Continuing their undefeated seasons, the men's and women's track teams took gold at the Maine State Indoor Championship at Bates last weekend.
The men's team was seeded second going into the competition against Bates, Colby, and University of Southern Maine, but were able to edge out Bates for the win by just six points.
The Bowdoin men finished with 201 points, Bates with 195, Colby in third with 85, and University of Southern Maine was last with 71.
"Just from the seeds, we were probably 15 to 20 point underdogs, but we knew that it was going to be close," said captain Matthew Hillard '12.
He said it was the depth of the men's team that propelled Bowdoin to victory.
"We were the only team to have people score in every event. That made the difference," he said.
Hillard, who placed first in both the 800-meter (1:56.45) and the 1-mile runs (4:17.12), was named Most Valuable Athlete of the meet.
"I definitely performed better than was expected," he said. "Personally, I'm in a good position—where I was last year at this point, but better than I've been all season thus far."
Hillard's success was accompanied by a slew of other individual victories for the Polar Bears. Coby Horowitz '14 took first in the 1000 meters (2:32.01) along with Samuel Seekins '14 in the 5000 meters (14:59.44.), while Chris Martin '12 won the triple jump (13.61 meters).
With another victory under its belt, the men's team hopes to put up a strong showing in the weeks to come as it enters the championship season.
"We're planning ahead for the New England D-III Championship right now," said Hillard. "Because we have high goals for placing as a team, we're preparing all the workouts from here on in for top performances at this meet."
The women also did not disappoint, capturing first place at Bates on Friday for the fourth year in a row. The Polar Bears scored 189 points to beat Bates (143 points), Southern Maine (121) and Colby (119).
Captain Elsa Millett '12 made history, becoming the first woman ever at the state meet to win two events in all of her four seasons at Bowdoin.
Millett was victorious in both the 200-meter (25.72) and the 400 meter dashes (57.69). No other runner has won either event at the state meet since Millett arrived at Bowdoin.
"I felt very relaxed and smooth running this weekend," she said. "Coach [Peter Slovenski] used the word 'serene' to describe my races. I think I really just fake it until I actually do get calm."
Millett hopes to qualify for nationals in the season's final weeks, and said she tries to take it one weekend at a time.
"I have had my best attitude towards competition this year," she said. "I would say it's been a steady progression. With experience, I know how the season pans out."
Millett's calm confidence seems to have carried over to the rest of the team. Last weekend, Olivia MacKenzie '13 won the 5000 meters (17:44.57), Hayleigh Kein '15 took the high jump (1.58 meters), Erin Silva '15 won the pole vault (3.49 meters), and Randi London '15 took first in the shot put (11.72 meters.) The women's 4x200 meter relay team also took gold with a time of 1:48.08.
"This is the strongest the team has ever felt to me, and I feel like we have a lot of coverage in all the event areas," said Millett. "I have high hopes for New England D-III's. It's a good time for some good competition."
Both teams will compete at Boston University's Valentine's Day Classic this weekend and will head to Smith College six days later for New England D-III Championship.