ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Hermon’s Chris Page has been named the National Congress of State Games male athlete of the year.

“This award, and the subsequent banquet, are always a highlight for the organization,” said selection committee chairman, Jeff Scully, executive director of the Maine Games. “The committee’s decision is never an easy one, and this year’s candidates which were nominated by their respective State Games, are all very worthy of their own State Games awards.”

Marlene Tetrault, of Red Lodge, Mont., has been named the NCSG female athlete of the year.

Page has been a constant at the Maine Games State Powerlifting Championships since the competition began in 2005. In his four years in the Maine Games he has won six gold medals, and two silvers. He competes in the men’s open division, as well as his age-category sub-open division. Page trains at Union Street Athletics in Bangor, where he also coaches younger powerlifters.

In November of 2006, Page suffered a work-related accident, when a reel of wire rolled off his Central Maine Power truck, and crushed his hand and severed his left thumb. After wrapping up his hand and his thumb in the only thing available -an oily rag – his co-workers transported him to the hospital where he underwent four-hour surgery to reattach his thumb.

“I didn’t think I’d ever be able to compete again in powerlifting. The grip is everything, and I wasn’t going to have any grip in my left hand,” Page said.

However, in March of 2007, barely four months after his accident, Page finished second in his weight class, missing out on a gold medal by only 22 pounds total, over three lifts, all without the use of his left thumb. This year he was named the Maine Games male lifter of the meet, claiming gold in the 198-pound weight class in both the men’s open division and his age-group in the sub-open division (masters 40-44).

“Marlene and Chris represent the best qualities of the hundreds of thousands of State Games athletes across the U.S,” said NCSG president, Barclay Kruse, of the Star of the North Games, in Minnesota. “Their commitment to a lifetime of sports participation, and their dedication to performing well on the field of play are a shining light for amateur athletes in their own states and elsewhere.”

The winners of this year’s awards will be feted at a banquet in their honor Sept. 26, at the Rochester (N.Y.) Plaza.

Tetrault, 70, competed in her own “pentathlon” this year at the Big Sky State Games. She won a gold medal in the road race and the half-marathon, and also took home gold in both the triathlon and tennis events. She also competed in cycling.

The National Congress of State Games is a membership organization comprised of Summer State Games and Winter State Games organizations and is a member of the United States Olympic Committee’s Multi-Sport Organizational Council.