Narraguagus retires Favolise’s jersey

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Narraguagus of Harrington graduate Anne Favolise’s jersey was to be retired Monday night before the Knights’ girls varsity basketball team was to play Searsport.

But Favolise isn’t having her jersey retired for basketball.

Favolise, one of the top racewalkers in the nation and a collegiate All-American at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, finished eighth in the 20-kilometer racewalk last summer at the Olympic Trials.

Racewalking isn’t as well-known as basketball, she knows, but Favolise hopes the honor attracts a little attention to the sport.

“I’m very honored that they are doing this,” Favolise said from her parents’ home in Columbia. “It’s a good thing for the sport of racewalking to be recognized.”

Narraguagus athletic director Lucille Willey said the school administrators have been talking with her coaches, which include racewalking coaches David and Mary Helen Baldwin, about honoring Favolise.

The honor also comes at a good time because it was announced in December that Favolise was the first recipient of the Al Heppner Memorial Scholarship, which was established in the memory of an American Olympic hopeful who died this year.

The scholarship goes to an aspiring athlete who has demonstrated ability and determination to rise to the elite level of competition and who seeks to represent the United States internationally.

The opportunity to retire Favolise’s jersey opened up when she came home to Maine for school vacation.

“It seemed like a good time to do it,” Willey said.

Favolise is the second Narraguagus athlete to have her jersey retired. Former Knights basketball and cross country star Gladys Ganiel had her jersey retired during the 1995-96 school year, when Ganiel helped Providence College earn the NCAA cross country championship.

Now a senior at Wisconsin-Parkside, Favolise was a standout at the high school and junior level, winning a gold medal, three silvers and a bronze in junior national championships and was an eight-time high school All-American.

Favolise was a collegiate All-American in indoor and outdoor track this past year after winning the women’s collegiate racewalking grand prix.

Also in attendance Monday were her parents, Peter and Patricia Favolise, boyfriend Mike Stanton, the Baldwins, and Narraguagus track coach Jim Sawyer.

Favolise’s next big meet will come this summer, when she will compete in the 20-kilometer racewalk at the national championships in Carson, Calif.

Hermon guards step up

There was little doubt that the Hermon girls basketball would have a strong inside game this season – not with forwards like Malerie Hall and Shannon Wiggin returning with guard-forward Cassie White.

The question came at the other two starting guard slots, where the Hawks graduated two guards who helped get Hermon to the Eastern Maine Class B regional final last year.

Although the Hawks miss Shannon Dobbins and Marissa McLeod, they haven’t lost a step with Erica Armstrong and Paige Macdonald now in the starting roles. Hermon won its first six games this season before falling to Ellsworth 50-45 Friday night.

“We knew we had Erica coming in and Paige would come back strong as a senior,” White said after a recent 76-26 win over Foxcroft. “Plus we have Torri Gibson on the bench. I wasn’t too worried. I was pretty confident.”

Still, neither Macdonald nor Armstrong had a ton of varsity experience at the outset of the season. Macdonald, a senior, saw some playing time last year but not as a starter.

“She’s playing the best I’ve ever seen her play,” Hermon coach Margie Deabay said. “She’s really keeping her composure. She isn’t the top scorer, she isn’t the top rebounder, but she does a lot of those little things that really help.”

Armstrong, a junior, hadn’t yet played varsity basketball – the Carmel resident was on a John Bapst of Bangor freshman squad that went 20-0 during the 2002-03 season and transferred to Hermon in the middle of last season.

She got to watch from the stands as the Hawks had a strong run in the tournament.

“I watched them play all last year,” Armstrong said. “I knew we had a good team coming up.”

Deabay likes her progress, too.

“She’s really stepped up,” the coach said. “In the beginning of the season I think she was a little unsure about what her role was going to be, where she transferred from Bapst. My goal and her goal, is for her to run our point and she’s doing a pretty good job.

Armstrong, Macdonald and White share time at the point guard position, with all three bringing the ball up the floor. Wiggin occasionally performs that task, too.

“All of us can take the ball down, so it’s not really a weakness,” Armstrong said.

Jessica Bloch can be reached at 990-8193, 1-800-310-8600 or jbloch@bangordailynews.net.