Courtesy of Brian Beard

Last weekend, qualifying members of the track and field team competed at the New England DIII Championships in Boston, Mass. The team garnered 11 top-five titles and several athletes crushed personal records, school records and regional records. Out of the 42 teams represented from across New England, the women’s team finished in fourth and the men’s team in sixth.

After winning both Maine State Indoor Championship titles last month, the teams were excited to perform well again in Boston.

Sam Angevine ’24, who placed seventh in the 5000m, emphasized the competitive nature of the New England championships in particular.

“[New England] is a really competitive region, but part of the reason it’s so competitive is because Bowdoin is in the region,” Angevine said. “Scoring at this meet was a big personal goal of mine. So doing that was something I was really proud of and really happy to do and to contribute to the team score is always special.”

After coming off several injuries, Parker Beatty ’24 dominated in the 60m hurdles, finishing fifth and walking away with both a new personal and school record. Kane Demers ’26 won the long jump and finished fifth in the 200m. Brooks Peters ’24, Adam O’Connor ’26, Oliver Brandes ’27 and Adam Singer ’27 placed third in the 4x800m.

“Watching the 4×800 towards the end of the day was really great. They ran the 4×800 the fastest I’ve seen in a while,” Angevine said. “It was fun to watch a good friend of mine and training partner, [Peters], who ran the leadoff leg [because] he’s the only senior on the [relay] team and … watching him warm up with the underclass guys was pretty awesome.”

Kennedy Kirkland ’27 finished second in the 200m, earning a personal record and a qualifying time for Nationals. Earlier that day, Kirkland also finished in second place and set a personal record in the long jump.

“I’m just really proud of everybody, not just the people that were competing, but also the support that we got from teammates that weren’t competing,” Kirkland said.

Kianne Benjamin ’24 swept the 60m and 200m races and took second place in the 400m. She crushed her personal records in both races, took home a new school record in the 60m and beat the New England DIII Championship record in the 200m by nearly ten seconds.

“I was reminding [myself] to trust my own race. I chose my own strategy and I did and so we came around in the final shot and it was me all the way…. And when I crossed the line, I saw the time, and I was like ‘whoa, what hard work,’” Benjamin said.

The women’s team saw repeated success throughout the day. Lauren Traum ’25 finished third and set a new personal record in the 1000m, Emma Gibbens ’25 finished eighth in the shot put and both relay teams finished in the top 12. What stood out to Benjamin was not the many titles the team walked away with but its cohesion as a whole.

“[The team is] talented, dynamic, united by love for the sport and love for each other and competing,” Benjamin said.

Traum also commented on the team’s positive atmosphere.

“Teammates who rise to the occasion and compete, it’s a reflection of them. [But] it’s [also] a reflection of the training program, coaching … [and] of other teammates. Just pulling them up [and] motivating them,” Traum said.

The team’s spirits are high as the indoor season comes to a close and it transitions to Magee Samuelson Track for the outdoor season. Ahead of NCAA selections, the team will compete in the Open New England Championship and the Last Chance Qualifier hosted by Tufts University this weekend.