It comes as no surprise that track and field as a whole goes quite unnoticed in everyday life. Most Americans only know about it every four years when the Olympics roll around and are broadcast for two and a half weeks. It is then that people become knowledgeable about the events included in a track and field meet.
It is no exception here at USM. Many members of the women’s indoor track and field team are going completely unnoticed. A perfect example would be our profiled athlete last week, Niki Freeman. Freeman is a senior co-captain of the women’s team and is majoring in physical therapy. She is an outstanding pole-vaulter and a very good sprinter. As a pole-vaulter, she is the school’s record holder with a mark of 11 feet set on Dec. 7, 2002, at the M.I.T. meet.
The USM women’s team was not funded from 1987 to 1996 and at that time had no classification. In those early days, the team was composed of as few as two athletes to as many as 12. Today, the women’s team has a roster of 30 participants.
“The athletes in those days didn’t have meal money and many times would have to pay their own way to get to the meets,” said head coach George Towle, recalling his memories of those early days before the new Costello Field House. “During that time we had a lot of kids who were All-New England and four All-Americans without a program or support which was the seeds for the program we have now in place.”
When you scan the record books of the USM women’s indoor track team, you will see the record books re-written more times than the weekly edition of The FREE PRESS. Only six of the 25 event records haven’t been broken since 1998. Since then, 19 records have fallen and 11 of those have shattered since last season.
The women’s indoor track and field team broke seven individual and three team relay records last season. This season already has seen two more records fall: co-captain Freeman’s pole vault record and teammate Kim Brewer’s new high jump mark of five feet two inches were set on Jan. 18 at the USM Invitational.
“Niki is a true leader and quietly leads by example,” said Towle. “She has worked hard over the last four seasons and has earned the respect of her fellow teammates as well as become a wonderful individual.”
Niki is just one of the many outstanding young women that adorn the USM jersey each and every week on the track. They are all quick to talk about their fellow teammates before the mention their own accomplishments.
“Amy is an outstanding sprinter as well as a great person to train and practice with everyday and a great co-captain,” says Freeman of co-captain Amy Swanberg.
Along with Freeman and Brewer, the Lady Husky runners Kendall Guyette, Kristy Wechter, Lindsay Davis, Swanberg, and Brit McLean have qualified for this year’s New England Div. III Qualifiers. There also eight more, including Shannon Pawlowski, Melissa White, and Jen Newcomb, close to qualifying for the prestigious season-ending meets at the end of this month.
The interest in track and field may be minimal at the present time here in the United States as opposed to other countries around the world. The Gorham campus, however, holds the best-kept secret in USM athletics: the Lady Husky indoor track and field team.
Jim Ward can be contacted at [email protected]