You could say the USM women’s indoor track and field team has dominated the Little East and Alliance Conferences in the last decade. The Huskies posted several standout performances as they went on to win their 10th straight LEC and Alliance Championships on Sat. Feb. 14 at the Costello Sports Complex in Gorham.
“It’s been a pretty good streak,” said USM coach George Towle. “Having balance in our program over the years has always been something we’ve focused on. That’s how you start a streak. Developing good runners and keeping them in the program has been a big thing for us.”
The Alliance Championship, which is made up of schools from the LEC and the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference, was handled by USM as they posted 154 total points as they slipped past Worcester State College by 14 points.
In the LEC Championship the Huskies cruised to the win by outscoring rival Keene State College 212-104. UMass Dartmouth took third place with a total of 83 points.
Junior Carly Dion (Biddeford) and sophomore Bethany Dumas (Augusta) both continued their tremendous 2009-2010 campaigns with first place finishes. Dion took first in the 800-meters, crossing the line with a personal best time of 2:21:34 and also garnered third place honors in the mile in a time of 5:19:21. Dumas won her second straight pole vault title clearing 11’5″ 3/4 and recorded a personal best time of 27.05 seconds in the 200-meters, en route to placing third. USM’s 4×200-meter relay team also earned a first place finish with their time of 1:48.60.
Second place finishers for the Huskies included junior co-captain Hillary Hall (Waldoboro) who cleared the high jump bar at 5’0″ ?, senior Emily Artesani (Orono) who came in second in both the 200 and 400-meters with season best times of 26.94 and 1:00.4 and sophomore Hannah Patterson (Londonderry, N.H.) who took the runner-up spot in the weight throw with a throw marked at 44’6″ ?.
“The success we’ve had in the LEC and Alliance Championships is something that we always want to keep up as a legacy,” Hall said. “It’s been great especially for our seniors.”
Senior co-captain Sarah Myrick (Weybridge, Vt.) and junior Erin Garvey (Haverhill, Mass.) swiped third place finishes in the 3,000 and 800-meters in times of 11:11.64 and 2:25.59. Garvey also notched fourth place in the mile with a personal best time of 5:22.01.
Freshman Christina Massey (Winslow), Nikole Robbins (West Gardiner) and Alison Keane (Brewer) all turned in solid performances with fourth place finishes. Massey took the fourth place spot in the long jump with a jump of 16’7″ ?, and Robbins and Keane ended up tying for fourth in the pole vault as they cleared 8’6″.
“It’s been an honor to be a part of four of those 10 years,” Myrick said. “The senior’s goal from the beginning of my freshman year was to win all four years, and it’s great to go out on a good note.”
The USM women’s indoor track and field team has turned in another solid year as time is ticking down in the 2009-2010 season. After earning an 11th place finish in the New England Division III Championships held at USM on Feb. 20 and several strong performances at this past Saturday’s NYU Fastrack Invitational, the Huskies look to send some of their top competitors to the ECAC DIII Championships on Mar. 5 and 6 at Smith College and at the NCAA DIII Championships on Mar. 12 and 13.