The USM women’s track team had a good showing and placed third on Saturday’s meet at Costello Sports Complex in Gorham.
They finished behind Springfield College and Bates, with sophomore Bethany Dumas (Augusta) earning 28 points in the meet. The distance team started the meet strong, placing three girls in the top seven in the seeded mile. Junior Erin Garvey (Haverhill, Mass.) came in second, senior Alison Bradley (Auckland, New Zealand) placed sixth, and senior Sarah Myrick (Weybridge, Vt.) came in seventh for the Huskies. Garvey also placed fifth in the open 800-meter.
The weight throw saw two Huskies place, as well as in the open 400-meter dash with Dumas placing second and Christina Massey (Winslow) coming in fifth. Dumas also won the pole vault and placed second in the 55-meter hurdles.
After seven events the scores were locked in a virtual tie between Bates and Southern Maine with Springfield not far behind. Hillary Hall (Waldoboro) continued her dominance in the high jump, winning with a height of 5 feet 2 inches. She is still taking the necessary steps to hopefully surpass USM’s and her own record of 5 feet 5 inches by season’s end.
The middle distance team continued to be consistent for the women as USM freshman Brooke Madden (Dedham) and junior Heidi Dehaan (Lewiston) placed seventh and eighth, respectively.
On the men’s side, the Huskies were significantly shorthanded, with Little East Conference cross country runner of the year senior Tyler Jasud (Rumford) out with a hip injury and many of the team’s best runners in Massachusetts for the annual Terrier Classic featuring the region’s best. Even with many teams at a disadvantage the score still proved the top teams were relatively equal, with the Huskies swiping second place behind Bates.
Junior Matt Harmon (Auburn) got off to a good start by finishing fourth with a personal best just 10 inches from a school record, throwing 47 feet 4 inches in the weight throw and second in the shot put. Junior Evan Davis (Fair Haven, Vt.) also started out strong by winning the high jump at 6 foot 2 inches with three other Huskies rounding out the top four. Davis also won the 55-meter hurdles.
This meet was a back and forth battle between USM and Bates College of Lewiston. USM had top finishers in a wide range of distance and field events, taking first and third in the long jump, first and second in the triple jump, second in the 55, and second and third in the 800. Three Huskies scored in the men’s 200, including Curtis Coleman (Bangor) who came in fourth and is still recovering from a hamstring tear.
What was left of the men’s distance team managed a strong showing as Captain Justin Richardson (Turner) and Jon Fulford (Kennebunk) took the top two spots in the 3-mile with a few faces running unattached, including former LEC runner of the year Curtis Wheeler. Another bright spot for the distance team was senior Saylor Jacobs (Presque Isle) who, battling a bit of a cold, managed to leg out a personal best time in the unseeded heat of the mile.
The loss of those key runners proved to be too much to overcome as Bates College outlasted the Huskies by winning the 4×800-meter relay, which was the last event of the night.