GORHAM, Maine  – Thirty-seven  University of Southern Maine winter sport student-athletes were announced as part of the 2021-2022 Little East Conference for the winter sports.  Students from all four of Southern Maine's Little East Conference sponsored teams have representatives on the academic squad: men's and women's basketball and men's and women's indoor track & field.
 
To earn the distinguished award, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore in standing both academically and athletically, have on cumulative GPA of 3.30 or higher through the previous semester, and have been at their current institution for at least one full academic year.
 
"Being a student-athlete requires a great deal of discipline and effort," said USM Director of Athletics Al Bean. "Each of these student-athletes has performed exceptionally in the classroom and on the field of competition. On behalf of the University of Southern Maine Department of Athletics, I extend our congratulations and thanks to each of these students for wearing their Husky uniform with pride, outstanding character and for achieving academic and athletic distinction."
 
With a diverse set of academic interests, 22 different University of Southern Maine majors are represented by the Huskies' 38 Winter LEC All-Academic team roster, including seven Nursing, four Health Science, three Biology, three Business Management, two Cyber Security and two Psychology majors. 
 
Among the 37 Huskies recognized are men's basketball sophomore Chance Dixon (Lake Worth, Fla./Santaluces). A sharp-shooter for the Huskies, Dixon tied the program's single-game record for threes in a game with nine against St. Joseph's College (11/28/2021) helping USM retain possession of the Costello Cup. Finishing his first full intercollegiate season with the Huskies, Dixon's 73 threes during the 2021-22 season are ranked fifth in single-season records. Dixon is a Sports Management major
 
Women's basketball co-captain graduate student Jackie Luckhardt (Londonderry, N.H.), who previously earned her undergraduate degree in Athletic Training and is completing her Master's degree in Leadership Studies is also on the list.  A 2021-22 All-Little East Conference guard and an LEC All-Defensive team pick, Luckhardt finished her outstanding career with 1011 points, 554 rebounds, 341 assists and 316 steals, making her just the second women's basketball player in program history to have at least 1000 points, 500 rebounds, 300 assists and 300 steals in her career.
 
Women's track & field standout Olivia Jalbert (Auburn, Maine/Edward Little) is also featured in the LEC All-Academic roster.  The school record holder in the high jump, Jalbert qualified for the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field National Championship.  Completing her first full indoor track & field season, Jalbert helped Southern Maine to its 21^st LEC indoor track & field championship winning both the high jump and the long jump for the Huskies.
 
Southern Maine's most recent national champion Ben Drummey (Biddeford, Maine), a Nursing major, highlights the men's track & field recipients.  Now a two-time All-American and national champion in the pole vault, Drummey cleared 5.05 meters at the 2022 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field National Championship to claim the title becoming the program's second national champion. 
 
Fully embracing the NCAA Division III philosophy and its commitment to academics and the full student-athlete experience, the University of Southern Maine Department of Athletics supports ~450 student-athletes, who have a combined grade point average of 3.24.  This Sunday, April 3, Huskies' athletics will honor 215 student-athletes with its William B. Wise Scholar-Athlete distinction (given to those who have achieved a 3.0 GPA or higher during the previous academic year).
 
 
 
 

Men's Basketball
Name	Class	Institution	Major	Hometown
Marcus Christopher	Jr.	Southern Maine	Business Management	Skowhegan, Maine
Chance Dixon	So.	Southern Maine	Sport Management	Lake Worth, Fla.
Trevor Ward	So.	Southern Maine	Exercise Science	West Park, Fla.
Women's Basketball
Name	Class	Institution	Major	Hometown
Ashley Aceto	So.	Southern Maine	Psychology	South Portland, Maine
Katelynn Bagley	Sr.	Southern Maine	Nursing	Hancock, Maine
Brittany Desjardin	Jr.	Southern Maine	Finance and Marketing	Gorham, Maine
Amy Fleming	So.	Southern Maine	Mechanical Engineering	Berwick, Maine
Tamrah Gould-Kibuey	So.	Southern Maine	Nursing	Manchester, N.H.
Meg Kelly	Jr.	Southern Maine	Accounting and Finance	Portland, Maine
Megan King	Jr.	Southern Maine	STEM (Elementary Education)	Derry, N.H.
Jackie Luckhardt	Gr.	Southern Maine	Master's in Leadership Studies	Londonderry, NH
Franny Ramsdell	So.	Southern Maine	Psychology and Business	Wells, Maine
Michelle Rowe	Sr.	Southern Maine	Nursing	Gorham, Maine
Men's Indoor Track & Field
Name	Class	Institution	Major	Hometown
Ben Drummey	So.	Southern Maine	Nursing	Biddeford, Maine
Michael Geary	Sr.	Southern Maine	Cyber Security	North Yarmouth, Maine
Masho Gebremikael	Sr	Southern Maine	Athletic Training	Portland, Maine
Jaquan Grant	Sr.	Southern Maine	Cyber Security	East Granby, Conn.
Drew Lewis	So.	Southern Maine	Psychology	South Portland, Maine
Jon Murphy	So.	Southern Maine	Athletic Training	Exeter, N.H.
Jack Pecoraro	So.	Southern Maine	History	Westbrook, Maine
Garrett Ross	So.	Southern Maine	Mathematics	Biddeford, Maine
Women's Indoor Track & Field
Name	Class	Institution	Major	Hometown
Mackenzie Banks	Jr.	Southern Maine	Business	Belfast, Maine
Catherine Close	Sr.	Southern Maine	Nursing	Orleans, Vermont
Emily Colby	Sr.	Southern Maine	Health Science	Lunenburg, Vermont
Hannah Corbett	So.	Southern Maine	Biology	Sebago, Maine
Johanna Daigle	So.	Southern Maine	Health Science	Ashburnham, Mass.
Vanessa DiRisi	So.	Southern Maine	Biology	Scarborough, Maine
Amy Forester	So.	Southern Maine	Nursing	York, Maine
Madison Fornaiser	Jr.	Southern Maine	Nursing	South Burlington, Vermont
Catriona Gould	So.	Southern Maine	Biology	Freeport, Maine
Ana Hewett	Jr.	Southern Maine	Nursing	Sidney, Maine
Olivia Jalbert	So.	Southern Maine	Undeclared	Auburn, Maine
Lucy Knowlton	Gr.	Southern Maine	Master's Education	Portland, Maine
Rachael Raymond	Sr.	Southern Maine	Art	East Waterboro, Maine
Olivia Richmond	Sr.	Southern Maine	Art Education	Jefferson, Maine
Sophia Slovenski	Jr.	Southern Maine	Health Science	Cape Neddick, Maine
Rosie Train	Jr.	Southern Maine	Health Science	Long Island, Maine
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