USM's Gibeault Sets School Record in Pole Vault at Middlebury Invitational

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. -- Highlighted by senior Molly Gibeault's (Brooklyn, Conn./Woodstock Academy) school record performance in the pole vault, the University of Southern Maine Huskies track and field team finished second among the five teams competing Saturday at the Panther Spring Invitational held at Middlebury College.

            The Huskies won five events and had 14 individual top three finishes en route to scoring 177 points.  Host Middlebury finished atop the score sheet with 226 points.  Bowdoin College was third with 151.

            Gibeault cleared 3.70 meters (12-1 ½) on her second attempt to place first in the pole vault
and break the outdoor record of 3.66 meters (12-0) she shared with Bethany Dumas.  Gibeault's height was a career best, indoor or outdoor.

            On the track, freshman Sarah Maimone (Stoneham, Mass./Arlington Catholic) led the Huskies to a 1-2 finish in the 200 meters with her time of 26.03 seconds.  Classmate Heather Kendall (Lewiston, Maine) was runner-up with her time of 26.08.  Both times were season bests.

            Senior Hannah Damron (Windham, Maine) paced the Huskies to a first and third finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.  Damron won the event with her time of 11:08.49.  Senior Brooke Davis (Clarendon, Vt./Mill River Union) was third crossing the finish line in 11:33.07.

            Junior Neka Dias (San Antonio, Texas/Holmes) was first in the 100-meter hurdles with her personal best time of 16.01 seconds.

            Also picking up top-three finishes on the track were Kendall who took third in the 100-meter dash with her time of 12.82.  The top three finishers in the dash were separated by just three one-hundredths of a second.  Freshman Haley Bantz (East Waterboro, Maine/Massabesic) was runner-up in the 800 meters with a time of 2;25.96.  The Huskies 4 x 100 and 4 x 400-meter relays each placed third with times of 51.61 and 4:26.82 respectively.

            In the field events, senior Sabrina Sodders (Alstead, N.H./Fall Mountain) won the shot put with a throw of 11.86 meters (38-11) and had a personal best mark of 40.02 meters (131-3) in the hammer to take third.  Junior Briana Pina (Cumberland, R.I.) also had a personal best in the hammer throw with her mark of 43.59 meters (143-0) to take the second spot.

            Freshman Nicole Nicholls (Waldoboro, Maine/Medomak Valley) had a second-place finish in the high jump clearing 1.52 meters (4-11 ¾).  Sophomore Rachel Ingram (Winthrop, Maine) took a second in the triple jump with a mark of 10.62 meters (34-10 ¼) and a fourth in the long jump with a leap of 4.92 meters (16-1 ¾).

            Other notable performances turned in included junior Jasmine Boyle (Brunswick, Maine/Mt. Ararat) who had a personal best and met the New England Division III Championships qualifying standard in the 1500 meters with her time of 4:47.22.

            Southern Maine will compete next Friday and Saturday at the Aloha Relays hosted at Bowdoin College.