have sacrificed in going in again?” Pless said. “Once you win, there’s a sense of what’s more to accomplish, and really it should not be viewed as that.”

Evolving into a contender in both events has required divided loyalties and a dual purpose.

To win both, Pless must find a way to compartmentalize. His strategy is to focus fully on the weight throw today, waiting until the first event is over before strategizing the shot put.

“This year has definitely been a division of attention on both equally. The mental component is a big portion of that. I spend the same amount of time on weight I do on the shot put,” Pless said. “It’s been taxing. At this level when I know I have the ability to do things this well, it’s a source of pride for me to put it out there in both events.”

Pless was one of three Bates All-Americans in 2011 and the youngest star on what was one of the Bobcats’ deepest throwing delegations ever.

Losing Ethan Waldman and Chris Murtagh to graduation was a major adjustment for Pless.

“Chris set the Bates hammer record. Ethan had the shot put record (before Pless). We were all top five in discus,” Pless said. “To lose that last year was problematic from a personal standpoint, not only because they were my best friends but also from the standpoint of the throws.”

Now an elder statesman, Pless has poured himself into the next wave of Bobcats. He is a mentor to Sean Enos, who has enjoyed one of the most prolific freshman seasons in Bates throwing history.

Don’t underestimate his impact on the rest of the team, either.

“He’s a phenomenal leader and he is the leader of the team. I have five captains. I could very easily have one because David is a captain of the entire team,” Fereshetian said. “He is invested in every person on this team, and knows what they’re trying to do, what their goals are. When he’s not out there competing he’s yelling and supporting a 5K guy as much as he is another thrower.”

Pless also is one of the final ties to Joe Woodhead, the legendary Bates’ throwing coach who died unexpectedly in October 2010.

Just as the competitive torch has been passed to Pless, the task of overseeing the field events passed seamlessly to Fereshetian.

“We’ve been talking about being national champ and that it’s not a big thing because that was last year,” Fereshetian said. “Try to be really present in the moment and be able to recognize what’s around you and respond to those circumstances. That’s what he’s going to do this weekend.”

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