PRINCETON, N.J. — University of Maine senior and Oakland native Jesse Labreck had another strong day at the ECAC track and field championships Saturday, winning the heptathlon with a school-record score of 5,551.

The score qualified Labreck for the track and field national championships next month in Eugene, Ore.

“It doesn’t even feel real yet,” said Labreck, a Messalonskee High School graduate. “I just tried to stay calm and do my thing.”

Labreck needed to score more than 5,500 points to qualify for nationals, and she did that with strong performances in the long jump and 800-meter run Saturday.

She started the competition by winning the long jump with a leap of 19 feet, .75 inches. She then placed 14th in the javelin with a throw of 82-1.

Labreck closed out the heptathlon by winning the 800 with a time of 2 minutes 20.12 seconds.
“The long jump went all right,” Labreck said. “I hoped to go a little farther to take some some pressure off the last event.”

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Labreck said she needed to finish the 800 — thelast event of the heptathlon — in under 2:23 to qualify for nationals.

“I thought to myself, ‘OK, I can defintely do that,’ ” she said.

Labreck started fast in the heptathlon Friday, winning the 100 hurdles in a time of 13.67 seconds, which was just .22 shy of her school record of 13.45. She went on to win the high jump with a school-record jump of 5-11.50. She was sixth in the shot put with a throw of 35-9.5 feet and second in the 200 (25.15).

“I set myself up pretty well,” Labreck said. “It really helped calm my nerves for (Saturday). I was able to just stay strong and just focus on the second day.”

Also for Maine, Mt. Blue High School graduate Kelton Cullenberg finished sixth in the men’s 5,000 with a time of 14:37.61.

Open New England Championships: The 1,600-meter relay team of Emily Doyle, Frances Onyilagha, Emily Tolman and Brittney Bell set a Colby College women’s record for a third consecutive week with a time of 3:49.98 at the Open New England Women’s Track and Field Championships in Easton, Mass.

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The foursome finished fourth in the event.

Colby’s 3,200 relay team of Laura Duff, Ginny Keesler, Alanna McDonough and Morgan Lingar also broke a school record with a time of 9:20.43.

The Mules finished tied for 27th.

College women’s lacrosse

TCNJ 11, Colby 9: The Mules scored the final three goals of the game, but it wasn’t enough as The College of New Jersey held on for the NCAA Division III tournament victory in Hartford, Conn.

TCNJ, ranked No. 10 in the nation in Division III, led 5-2 late in the first half, but No. 7 Colby got within 5-4 at halftime on goals by Katie Griffin and Kate Pistel. With TCNJ leading 7-6 in the second half, the Lions struck for four straight goals, and led 11-6 with 14:46 left. Colby scored three goals in the game’s final 5:32 but could not complete the comeback.

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Colby had a 30-20 advantage in shots, but Lions goalkeeper Kelsey Zinck made 13 saves. Tess Petesch led Colby (13-5) with three goals, while Griffin and Pistel each had two. For TCNJ (15-4), Kendal Borup scored four goals and Jillian Nealon added three.

College softball

Springfield 2, Husson 1: Jenna Webb had three hits and scored the go-ahead run in the top of the sixth inning as fourth-seeded Springfield beat No. 7 Husson in an elimination game in the NCAA Division III tournament in Babson Park, Mass.

Springfield improved to 28-19, while Husson ends the season at 31-12-1.

Maranacook Community School graduate Heidi Shaw had two hits for Husson, while senior Aimee Mortensen had a double and scored a run.

High school track and field

Loucks Games: Waterville senior Bethanie Brown ran the fastest mile of her career, finishing in 4:51.54 seconds at the 46th annual Glenn D. Loucks Games at White Plains High School.

“I’m feeling pretty good where I am,” said Brown, who finished third in the event. I knew there would be a lot of fast people.”

The time is believed to be the fastest mile in Maine schoolgirl history.
Sabrina Southerland, of Benjamin Cardozo High School in New York, won the race in 4:47.23


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