May 10, 1996Release # S065
Contact: Adam Levin
Sports Information Director
Phone #: (207) 786-6411


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bates Football Announces 1996 Captains

LEWISTON, Maine -- Two Bates College juniors, linebacker Mike Holte of Marshfield, Mass., and defensive back Derek Werner of Bristol, Conn., have been named football co-captains for the 1996 season.

Holte, last year's most valuable player, has been the team leader in tackles for the last three seasons. He set school records in tackles his first two seasons, and led the team again last year despite missing the better part of two games due to injury. Holte is one of the team's top candidates for All-NESCAC honors in the upcoming season. "Mike has been the best defensive player at Bates for most of his career," said Bobcat head coach Rick Pardy. "His speed, athletic ability and agressiveness make him one of the best in the conference on the field, and his strength of character makes him a great leader for this team. It reflect a lot on Mike that he was elected by his teammates to this position."

Werner, like Holte, will be a three-year starter and four-year letterman in 1996. He is considered one of the strongest players, pound-for-pound, on the team. Despite weighing just 190 pounds, Werner bench-presses 390 pounds and squats 500. Last season, he tied for the team lead in passes broken up. "Derek has been a great leader in the off-season and is very deserving of this honor," said Pardy. "He is an excellent player who shows such a tremendous amount of emotion out on the field.

"What I really like about these two players is that they bring so much to the team not just on the field but in the classroom and as role models in the community as well," Pardy added.

Holte has interned this academic year in the Lewiston office of U.S. Sen. Bill Cohen, while Werner was one of 110 students nationwide accepted to a summer program immersed in studying political science sponsored by the Fund for American Studies at Georgetown University. Both student-athletes were part of the football team's volunteer mentor program at the Farwell Elementary School in Lewiston.

Holte is a 1993 graduate of Marshfield High School. He is the son of Kathleen Holte, 81 Nevada St., Marshfield, and John Holte, Boston.

Werner is a 1993 graduate of Bristol Central High school. He is the son of Michael and Sandra Werner, 326 Perkins St., Bristol.

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