Dexter’s Veazie sets state mark Senior has 83 goals for her field hockey career

loading...

Dexter’s Kristy Veazie had already scored one goal in Monday’s field hockey game against Orono and her sister Brittany wanted to set her up for a couple more.

The trouble was, Kristy was a little nervous. The early score put her one goal away from possibly tying a state record for career goals.

“She passed me [a ball] that hit my foot,” said Kristy Veazie, a senior. “She just told me to calm down and everything would be alright.”

It sure would – Kristy Veazie scored two more goals, both off assists from her sister, en route to breaking the record. The three goals give her 83 in her career, one more than former Skowhegan star and current UMaine player Tara Bedard.

Kristy Veazie said her mother Margaret Veazie, who coaches the Tigers, sensed Kristy was getting close to the career goals mark. Margaret Veazie asked the Maine Field Hockey Coaches Association if they knew of a career goals record, and they came up with Bedard’s 82 goals.

Kristy Veazie said breaking the record was even more special because it was Bedard’s.

“I remember going to see her play in the state championships,” she said. “Tara is such a good player. To beat her record is amazing.”

Belfast gymnasts try to rebound

Belfast High School may have moved on from February’s fire in the building, but the Belfast gymnastics team will have to face it all over again when the winter season starts in November.

The fire destroyed a stack of foam floor mats and four balance beams, none of which has been replaced yet. And if the insurance money doesn’t come through, it may be a hard winter for the Lions.

“It’s hard when it’s your one-and-only favorite sport,” said Haley Ratten, the only senior on the 15-member squad. “Next year whether we have gymnastics or not, we’re all going to stick together.”

Two low carpet-covered balance beams, two high beams, and a stack of 11 foam floor mats used by the Lions burned in the fire.

Ratten said the mats were older than the balance beams, which were purchased just two years ago. The school paid $5,000 for the mats but the insurance company only wants to give the school $2,000 for them. It’s not enough to buy all new mats, she added.

The team isn’t allowed to do any fundraising out-of-season. Once the Lions get back to practice they’ll try to raise some money.

“It really hurts us,” she said. “We’ve tried to get around it but we can’t. But we’re definitely going to get out in the community for things like a bottle drive and some sort of raffle.”

Ratten said the team is resigned to practicing in a private Rockport gym twice a week, but Ratten said the team members feel they can’t travel any more often than that – especially because they travel to almost all of their meets (their closest meet last year was in Old Town and the girls had four meets in Lewiston).

They’re also going to work closely with the cheerleading and wrestling teams, which also use mats. The girls can practice their floor exercises on a wrestling mat, but it’s not thick enough to practice landings from other pieces of equipment such as the beam, vault and uneven parallel bars.

The Belfast gymnastics squad is one of 10 in the state and one of four teams north of Augusta.

Numbers aren’t much of a problem at Belfast. The squad grew this year thanks to freshmen whom the older girls recruited (that’s how Ratten got involved when she was younger).

“We’re really like a family,” she said. “We have team sleepovers and dinners. We have so much fun.”

NFHS outlines rules for patches

The National Federation of State High School Associations reiterated its regulations for high school uniforms after last week’s terrorist attacks.

The NFHS permits an American flag and a memorial patch to be worn on uniform jerseys provided they meet specifications.

The rule states, “An American flag, not to exceed 2 x 3 inches, and either a commemorative or memorial patch, not to exceed 4 square inches and with written state association approval, may be worn on the jersey, provided neither the flag nor the patch interferes with the visibility of the number.”

Other than the size, there are no other limitations on the memorial patch, except in basketball (patches must be worn above the neckline or in the side insert of the jersey).

Maine Principals’ Association executive director Dick Durost said the MPA has gone along with the National Federation’s recommendations.

The NFHS publishes playing rules for 17 high school sports for boys and girls.

High school writer Jessica Bloch can be reached at 990-8193, toll-free at 1-800-310-8600 or via e-mail at jbloch@bangordailynews.net