Lewiston High School graduate Isaiah Harris was named Big Ten Men’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Year last week.
The Penn State sophomore earned the award with his second straight Big Ten title in the 800-meter run at the Big Ten championships, finishing in 1 minute, 47.23 seconds. He also Anchored the Nittany Lions’ conference-champion 4×400-meter relay that set Big Ten and school records (3:04.80; Harris’ leg clocked in at 45.7 seconds).
Harris moved on to the NCAA Championships in both events. He placed fourth in the 800 — his 1:47.94 time was less than a half-second behind the national champion — to earn first-team All-America honors.
Harris is the second athlete in the history of the Penn State men’s program to earn the Athlete of the Year award.
Standout swimming
Bates College swimmer Sara Daher (Marblehead, Massachusetts) entered last week’s NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships as the most decorated swimmer in the Bobcats’ history with 17 All-America honors.
She exited the championships with six more All-American swims, and concludes her career with 23.
Wednesday, the opening day of the national championships, Dehar earned her 18th All-America by finishing fifth in the 200-yard individual medley.
No. 19 came on Day 2, Thursday, when Dehar teamed with Logan McGill, Janika Ho and Anabel Carter to finish 12th in the 200 freestyle relay, good for an All-America honorable mention.
Dehar claimed 20 and 21 on Friday. First was a ninth-place finish in the 800 free relay, along with McGill, Monica Sears and Lucy Faust. Then came an eighth-place showing in the 100 backstroke.
On the last day, Saturday, the senior broke her own school record by breaking the 2-minute mark for the first time in the 200 backstroke (1:59.62). She went on to finish sixth in the event, her 22nd All-America.
Then, in her final college swim, Dehar swam the leadoff leg in the 400 free relay. McGill, Ho and Sears took care of the rest, and the Bobcats finished 10th, giving Dehar her 23rd All-America award.
Over the four days of the national championships, Dehar broke, or was part of breaking, six records, some of which were her own: 200 individual medley, 400 medley relay, 200 freestyle, 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke and 100 freestyle.
The Bates women’s team finished 13th out of 51 scoring teams at the national championships, its fourth straight top-17 national finish.
The Bates men placed 24 out of 52 teams, their highest finish in program history.
UMF’s LeMay slays
University of Maine at Farmington sophomore snowboarder Whitney LeMay (Woodbridge, Virginia) earned three All-America honors at the USCSA National Championships at Mt. Bachelor in Oregon earlier this month.
LeMay earned two first-team All-America awards in competition, taking fourth in the women’s snowboard cross and snowboard GS.
First-team All-Americans finished in the top five of their events, while second-teamers finished between sixth and 10th place.
LeMay also was one of four Beavers awarded for her work in the classroom. USCSA Scholar All-America honors were awarded to student-athletes with GPAs of 3.3 or higher. LeMay, freshman Nordic skier Thomas Wing (New Sharon), freshman snowboarder Connor Dunn (Gorham) and freshman snowboarder Benjamin Amburgey (Fitchburg, Massachusetts) are all second-team Scholar All-Americans.
Dunn placed sixth in the men’s boarder cross to earn second-team All-America honors.
The national championships included 400 intercollegiate athletes from all over the country competing in Alpine, Nordic, snowboard and free ski.
Coppola an All-Star
Bates College senior basketball player Allie Coppola (Tarrytown, N.Y.) was selected to play in the New England Women’s Basketball Association’s (NEWBA) Senior All-Star Classic.
Coppola, a three-year captain, averaged career-highs of 13.1 points, 10 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Her 942 career rebounds are the most in Bates history.
The All-Star selection is the latest honor for Coppola. She previously was named second-team All-NESCAC and second-team All-State by the Maine Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. She also was named to the NESCAC All-Academic and All-Sportsmanship teams, making her one of five winter sports athletes in the conference to be named to All-NESCAC, All-Academic and All-Sportsmanship teams.
The NEWBA Senior All-Star Classic will be played Saturday, March 25, at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts.
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