LEWISTON, Maine -- The Bates College men's indoor track team, on the strength of All-New England performances from 12 different athletes, placed third with a score of 64 points at the New England Division III championships Feb. 21 at Bowdoin College in Brunswick.

Two Bobcats were crowned New England champions. Sophomore Kevin Stroman of New York, N.Y., won the triple jump with a leap of 47 feet, six inches. Stroman, who won the event by more than two feet, broke a school record held by John Douglas '60 that had stood since 1958. Stroman qualified for the NCAA Division III championships, which will be held March 13-14 at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass.

Bates' other New England champion was junior Peter Beeson of Novelty, Ohio, who won the pole vault by clearing 14 feet on his first attempt. Beeson will attempt to improve his performance at the Open New England championships at Boston University on Feb. 27.

Three other Bates athletes qualified for NCAA Championships at Brandeis. Bates will send multiple athletes in the 35-pound weight throw for the third consecutive year, as sophomore Lucas Adams of Nottingham, N.H., and junior Billy McEvila of Hartford, Conn., qualified automatically with throws of 57 7.75 and 55-9.25 respectively, placing them second and third. Sophomore Matt Twiest of Albuquerque, N.M., will make his second straight appearance at the NCAA's in the 1,500-meter run. Twiest placed second with a personal-best time of 3:56.80.

Also earning All-New England honors were sophomore Mike Danahy of South Windsor, Conn., who placed third in the 5000 (15:16.99). Senior Chris LeBlanc of Peace Dale, R.I., placed fourth in the pentathlon with a lifetime- best score of 3,063. First-year sprinter Erik Zwick of Virginia Beach, Va., who had set a school record in the 200-meter dash two weeks earlier, placed fourth at New Englands (23.34 seconds). Sophomore Jeff Snyder of Glastonbury, Conn., placed fifth in the high jump (6 feet). The 3,200-meter relay team of first-year runner Scott Balicki of Manchester, Conn., and sophomores John McGrath of Merrimack, N.H., Trevor Emory of Rosemont, Pa., and Twiest ran their fastest time of the year while placing third (8:05.26).

Bates' third-place finish matched its second best ever at the New England Division III championships, exceeded only by a second-place finish in 1983. The 64 points were the most any Bobcat team has scored.

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