It’s that time of year again. USM is coming to the end of another athletic year, and an exciting and eventful one at that. From the most successful wrestling season in school history to the naming of numerous postseason awards, USM student-athletes continued to represent the school tremendously on and off the field. I leave you with 10 headlines in chronological order that have highlighted the 2009-2010 USM athletic season.
11/14/09 – Women’s Cross Country
The USM women’s cross country team finishes an outstanding 2009 campaign by taking 19th place at the NCAA New England Division III Regional Championships in extremely rainy conditions at the Twin Brook Recreation Center in Cumberland, Maine.
The Huskies were led by junior Carly Dion (Biddeford) who finished a tremendous 47th out of 315 runners in the meet, while trekking the 6,000 meter course in a time of 23 minutes, 9.2 seconds.
The 2009 season was also highlighted by a second place finish in the Little East Conference/New England Alliance Championships, and a fourth place finish at the Maine State Championships.
11/16/09 – Field Hockey
Senior India Lowe (Gloucester, Mass.) of the USM field hockey team became the 16th Husky named to the Longstreth/National Field Hockey Coaches’ Association Division III All-New England West Region First Team.
In addition to the regional honor, Lowe was also a First Team All-Little East Conference selection. She finished her stellar four year career by playing in 85 games and totaling an outstanding 100 career points, and is third all-time in career goals with 38. The senior also set a single-season record in assists by dishing out 12 in 2009 and finishing with a school record of 24 in her career.
11/21/09 – Men’s Cross Country
USM senior Tyler Jasud (Rumford) became the Huskies first men’s cross country All-American after finishing 22nd out of 276 of the country’s elite runners at the 2009 NCAA Division III Men’s Cross Country National Championships hosted by Baldwin-Wallace College at the Highland Hills Golf Course in Highland Hills, Ohio.
Jasud, who also competed in the NCAA DIII National Championships in 2008, finished the eight-kilometer course in a time of 25 minutes, 58.1 seconds.
Along with his All-American honor, Jasud was named the Little East Conference Runner of the Year for the second straight season, and was named the LEC Runner of the Week four times in 2009. He also helped USM garner the Little East Conference/New England Alliance Championship titles, and a ninth place finish at the 2009 NCAA Division III New England Regionals.
2/13/10 – Women’s Indoor Track & Field
The USM women’s indoor track and field team swept the Little East Conference/New England Alliance Championships for the 10th straight year at home at the Costello Sports Complex.
The Huskies had two individual first place finishes, with sophomore Bethany Dumas (Augusta) winning the pole vault by clearing 11’5″ ¾, and junior Carly Dion (Biddeford) winning the 800 meters with a personal best time of 2:21.34. The USM 4 x 200-meter relay team also took home first place with a combined time of 1:48.60.
Dumas was named the LEC Field Athlete of the Year, freshman Christina Massey (Winslow) was honored as the Rookie Field Athlete of the Year, and veteran head coach George Towle was named the Coach of the Year. USM also came away with the 2009-2010 Team Sportsmanship Award.
3/4/10 – Women’s Ice Hockey
USM sophomore Danielle Ward (Lansing, Mich.) and freshman Kailey Bubier (Auburn) were selected for postseason honors by the Eastern College Athletic Conference Women’s East League.
Ward was named to the ECAC Honorable Mention team after her stellar 2009-2010 campaign, and Bubier was honored as a member of the ECAC All-Rookie team.
In her second season with the Huskies, Ward led USM in scoring for the second straight year as she recorded 34 total points by netting 12 goals and dishing out 22 assists. Her season was highlighted by two game winning goals. Through Wards first two seasons she has tallied 69 points in 50 games by way of 26 goals and 43 assists. She currently is fifth on the Huskies’ all-time scoring list.
Bubier was USM’s goal leader in the 2009-2010 season as she scored 16 goals while providing the Huskies with 10 assists for a respectable 26 points. Her season was highlighted by scoring four goals in one period in a game against Plymouth State University in January, and she was named the ECAC Rookie of the Week three times during the season.
3/6/10 – Wrestling
For the first time in the program’s history, the USM wrestling team sent two wrestlers to Division III Nationals with both of the them coming home as All-Americans.
Senior Mike Morin (Fryeburg), who became USM’s first All-American in 2009, placed fifth in the 165-pound division to capture his second All-American honor in as many years.
Junior Matt Ulrich (Garfield, N.J.), who competed in his first ever NCAA National Championship tournament turned heads as he placed sixth in the 141-pound weight class after entering the tournament unseeded.
Morin finished his four-year career as USM’s most decorated wrestler, compiling a career record of 133-21. Along with his two All-American accolades, Morin is a three-time All-New England Champion at the 165-pound weight class.
3/13/10 – Men’s Indoor Track & Field
Freshman high-jumper Anthony Stanton (Acton) became the Huskies’ second All-American in the history of USM men’s indoor track and field when he finished third at the NCAA Division III National Championships hosted by DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind.
The Rookie garnered All-American honors by clearing 1.95 meters, 2.00 meters, and 2.05 meters in his first attempts before failing three times to clear 2.08 meters. He beat out five other competitors to take third place in the country for Division III.
3/17/10 – Women’s Basketball
Women’s basketball freshman Curran Leighton (Dover, N.H.) earned an unheard of five Rookie of the Year honors, with her fifth one, the ECAC New England Rookie of the Year, coming on March 17.
Along with the ECAC New England Rookie of the Year, Leighton was named the 2010 New England Women’s Basketball Association Rookie of the Year, the Maine Women’s Basketball Association Rookie of the Year, the Little East Conference Rookie of the Year and the D3hoops.com All-Northeast Region Rookie of the year.
The talented freshman was a First Team All-Little East Conference selection, as well as a Second Team All-ECAC New England selection. She was a huge contributor to the 2009-2010 women’s basketball team who made a 16th consecutive NCAA appearance.
4/3/10 – Baseball
Senior quad-captain Collin Henry (Penobscot) went 5-for-9 with three home runs, three runs scored and six RBI in a two doubleheader losses to Rhode Island College in Providence, R.I.
In the 2010 season, Henry is batting .380 with a team-leading six home runs, 41 RBI, and 32 runs scored. Henry currently has 20 career home runs.
4/5/10 – Men’s Ice Hockey
USM junior defensemen Paul Conter (Woodbridge, Ont.) was named to one of 18 spots on the 2009-2010 New England Hockey Writers Association DII/DIII All-Star team.
Conter, who was also an ECAC First Team selection in the 2009-2010 season, recorded 25 points by way of seven goals and a team-leading 18 assists. He is the 11th USM player in history to be named to the NEHWA team.