USM lands Fort Kent star Violette Several EM swimmers headed to Wheaton

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Fort Kent senior Kristin Violette will head to the other end of the state next year to play basketball for the University of Southern Maine in Gorham.

Violette, a 6-foot center, said she was contacted and recruited by Huskies coach Gary Fifield. She picked USM over Saint Joseph’s of Standish and UMaine-Fort Kent.

Although Fort Kent is a long trip from Gorham, it helped that Fort Kent made it to the Bangor Auditorium for the Eastern Maine Class C tournament.

Violette powered the Warriors into the semifinals, averaging 13.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in two games. She was named to the all-tourney team.

“We are so far north that sometimes it seems like people don’t know who we are,” Violette said. “But we had a good year. We made it to the tournament.”

Violette was also an All-Maine honorable mention in addition to being named All-Aroostook County and a first-team Penobscot Valley Conference all-star.

She scored 21 points in the PVC Classes C-D senior all-star game.

Violette also ran cross country and played volleyball for Fort Kent and has played soccer in previous years. Violette competes in shot put, javelin, discus and high jump for the Warriors’ outdoor track and field team.

USM advanced to the NCAA Div. III national championship game in March before falling to Hope College of Holland, Mich. It was the Huskies’ fifth Final Four appearance under Fifield.

Violette will join other Maine high school basketball standouts Nicole Paradis of Skowhegan and Mountain Valley of Rumford’s Kristen Arsenault on a 12-member USM roster. The Huskies graduated three starters so tryouts should be competitive.

“I’m just going to go in and try to play,” Violette said. “It should be interesting.”

Violette already has a friend from home at USM. Former Fort Kent standout Mindy Morneault plays soccer for the Huskies.

Mainers headed to Wheaton

Maine high school swimmers must love Wheaton College in Norton, Mass. There are five former Maine high school standouts on the men’s roster, and at least three members of this year’s senior class are headed to the school.

In fact, swimmers Iris Meehan of Mount Desert Island and Amy Dalrymple of Ellsworth are planning to room with MDI volleyball player Lauren Smith next year.

They’ll be joined by Brenna Crothers, another MDI swimmer. Smith plans to play volleyball for Wheaton, Meehan added.

Ellsworth’s Matt Jordan and Belfast’s Matt Hurley are among the Mainers on the Wheaton men’s roster.

“They’re recruiting a lot of people,” Meehan said. “There’s a lot of people from Maine who go there.”

Meehan said Wheaton’s swimming program has been getting stronger in recent years. The Lyons, who are coached by Jean-Paul Gowdy, have finished in the top five of the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) for three years in a row.

“I think they have a pretty good program,” she said. “I met their coach who is pretty new, and he’s really nice.”

Allen gains D-II scholarship

Miss Basketball finalist Samantha Allen of Lake Region has received a partial scholarship to NCAA Div.-II Southern New Hampshire University.

Allen, who guided the Lakers of Naples to the Western Maine Class B championship, was a first-team All-Mainer. The 5-foot-8 guard averaged 14 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, and was the MVP of the Western Maine Conference.

The Lakers fell to Presque Isle in the Class B state championship game at the Bangor Auditorium.

Allen has a partial academic scholarship this year, according to her father, Phil Allen, and will have a full athletic scholarship next year.

“She really liked the coach and the team,” Phil Allen said.

The Penmen are coached by Karen Pinkos, who was an assistant coach at Northeastern when the Huskies beat the University of Maine women in the 1999 America East title game.

Southern New Hampshire is located in Manchester, N.H. SNHU went 9-19 overall and 7-15 in the Northeast-10 conference this winter and hasn’t had a winning season since 1990-91.

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