Former Bangor High varsity swimmer Jason Thomas of Bangor has accepted a partial athletic scholarship to attend the University of Tennessee next fall.

“I guess it’s in the back of every person’s mind to someday swim at that level,” said Thomas, 19. “It’s great because I definitely wanted to have this decision made so I could focus on this season.”

The former high school All-American and Maine state record holder in the 200- and 500-yard freestyles has been swimming in the nationally known program at Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania the last 21/2 years.

The 5-foot-11, 150-pound Thomas figures he will be swimming middle- to long-distance races for the Volunteers, who have one of the country’s top swimming programs under head coach John Trembley.

“They’re a bunch of great guys and I felt like I fit right in, plus they have a real good shot at winning a national championship,” said Thomas, who picked UT from a group of finalist schools including Auburn University, Penn State, Virginia and N.C. State.

“I think the thing that made my decision was the coach and the swimmers on the team,” Thomas said. “It just seemed like a fit, but it was a really tough choice.”

Thomas, who still holds school records in the 200, 500 and a couple relay events, qualified to swim at the Phillips 66 National Championships last March. He’s not the only Mercersburg swimmer snagged by the Vols as Noelle Bassi of New Jersey is getting a full scholarship to head to Knoxville.

Thomas figures he’ll be swimming the 200 or 500 in college, but he’d like to give the mile (1,500 meters) a try.

“I definitely like the longer races with the strategy that goes along with it and the battles you have with other racers and training is more of a factor,” said Thomas, who is undecided about his course concentration, but wants to start out with business law or finance.

Thomas has been swimming competitively for 14 years, ever since Jim Willis at the Bangor YMCA suggested he try it.

“My parents said I pretty much took to it right from the start,” said Thomas, whose father Mike played baseball for Bangor High and the University of Maine-Presque isle.

Stone Hill rock solid for Rodrigue

In nine years as Winslow’s varsity girls basketball coach, Jim Poulin has never had a player who went on to college on a full athletic scholarship … Until now.

Senior guard-forward Bethany Rodrigue will attend Stonehill College in North Easton, Mass., to play Division II hoops for coach Trisha Brown’s Chieftains on a four-year basketball scholarship.

“I saw her play as a fourth- grader when I first took over the girls program and I thought she had great skills even at that level. She seemed like a very special athlete,” said Poulin. “I’m so happy for her because she’s a very, very hard worker and she loves the game.”

Rodrigue will likely play point guard or shooting guard in college, but Poulin says her talent and versatility might allow her to be an effective small forward as well.

It’s the end and the beginning of a longtime dream for the 5-foot-8, 17-year-old, but it’s also a big relief to finally sign her name on the dotted line.

“I wanted to know where I was going before basketball season so I could relax and just worry about having fun and enjoying it,” Rodrigue said. “I just feel like there’s a big load off my shoulders.”

Rodrigue helped lead her Black Raiders to a 14-5 record and No. 2 seeding in the Eastern Maine Class B tournament last year before they lost in the quarterfinals. This year, Winslow’s co-captain is ready for another run back to the Bangor Auditorium, and a longer stay.

Besides her versatility – Rodrigue played all five positions during the course of last season – Stonehill’s Brown was impressed with her ability. Six summers of AAU basketball and three trips to the AAU nationals certainly helped get Rodrigue noticed by college recruiters, most notably Stonehill and Division I Marist.

But it was Stonehill that recruited her the hardest and a visit to the campus sealed the deal.

“It’s such a beautiful campus and the people there are so friendly,” said Rodrigue, who isn’t sure what she will study, but is leaning toward psychology. “And coach Brown and I kind of clicked right from the start.”

The AAU ball also helped stoke Rodrigue’s drive to a scholarship.

“When I started playing AAU, a lot of the girls I played with were getting scholarships and that kind of gave me more motivation to work hard and improve as much as I could,” Rodrigue said.

Andrew Neff’s High school report is published each Wednesday. He can be reached at 990-8205, 1-800-310-8600 or aneff@bangordailynews.net.