Moody, Black Bears eager to host New Englands

Joe Moody sat in Memorial Gym at the University of Maine after his run and shook his head, a wide grin spreading easily across his face.

It wasn’t the nod of arrogance. It reflected only a recent return to the land of improvement, where each race holds the promise of running faster than ever before. But it is a place that allows even the most humble to became empowered by their abilities.

Moody, a senior on the UMaine track team and former Mount View star, found his way there last spring when he won the New England 800-meter title, running a personal best of 1 minute, 49.25 seconds.

This winter, slowed by the flu, Moody lost his sense of how to get back to running sub-1:50. Stuck at 1:55, he began to doubt he’d ever find his way there again.

A switch in workout groups, a change of coaches and a whole lot more mileage after the indoor season gave Moody improved strength and renewed confidence. In the last two weeks, he used it to forge his way back to the land of improvement. And just in time.

After winning the America East 800 title in 1:50.12 last weekend, Moody heads into the New England Men’s Track and Field Championships at UMaine the top seed in the event. The meet starts today with the decathlon and continues on Friday from 4 to 7 p.m. and on Saturday from 12 to 3 p.m.

Maine is hosting the meet for the first time since 1963, when current head coach Jim Ballinger was a freshman hurdler for the Black Bears.

With the meet on his home track, at the end of his career, Moody is as confident as one who believes their next race will be their best.

“I haven’t lost a race yet,” Moody said. “I switched to [coach] Mark Lech from Jim, who’s a sprint coach, after indoors. It was difficult. I’ve been doing mile hill repeats. The first week of workouts was tough, I was finishing in the back of the pack. But I felt myself getting stronger. The first 800 I did, I got on the line, and thought, `This is only two laps. And it’s flat.’ I knew I could make a move and win the race.”

The UMaine men have a number of highly seeded athletes in the meet. Ballinger expects top finishes from Ben Ray of Auburn, the fifth seed in the 1,500-meters, junior Derek Davis of Thorndike, seeded fourth in the high jump, and senior sprinter Josh Mishou of Orrington, who is seeded 11th in the 200.

The meet will feature many former Maine high school runners, some of whom will vie for titles, like former Sumner of East Sullivan star Parker Pruett, a sophomore at Dartmouth seeded second in the 1,500, University of Massachusetts’ Tom Toye of Scarborough, a top seed in the 200 and 100, and Bowdoin’s Eric Fortin of Waterville, the third seed in the shot.

Moody’s goals include more than a title. In his final season, he’d like to qualify for the NCAA Championships. The automatic standard is three seconds away. He could qualify provisionally running 1:48. His new coach, Lech, believes he can. Moody just hopes he is pushed – so victory can get him there.

“Now I know I’m the strongest kid on the track,” he said with a nod. “With 100 meters to go, it’s not a matter of if I’ll win. It’s just a matter of getting there.”

The UMaine women’s team will compete in the New England Women’s Track and Field Championships this weekend at Tufts University. The top-seeded Bears are Maggie Vandenberg of Bristol in the 400, Katie D’Entremont of York in the throws, Vanessa McGowan in the 800, Johanna Riley in the high jump, Nichole Motil of Saco in the 400 hurdles, and Michelle Tolosky in the 10,000.