Center-court ceremony slated to honor Fifield MMA, Husson players recognized

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The University of Southern Maine will honor former women’s basketball coach Gary Fifield during halftime of Saturday’s 1 p.m. Little East Conference game against Keene State College.

There will be a special presentation honoring Fifield at center court of Hill Gymnasium at approximately 1:30 p.m., with a postgame reception slated in the Alumni Reception Center.

Fifield retired last summer as the winningest coach in NCAA Division III women’s basketball after guiding the Huskies program for 21 seasons. Fifield’s teams compiled an overall record of 541-86 (.863) and made trips to the NCAA Tournament in 20 of his 21 seasons on the bench.

Southern Maine, which has won 20 or more games for 28 straight seasons, dominated the Little East Conference under Fifield, winning 19 regular-season titles and 17 conference championships. The Huskies made five trips to the NCAA Division III Final Four in 1988, 1998, 2000, 2005 and 2006.

Fifield was the WBCA National Coach of the Year in 2005 and won the LEC honor 13 times. He was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003 and coached at the U.S. Olympic Festival in 1993.

Fifield now serves as USM associate athletic director and has handed the coaching reins to Ellsworth native Mike McDevitt.

Maine players earn NEFW honor

Jim Bower, Cody Andrews and Chris Mitchell of Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, Jon Benson of Husson University in Bangor, and Sam Handler of Colby College in Waterville recently were named to the New England Football Writers Select Division II/III Football All-Star Team.

Bower, a junior fullback from South Paris, rushed for 1,698 yards and 25 touchdowns for the Mariners to rank sixth in the nation with 154.4 yards per game. Mitchell, a senior offensive lineman from Skowhegan, helped pave the way for Bower and MMA to rank second in Division III with 368.2 rushing yards per game.

Andrews, a senior defensive end from Holden, racked up 82 tackles with seven sacks. Benson, a junior offensive lineman from Biddeford, helped Husson rank 18th in Division III rushing with 232.6 yards per game, led by Julius Williams’ 121-yard average.

Handler, a senior defensive lineman from Beverly Hills, Calif., registered 30 tackles this fall, including 5.5 sacks and nine tackles for a loss.

The NEFW all-stars will be honored Dec. 11 at the organization’s annual banquet at Casa di Fiore in Wilmington, Mass.

Jordan will play in senior bowl

Saint Joseph’s College senior midfielder Katie Jordan, who had 10 goals and six assists including five game-winning goals, has been selected to play in the New England Women’s Intercollegiate Soccer Association Senior Bowl at Salem State College on Dec. 11 at 11 a.m.

A two-year captain, Jordan finished her career with 32 goals and 12 assists.

The game pits the top senior women’s players in the region and she was the lone Maine college representative. The players are chosen by the New England Division III coaches.

In conjunction with the game, the NEWISA and Salem State Student Athletic Advisory Committee will collect donations of canned goods and other non-perishable items to be supplied to a local shelter to help feed needy families.

St. Joe’s field wins award

The Larry Mahaney Diamond at Saint Joseph’s College in Standish has been awarded the 2008 College Division ABCA/TURFACEE Field Maintenance Award.

The prestigious award is granted yearly to one college recipient across all divisions.

St. Joseph’s will earn $400 to spend on maintenance equipment, along with a ton of TURFACE infield conditioner.

The complex, built in 1986 and named in honor of Maine businessman and philanthropist Mahaney in 2001, is one of the finest college baseball facilities in the Northeast and hosts high school state championship games on a yearly basis.

Among Mahaney Diamond’s amenities are an in-ground irrigation system, wooden outfield fence, full infield tarp, 10 bullpen mounds, a pair of batting tunnels, 12 stations for toss and “T” drills, a press box, bleacher seating for 500 fans, concession areas and an alumni box.

In 2009, St. Joseph’s will host the Great Northeast Athletic Conference tournament.

Colby, Waterville P.D. team up

Colby College’s men’s lacrosse team has joined forces with the Waterville Police Department to raise more than $10,000 in the first Bench Press for Pulmonary Fibrosis.

Each player collected pledges that were for the amount of repetitions of 135 pounds they completed on the bench press.

The bench was set up outside Pulver Pavilion on Colby’s campus, with members of the team benching 135 as often as possible to raise money.

Waterville police officers and police chief Joe Massey took part in the fundraiser.

Pulmonary fibrosis is a disease that involves scarring of the lung tissue. Its victims experience discomfort as the air sacs of the lungs gradually become replaced by fibrotic tissue.

When the scar forms, the tissue becomes thicker and causes an irreversible loss of the tissue’s ability to transfer oxygen into the bloodstream. Forty thousand people in the United States die from the disease each year.

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