River Plouffe Vogel, Sports Editor
USM’s own BL Elfring inducted into the CoSIDA Hall of Fame
USM has always had a strong tradition of athletics. However, for all of the achievements made on the field by athletes across all 22 of USM’s sport programs, it takes the work of an entire athletic department to make that success happen. B.L. Elfring is one of the unsung heroes behind the scenes, supporting all of USM’s athletes for decades. As the Sports Information Director Elfring is the connection between the athletic department and the media. For years his work has shed light on our student athletes, the programs themselves and the people that work so hard to make it happen. He also leads the mandatory NCAA regulation meetings for athletes and has done so for years now. Elfring is easily one of the most recognizable faces amongst everyone involved in USM athletes. Elfring joined the Huskies in 1995, and after 23 years of incredible service has been inducted into the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Hall of Fame. Elfring started working for the university when he was a student in 1978, and 40 years later he has become an instrumental part of USM’s rich athletic history and achievements.
“I couldn’t be happier than to see B.L. inducted to the CoSIDA Hall of Fame. What a great honor and so very well deserved. He’s been in the sports information/athletic media relations business for nearly 40 years, and his work ethic is truly amazing, beyond expectation, and he is absolutely one of the most dependable and dedicated people I have ever had the pleasure to work with,” commented Director of Athletics, Al Bean.
USM wrestling finishes the season strong
Two USM wrestlers will attend the 2018 NCAA Division III National Championship event in March. Austin Shorey (Lebanon, ME) and Peter Del Gallo (Gardiner, ME) are set to travel to Cleveland, Ohio. Both are highly ranked nationally. They’ve both earned All-Region honors as Southern Maine Huskies.
As a team the USM Huskies are ranked twenty-fifth in the most recent poll collected by D3Wrestle online. At the regional championship USM placed fifth, a program best. USM raked in 88 points. Placing first was Johnson and Wales with 156.5 points, followed by Western Polytech Institute with 92.5 points. Third was Wesleyan University with 91.5 points, followed by New York University with 89 points.
Shorey and Del Gallo are not the only USM Huskies with All-Region honors. Brendan Weir (Easthamption, MA) and Justin Stacy (Rochester, NH) and Brandon Cousino (North Ferrisburhg, VT) have also earned the accolade of being All-Region honors wrestlers. Each of the three placed fourth in their weight classes. They are also deserving of praise for their strong finishes with the USM 2017-2018 wrestling season.
Freshman guard Kristen Curley named LEC Rookie of the Year
Basketball season may be over, and sadly both the men and women’s teams saw their seasons end early in postseason play, however Rookie Kristen Curley (Gorham, Me) is still making headlines. Recently named the 2018 Little East Conference Rookie of the Year, Kristen Curley was the x-factor for USM women’s basketball this season. After starting out with six straight losses, this young team rallied behind a young leader in Curly and went 14-7 for the rest of the season.
Named to the 2018 LEC first team, all defensive team, and all-rookie team, Curley had a standout rookie season. She averaged an incredible team best 16.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.1 steals, 1.3 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game, while shooting 50.5 percent (168-for-333) from the field, and 39.7 percent (48-for-121) from three-point range. At 5’9 Curly has the size and strength to guard multiple positions and make for a nightmare matchup on the offensive end. As impressive as her stats are, and averaging 16.0 points a game is not an easy achievement, let alone for a freshman, her impact on the court went well beyond the numbers.
In conference play Curley stepped it up a notch and averaged 17.0 points a game and led the entire conference in steals with 32. Her 433 points is twenty fourth in single season records, and is the fourth highest single season total by a USM freshman. Certainly expect to see her name in the headlines for the remainder of her USM sports career. With such a promising rookie season there no doubting Curly is a budding superstar.