Issue date: 4/14/08 Section: Maine Sports

Media Credit: Andrew Loring Eva Bradford ran the 100-meter hurdles during Saturday's track meet at UNH.

Media Credit: Andrew Loring Matt Berube competed Pole Vault during Saturday's track meet at UNH.

The University of Maine track and field teams headed back to Durham for a rematch with their perennial rival, the University of New Hampshire, for the Wildcat Invitational II.

UMaine notched five individual wins and three relay wins, along with podium-worthy performances from several runners, jumpers and throwers.

First-year thrower Rebecca Even, primarily a hammer thrower, took the top spot in javelin, throwing 104-04.

"Yesterday was the perfect day for throwing. It was really warm and surprisingly the ground wasn't as wet as I was expecting it," Even said. "It was a good start, but I still have a lot to work on before the end of the season."

Dissatisfied with last weekend's 800-meter time in her head, second-year middle distance runner Vanessa Letourneau came back and shaved nearly five seconds off her time en route to victory in 2:15.78.

The dynamic combo of Vicki Tolton and Lindsay Burlock finished 1-2 in the 400-meter dash for the second week in a row. Tolton won in a record time of 56.17.

"Dave is a great coach, and I couldn't get anywhere without Lindsay," Tolton said. "I've never really had a training partner before, and I never noticed how much of a difference it makes."

Burlock finished just behind in 57.49 seconds.

The women's 4x400-meter relay team, after dropping a race to Holy Cross last week, rebounded with a stronger team performance at UNH - holding off the Wildcats with a combined effort of 4:01.36. The men's and women's 4x800-relay teams were victorious in times of 8:03.69 and 9:51.80, respectively.

On the men's side, second-year distance runner Miles Bartlett continued his dominance in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, cutting 25 seconds off his time from last week and earning a victory in 9:10.24. Bartlett said he is thinking about championships this year after coming in second at regionals last season, in just his third time competing in steeplechase.

"This year I came in with a little bit of a better understanding of the strategy and tactics of the race, and I've jumped right in where I left off after last year's outdoor New Englands," Bartlett said. "There are still a few kinks I need to work out by the time conferences come around, but I have plenty of time to correct them to be ready to make a run for the America East Championship."

Third-year hurdler Matt Holman finished first in the 400-meter hurdles in a time of 54.26.

"I wanted to be more aggressive this week, and it worked out well for me, but I definitely think I can do better," Holman said. "In this race there is always a way to get the time down more and improve."

Captain Donny Drake and third-year middle distance runner Dan Voner - both recovering from injury and illness - continued to put on stellar performances following their recoveries. In the 800-meter run, Drake finished second in 1:55.04, just a fraction ahead of Voner, who finished in 1:55.64.

Second-year sprinter Jenny Pierpont finished second in the 100-meter dash in a time of 13.18 seconds. Pierpont performed well in the absence of Allyson Howatt, who was competing, along with Skip Edwards, at the Tiger Invitational at LSU.

Howatt and Edwards each ran two events, putting on commendable performances, given the level of competition they faced. Howatt finished ninth in the 100-meter dash after a 12.22 second race and eleventh in her first 200-meter dash of the outdoor season in 24.81 seconds.

Edwards ran the 400-meter dash in 48.79 seconds, good for eleventh place, and finished the 200-meter dash in 22.46 seconds, garnering 15th among several highly ranked competitors.

The club track team Invictus was also a presence at the Wildcat Invite - sending five athletes to the meet. First-year thrower Matt Harmon continued to impress, coming in 12th place with a toss of 40-04, ahead of friendly rival Josh Mimmovich's 39-10, but behind UMaine's second-year thrower George Fraza, who threw 42-01.25 for 10th place.

UMaine's next meet is on April 19 at Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. It begins at 11 a.m.

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