ORONO, Maine – The University of Maine Sports Hall of Fame has introduced its class of 2026, that includes six people who span greater than a century of Black Bear historical past and one legendary staff.
Youth is served by girls’s basketball’s Blanca Millan, honored in her first 12 months of eligibility, whereas the historic determine is cross nation legend Frank Preti, who carried out greater than a century in the past.
Performing within the highlight, on the 1998-99 males’s nationwide champion hockey staff, was Cory Larose, whereas Amanda (Mandy) Cronin was concurrently making saves on the brand new girls’s ice hockey staff.
Performer and director, or athlete and coach, had been distance runner Patrick O’Malley and diving coach Rich Miller. Completing the class, to be inducted on Friday, October 16 in a banquet at Jeff’s Catering in Brewer, is the 1976 baseball staff that gained two College World Series recreation in Omaha.
Millan ’21 was the primary participant in America East girls’s basketball historical past to be named twice as each the league’s participant and defensive participant of the 12 months. That’s for starters. She was named the NCAA worldwide participant of the 12 months by World Exposure Report and was a finalist for the 2021 Becky Hammon mid-major participant of the 12 months award. Plus, she was a first-team All-America East choice 3 times. Statistically, she completed the 2020-21 season ranked 15th within the nation in each scoring (21.4 factors per recreation) and steals (2.90) and earned her third-straight choice to the America East all-defensive staff. She ranks seventh on Maine’s all-time scoring checklist with 1,974 profession factors and helped information Maine to America East convention titles and NCAA event appearances in each 2018 and 2019.
Preti ’17, as in class of 1917, was additionally an inductee as a member of the 1915 cross nation staff, a staff honored totally on the swift strides of Preti, who completed second within the IC4A meet in New York, which Maine gained. This was in pre-NCAA days and regarded the nationwide championship. In 1913, Preti was first within the state meet and third in New England, and in 1914 he was first in New England in cross nation and topped the state two-mile champion, displaying promise of what was to come back in 1915. In 1916, Preti positioned third in New England cross nation and eleventh on the IC4A meet.
Larose ’00 was a member of the 1998-99 nationwide champion ice hockey staff that was inducted into the UMaine Sports Hall of Fame in 2024 and now he joins teammate Steve Kariya as a person corridor of fame honoree. He adopted up the nationwide championship the next season as captain, first staff All-Hockey East, Hockey East all-tournament staff and second staff All-American. He led the Black Bears in assists (36) and factors (51) in 1999-00. For his profession, he’s third in assists (119) and, with 61 targets in 146 video games, he’s eighth on Maine’s all-time checklist in factors (180). He later performed professionally for eight seasons within the American Hockey League and performed seven video games with the New York Rangers.
Cronin ’02 joined Maine’s girls’s hockey staff in its second season (1998-99). She set a college goaltending report by making 66 saves in a single recreation, a report which stood till 2013. Cronin shares the college report of 9 shutouts and ranks fourth amongst Maine goaltenders in profession video games (66) and profession saves (1,751). She served as staff captain throughout her junior and senior seasons. Post-UMaine, she performed 5 years within the National Women’s Hockey League after which 5 years within the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, successful the Clarkson Cup in 2007 and ’08 with the Brampton Thunder. Cronin was one of the co-founders of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League. After 5 seasons with Brampton, she left to signal with the newly shaped Boston Blades, the primary American CWHL staff. She labored with USA Hockey as a goalie coach and evaluator at nationwide camps and represented USA Hockey on the IIHF Performance and Development Camp in Finland. Cronin went on to function common supervisor for the Buffalo Beauts and the Toronto Six.
O’Malley ’90 has made it a on condition that he’ll all the time put his finest foot ahead, successful three letters every in cross nation, indoor observe and discipline, and outside observe and discipline, and serving three years as cross nation captain and as a senior for each the indoor and outside seasons. In 1989, O’Malley turned within the America East’s all-time finest mark within the 10,000 meter at 30:42.21 to earn America East all-conference honors. His report time would stand till 2008. He recorded the college’s all-time second quickest 10,000 meters and all-time third quickest 5,000 meters. On the cross nation circuit, O’Malley earned league all-conference honors in 1988 and was named Maine College Runner of the Year by New England Runner Magazine. He was a multi-time IC4A qualifier, a multi-time All-New England Track, All-New England Cross Country, All-North Atlantic Conference Tack, and All-North Atlantic Conference Cross Country honoree and was named the M Club Student-Athlete of the Year. After graduating, he labored 10 years at Nike earlier than serving 4 years because the Director of Product / Director of Running at Reebok. Following his time at Reebok, O’Malley moved on to Saucony the place he superior up the ranks from Director of Product, to VP of Product, SVP of Global Product, and ultimately President of Saucony. Under his skilled route, his shoe merchandise obtained quite a few accolades of nationwide reward together with ‘Editor’s Choice’, ‘Best Buy’, and ‘Best Debut’ by Runner’s World Magazine.
Miller coached 16 New England intercollegiate diving champions (12 males and 4 girls) and 9 NCAA nationwide qualifiers and members (4 males and 5 girls) throughout his 13 years (1972-’85) with the UMaine program. Leading males included Roy Warren, a member of the UMaine Sports Hall of Fame, and Keven Martin, an Eastern Seaboard intercollegiate champion. On the ladies’s facet, he coached three NCAA All-Americans and three AIAW nationwide qualifiers and members. In 1985, 5 of his divers (probably the most for any college) certified for the NCAA Division II nationals within the 1- and 3-meter. Every feminine diver Miller coached at Maine scored on the New Englands.
The 1976 Baseball staff was the second UMaine staff to achieve the College World Series, ending with a 29-9 report after successful two video games in Omaha, 9-8 over Auburn and 6-3 over Washington State. During the run, the Black Bears pieced collectively a pair of 10-game win streaks. Led on the diamond by UMaine Sports Hall of Famers Ed Flaherty, Jack Leggett, Bert Roberge, who pitched six seasons within the main leagues, and shortstop Russ Quetti, who was named to the College World Series all-tournament staff, it was the primary of six groups that coach John Winkin led to Omaha. The 1976 Black Bears captured the ECAC championship, with wins over UConn and UMass, earlier than sweeping their method via the NCAA Northeast Regional, with wins over Penn State, Temple, and Seton Hall, to earn their spot within the College World Series. Tony DiBiase (.339), John Dumont (.311), and Leggett (.307) led the best way on the plate whereas Roberge completed the 12 months 9-2 with a 2.06 earned run common and 60 strikeouts to tempo Maine on the mound. Steve Conley (7-2) and Barry Lacasse (7-1) bolstered the Black Bears’ pitching employees.
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