College roundup: Area track athletes honored; Lewiston grad leads Maine Maritime to NCAA tourney

COLLEGE TRACK AND FIELD
NAC AWARDS: Oxford Hills graduate Nick Plamondon was named men’s Rookie of the Year by the North Atlantic Conference on Monday.

The freshman had three second-place finishes at the NAC championships, in the 100- and 200-meter dashes and the javelin. He also ran of leg for the Terrier’s second-place 4×100 relay and finished fourth in the long jump and eighth in the triple jump. Plamondon set new school records in the long jump (22 feet, 7.25 inches) and javelin (160-5).

UMaine-Farmington senior Alixx Cantwell, who attended Hall-Dale High School and played football for Winthrop/Monmouth/Hall-Dale, was chosen as the NAC men’s Field Athlete of the Year.

Cantwell set a new NAC Championships record while winning a conference title in the hammer throw with a distance of 53.47 meters, which ranks 48th this season in NCAA Division III. Cantwell also took third in the discus and in the shot put.

UMaine-Farmington’s Abby Minott was selected as the women’s Senior Scholar Athlete.

ANOTHER FOR BARNES: University of Southern Maine sophomore Zoe Barnes, a graduate of Gray-New Gloucester, was named Field Athlete of the Week by the Little East Conference on Monday after another record-setting performance.

Barnes surpassed her own school shot put record with a throw of 13.11 meters at the Division III New England Championships on Saturday, finishing second in the event. She also placed third in the discus, and currently ranks third in the nation in the discus with a season-best toss of 43.99 meters — which also is a USM record.

MEN’S LACROSSE
WILSON LEADS MARINERS: Lewiston High School graduate Jayden Wilson was named tournament MVP after leading Maine Maritime to its second straight NAC championship.

Wilson, a senior, scored four goals and assisted on two others as the Mariners rolled past SUNY Delhi 18-9 in Castine on Sunday.

In two tournament games — the other a 27-11 win over Husson on Friday — Wilson tallied 10 goals and three assists.

Maine Maritime next faces Emmanuel College (Massachusetts) in the NCAA Division III tournament on Wednesday at 4 p.m. at Ritchie Field in Castine. It is the first time Maine Maritime Academy has hosted an NCAA tournament game.