Like a sleek chopper hovering high above stormy seas, the U.S. Coast Guard's Track Team commanded Saturday's meet at Farley Field House, scoring 236 points to Bowdoin's 140, Colby's 78, and Middlebury's 46.
Despite the point differential, the race was extremely successful for the Bears, who earned their second consecutive top-two finish in as many weeks.
Brendan Egan '08 spearheaded the team's success with a phenomenal showing on Saturday. Lined up in a pool of Bowdoin and Coast Guard runners, Egan lead the Bears with an impressive third-place finish (52.18 seconds) in the 400-meter dash.
Egan only improved as the meet wore on, posting a stunning second-place finish in the 200-meter distance.
Finally, in the third leg of the 4x400-meter relay, the day's most exciting race, Egan took the baton from Eric Lee '08 and set off for two laps around his home track.
Unsatisfied with his team's third-place standing, Egan surprised his competition with a jolt of speed that propelled him into first place after the first lap.
Although he slightly lost this lead by the end of his second lap, Egan recorded the Bears' fastest split time of 50.7-seconds.
In the last lap, Lamont White '08 grappled for first place with the Coast Guard anchor. He was ultimately jostled wide on the final turns and came in second by only five meters.
Head Coach Peter Slovenski was especially with Egan's performance. "Brendan has a great work ethic and a lot of talent," he said. "He gave us a great lift with three outstanding races."
Bowdoin's weight throwing core proved that not all the glory is won on the track, as four Bears threw for personal bests on Saturday. Luke Fairbanks '09, James Bingham '10, Tony Thrower '09 and Ben Wharton '10 showcased the staunch determination that has characterized their season thus far, giving Bowdoin a crucial edge in the highly competitive meet.
"The throwers had a terrific day," Slovenski said. "They've been working hard and getting great results."
Runners will train for years and never win a race, but Thompson Ogilvie '10, after last week's dazzling second-place finish in the mile, accomplished the Herculean feat of winning both the mile and 1000-meter races.
"Taking both the mile and the 1,000 is one of the toughest double wins you can possibly do on the track, but Thompson has shown all season long how fierce of a competitor he is," Egan said.
Although the U.S. Coast Guard won the meet, the Bears' convincing point spread over Colby and Middlebury bodes well for the team's upcoming regional races.
Though for some it was the last meet of the season, many of Bowdoin's competitors will go on to the Division III New England Championships next weekend.
"We came in fifth in D-III New England's last year and we know it's going to take a lot of big performances all across the board to replicate that," Egan said. "But if anyone can do it," he continued, "it's this group of guys," he said.