Women's Indoor Track 12/8/2021 11:46:00 AM

Women's Indoor Track and Field Season Preview

Women’s Track to Open Season with USM Open I

GORHAM, Maine – The University of Southern Maine women's indoor track and field team will open its season this Saturday, December 11, at the USM Open I. The twenty-time Little East Conference indoor track and field team champions will look to continue their conference dominance this season as the Little East is set to host an indoor championship meet for the first time since the 2019-2020 season.

The Huskies return ten athletes from the 2019-2020 indoor championship team, including 2020 indoor pole vault champion, junior Sophia Slovenski (Cape Neddick, Maine/Phillips Academy). An all-around athlete, Slovenski also won the pole vault at the 2021 outdoor championship meet and became a national champion winning the javelin at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Other key returners from the 2019-2020 team include senior Emily Colby (Lunenburg, V.T./Lyndon Institute), Maddie Fornasier (South Burlington, V.T./South Burlington), and Allie Gross (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy). Colby placed third at the end of season conference meet in the women's 600 meter run, Fornasier fifth in the 55 meter dash, and Gross third in the high jump. Fornasier and Gross were also both members of the 4x200 and 4x400 meter relay teams, both of which finished second.

The Huskies added a number of new faces during the abbreviated 2020-2021 season, including Catriona Gould (Freeport, Maine/Freeport) who won the 100m and 200m dashes at the 2021 Little East Conference outdoor track and field championships and Lucy Knowlton (Portland, Maine/ Leavitt), winner of the 1500 meter run and the 5,000 meter run at the outdoor championships.

"There is a lot of excitement around the team this year," said third-year head coach Rob Whitten. "We have 14 or 15 new faces that weren't with the team last year so we'll add some depth in a few key areas that we haven't had recently."

The Navy and Gold will also look to freshman Olivia Mosca (Brewer, Maine/Brewer) to be a key contributor this indoor season. Mosca wrapped up a successful rookie cross country season with a second place finish at the Little East Conference championships, earning rookie of the year conference honors.

"There's always some nerves and excitement for the first meet of the year, but I think having a full meet with spectators in the building will raise the energy level even higher," said Whitten. "We've had a great 6 weeks of fall training coming off of fall competition seasons so we're looking forward to getting some early season marks and seeing where we're at."

The USM Open I is slated for Saturday, December 11 with an 11 am start time and will consist of ten teams, including conference opponents Plymouth State and UMass-Boston.

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