Story by Deja Driscoll Smith, Athletic Communications Intern
 
GORHAM, Maine – Two hundred and twenty-seven University of Southern Maine Student-Athletes were named to the Fall 2023 Little East Conference (LEC) Academic Honor Roll. 
 
The Little East Conference (LEC) announced a total of 1,977 student-athletes competing in the conference's 21 championship sports were named to the LEC Academic Honor Roll in  recognition of their academic performance in the Fall 2023 semester.  Student-Athletes must maintain above a 3.0 GPA for the semester and be an active member of a team to earn a spot on the honor roll.  Huskies' men's indoor & outdoor track & field and women's soccer tied for a department high of 25 members named to the honor roll. A total of 44 student-athletes posted a 4.0 gpa for the fall semester. 
 
Student-Athletes from each the University of Southern Maine's 19 LEC sponsored sports were honored: Baseball (23), Golf (3), Men's Basketball (12), Men's Cross Country (9), Men's Lacrosse (12), Men's Indoor & Outdoor Track & Field (25), Men's Soccer (16), Men's Tennis (8), Women's Basketball (14), Women's Cross Country (6), Field Hockey (21), Women's Indoor & Outdoor Track & Field (19), Women's Lacrosse (16), Softball (17), Women's Soccer (25), Women's Tennis (8), and Volleyball (13). 
           
Turning in strong academic and athletic performances throughout the season, many Husky student-athletes were also recognized for their outstanding individual and team achievements in competition at the conference, regional and national level.  
 
Senior goalkeeper Bre Atwood (Franklin, MA) of the women's soccer team had a momentous season which earned her Little East Conference (LEC) Goalkeeper of the Year, first-team all conference, United Soccer Coaches (USC) first-team All-Region, and USC All-American honors. 
 
Back-to-Back LEC field hockey Defensive Player of the Year senior Jordan Cummings (Auburn, ME) also earned National Field Hockey Coaches' Association All-Region honors as well as first-team all conference for her role in helping USM win the 2023 LEC Field Hockey Championship. 
 
Golf standout senior Zach Ellsworth (Saranac Lake, NY) earned his spot on the second-team all conference after placing seventh at the conference championships. A two-sport student-athlete, Ellsworth also competes as a member of the men's ice hockey team. 
 
Sophomore Riley Reitchel (Palermo, ME) had a standout season both in the spring and fall. Reitchel was named LEC Field Rookie of the Year after winning the javelin event at conference championships and would go on to also capture the NEICAAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship javelin title. In the fall, Reitchel set the single-season record for assists (11), was named second-team all-conference and USC All-Region, and was named the 2023 LEC Women's Soccer Tournament Most Outstanding Player. 
 
The University of Southern Maine Department of Athletics will recognize a record number of 256 William B. Wise scholar-athletes from the 2022-2023 school year on February 11 (12:00 pm) at the Italian Heritage Center in Portland, Maine . As a whole the department posted a combined grade point average of 3.32 during the time frame.