McNeil, Gauthier headed to nationals for Bates men
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Rich McNeil ’10 |
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Noah Gauthier ’08 |
LEWISTON, Maine — Bates first-year Rich McNeil made the field for this week’s NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the discus throw, as the field was announced today, joining junior Noah Gauthier in representing Bates at nationals.
McNeil (Lawrence, Mass.), the NESCAC Rookie of the Year, had qualified provisionally for NCAAs with his April 14 performance at MIT, where his throw of 158 feet and 9 inches placed him at No. 3 on Bates’ all-time performance list.
Gauthier (Amherst, N.H.) had met the automatic qualifying standard to compete at nationals in the hammer throw, with a 190-foot heave at New England Division III Championships on May 4. Gauthier went on to beat that the following weekend at the all-division Open New Englands at Dartmouth with a personal-record and first-place hammer throw of 192-01, putting him at No. 3 on Bates’ all-time performance list.
The NCAA championship meet begins Thursday at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. McNeil will compete on Thursday and Gauthier will go on Friday.