Elite 8 set for Maine Hall of Fame induction

Olympians, coaches and one of the top broadcasters in the nation will share the same honor in June when the Maine Sports Hall of Fame inducts its eight-member class of 2001.

Joining the Hall this year will be CBS and ESPN broadcaster Gary Thorne of Old Town; track stars Ann Turbyne Andrews of Winslow and Richard Leavitt of Lewiston; Olympic skiers Julie Parisien of Auburn and Karl Anderson of Greene; snowshoe champ Rev. Edward Hache of Rumford; and coaches Robert A. Pickett of Augusta and Michael Berticelli of Lewiston.

The induction banquet is set for June 3 at the Italian Heritage Center in Portland.

Turbyne Andrews, set a national high school shot put record of 52 feet, 61/2 inches while attending Winslow High. After her graduation in 1975, she went on to become a standout at the University of Maine at Orono and made the U.S. Olympic Team in the shot put with a heave of 56-81/2 in 1980. She didn’t attend the Games because of the U.S.-led boycott of that Olympiad.

Turbyne-Andrews was also a world record holder in power lifting.

Anderson graduated from Edward Little High in Auburn in 1971 and was a member of the U.S. Olympic Ski Team in 1976 and 1980. He won the U.S. national downhill championship in 1978 and was a member of the nation’s ski team from 1972-81.

Auburn’s Parisien emerged as one of the nation’s top Alpine skiers during the late 80’s, as she won four U.S. titles and posted three World Cup wins. She was a member of the 1992, 1994 and 1998 U.S. Olympic teams.

Thorne is one of the nation’s busiest pro sports announcers, working both baseball and hockey games at venues across the U.S. for both CBS and ESPN. Thorne, who is a former business law professor at the University of Maine, also serves as a TV play-by-play man for the New York Mets.

Berticelli, who died on Jan. 25, 2000, at the age of 47, coached soccer at Thomas College, Old Dominion University and the University of North Carolina-Greensboro before leading Notre Dame to the women’s soccer national championship in 1996. Berticelli won coach-of-the-year honors in 10 different seasons.

Leavitt graduated from Bowdoin in 1976 after an illustrious track career. He won the NCAA Division II shot put championship in 1975 and was the runner-up in ’74. He later served as the track coach at Brunswick High.

Pickett, who was born in Bangor, was the head football coach at the University of Massachusetts from 1977-83 and won the NCAA Division I-AA championship in 1978.

Hache, who died on July 10, 1973, was the nation’s preeminent snowshoe sprinter during the 1930s and 1940s.

Hache set world records at 100, 200 and 400 yards that remained unbroken until 1987, when rules were changed and plastic and metal snowshoes were allowed for the first time.