WATERVILLE, Maine – The University of Maine at Farmington men's track and field team kicked off its 2025–26 season at the Elm City Classic, held Friday and Saturday at Colby College. The Beavers amassed 100 points en route to a third-place finish.
Colby topped the field with 155 points, narrowly edging Thomas College, which finished with 145.
Top Performances:
Individually, the Beavers were led by senior Nate Trussell (Berwick, Maine) and junior Alex Crews (Winslow, Maine). Trussell competed in both the 60 meters and the 60-meter hurdles, earning fourth- and second-place finishes, respectively. He posted a time of 7.35 seconds in the 60 meters and finished the hurdles in 8.48 seconds, totaling 12 individual points.
Crews delivered a strong performance in the throwing events, placing first in the shot put and third in the weight throw. In the shot put, all four of his attempts surpassed every other competitor's best mark, with his top throw landing at 13.85 meters. His best mark in the weight throw measured 11.38 meters. Crews finished with 15 individual points.
Reigning North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Outdoor Track & Field Rookie of the Year Owen Booker (Lisbon, Maine) competed in the heptathlon, which began Friday evening and concluded Saturday. Booker finished third overall with 3,891 points across the seven events. First-year Chase Nixon (Milton, Mass.) also competed in the heptathlon, placing sixth out of 14 competitors.
First-year Noel Matista (Danbury, Conn.) made an immediate impact in his collegiate debut, placing inside the top three in two events. Matista finished second in the weight throw with a mark of 12.44 meters and placed third in the shot put with an 11.00-meter effort.
First-year Logan Arzate (New Harbor, Maine) earned three top-seven finishes in his first collegiate meet. He placed fifth in the 200 meters, seventh in the 60-meter hurdles, and seventh in the long jump, contributing 10 points. Arzate ran 28.32 in the 200 meters, 11.52 in the hurdles, and recorded a long jump of 4.29 meters.
Fellow first-years Jake Lepper (Blue Hill, Maine) and Jordan Castonguay (Sabattus, Maine) finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 400 meters. Lepper clocked a 58.93 while Castonguay finished in 1:00.81.
In the 600 meters, first-year Lucas Witkowski (Cromwell, Conn.) and junior Ethan Linscott (Lakeville, Maine) each placed inside the top seven. Witkowski finished fifth with a time of 1:27.07, and Linscott placed seventh in 1:30.63.
The Beavers placed three runners in the top eight of the mile:
In the 3,000 meters, Andrew LaFlamme (Nashua, N.H.) finished fourth in 9:01.75, while James Riley (Shrewsbury, Mass.) took seventh in 9:28.64.
UMF's 4x400-meter relay team of Trussell, Lepper, Castonguay, and Lepper placed fourth overall in 4:03.79. The distance medley relay team composed of Linscott, Joseph Burgess (Gray, Maine), Bakke, and Gagnon placed second with a time of 11:46.28.
UP NEXT
The Beavers return to action next Saturday at the USM Alumni Open, hosted by the University of Southern Maine.
