Courtsey of Brian Beard

Thrower Mardy Novak ’27 had a busy weekend.

At the 2025 NESCAC Track and Field Championships this past weekend, Novak competed in the javelin, shot put, hammer and discus events. She left with personal records in the javelin and shot put, winning the javelin with a throw of 41.93 meters, over two meters better than the second-place finisher.

Novak is the first Bowdoin athlete to win in the discipline in 25 years. She also took second place in shot put—particularly impressive given that both the javelin and shot put events took place at 9 a.m.

Novak commented on the difficulty of overlapping event times.

“When that happens, you have to run back and forth between the two,” Novak said. “So I got to do two of my throws for javelin, and then I had to sprint over to the shot put. And I got really lucky that my first one ended up being a big PR for me, so I got a lot of adrenaline, and then I ran over to the shot put, and I also had a PR. It was very fun.”

Novak noted that her teammate, Ginger Arnold ’27, was also running between the events with her. She emphasized that team spirit was helpful in the competition.

“We have a really tight knit group of throwers,” Novak said. “We get dinner every night. I spend all my time with these people.”

According to Novak, the unity extends even beyond the throwers.

“I’ve gotten a lot closer with everyone on the team. It’s such a big team, but I really, genuinely know all 80 people,” Novak said. “It’s such a beautiful thing, and I wouldn’t have access to that if I wasn’t a part of this team. Even the coaches—everyone is such a wonderful support.”

Novak emphasized that the team spirit was cohesive throughout these NESCAC meets.

“For track in particular, it’s a very close group, especially throwers, because when you’re not throwing, you’re just standing around, hanging out,” Novak said. “So I’m close with a lot of the Bates [College] and Middlebury [College] throwers, and they’re wonderful. We cheer for each other, and we get to know each other’s best marks, so we get to be excited for each other when something good happens.”

Novak remains humble and focused on the team’s energy and enjoyment. But her hard work has paid off. She is currently ranked tenth in Division III for javelin, qualifying her for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Ohio from May 22 to 26.

“I had a PR two weekends ago, and it was like ‘Okay, you might possibly have the chance to qualify for nationals if you try really hard,’” Novak said. “But in the past month or so, I’ve thrown four or five meters further than I’ve ever thrown.”