The University of Maine at Farmington outdoor track and field team is gearing up to make its debut as a varsity sport in a little over a week, and everything from interest in the program to team chemistry to the weather seems to be falling into place for the start-up program, according to interim head coach Dan Campbell.

Campbell said the Beavers will have the numbers and talent to compete in all 18 events when they open their inaugural season at the Bridgewater State Invitational on March 26.

“The numbers we have are strong, between 36 and 38 on a daily basis, and we’ve got all of our bases covered,” Campbell said. “That’s a really good beginning. But what’s better is we’ve got kids who are experienced and talented.”

The warm weather and lack of snow have helped Campbell, in his first year at UMF, in the evaluation process and the athletes preparing for the season. Campbell said the team has bonded well during practice and team-building activities such as scavenger hunts and credited the captains — Anna Dowling, Laura Pulito, Maine Central Institute alum Shane Hathaway, and Erskine Academy alums Sean Cabaniss and Jake Roberts — with getting everyone on the same page.

“It’s great team leadership,” Campbell said. “They’ve really stepped up to the plate.”

Cabaniss, a junior who is also playing baseball this spring, and classmate Josh Wynne were at the forefront of helping the program get promoted from club status last year. The Beavers competed in North Atlantic Conference meets last year but could not figure in the scoring at the conference meet until they achieved full-fledged varsity status.

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The Beavers brought in one of the most successful high school coaches of the last 30 years to help get the program off the ground. A UMF graduate, Campbell started coaching at Edward Little High School in 1984 and guided the Red Eddies to Class A outdoor track championships in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2009. He also started the school’s indoor track and field team.

Campbell, whose hiring was announced a month ago, is still filling out his coaching staff, which already includes Ryan Wagner, who coached cross country at UMF and cross country and track at Colby College.

Campbell said he’s still getting to know his athletes, and vice versa, but is excited about the talent he’s seen. Being able to practice outside has helped, although the Beavers will still be at a bit of a disadvantage competing against teams from points south that have been working outdoors for much longer.

Given those factors, Campbell said he and the team will go into their season opener with managed expectations. But the athletes are eager to get started.

“They’re excited just to see where they stand overall and find out what they need to do to get better,” Campbell said.

The Beavers don’t have any home meets this season but will be competing in invitationals at Colby and Bowdoin colleges throughout April as well as the North Atlantic Conference championships at Colby-Sawyer College on May 1.

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New England Small College Athletic Conference and North Atlantic Conference lacrosse teams opened their respective seasons within the last two weeks. This weekend, their baseball and softball teams will take the field to open the 2016 campaign. And they will all be very busy for the next week.

Colby baseball will kick off its season Saturday in Tucson, Arizona with a doubleheader against Wisconsin-Superior. The Mules are scheduled to play 11 games in eight days in Tucson. Colby softball opens Sunday with back-to-back games against St. Lawrence and Elmhurst in Clermont, Florida. The Mules have eight more games scheduled after that in the Sunshine State through next Friday.

Opening Day for Thomas College baseball is Saturday, with the Terriers scheduled to play a doubleheader as Massachusetts Maritime. They’ll head to Rhode Island on Sunday to play two against Johnson & Wales before heading to Florida, where they are scheduled to play 10 games in six days. Thomas softball is headed straight to Clermont, Florida, where it will open with games against Oswego State and St. Thomas (Minnesota) on Monday to kick off a stretch of 13 games in seven days.

University of Maine at Farmington baseball gets started against Fisher College in Boston with a Saturday doubleheader, then plays the Falcons once on Sunday before heading to Florida for a six-games-in-five-days stretch that includes a game with St. Joseph’s College.

UMF softball already started its season, indoors at the Mahaney Dome at the University of Maine. The Beavers split a doubleheader with UMaine-Presque Isle, winning 12-4 and losing 5-3, last Saturday. Next Sunday, they start a stretch of 10 games in six days in Florida against Carthage College.

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Colby College’s Carylanne Wolfington was named to the D3hoops.com All-Northeast Region team and will play in the New England Women’s Basketball Association All-Star Classic on Saturday.

Wolfington, from Hallowell, was named to the All-Northeast third team. She already had been named to the New England Small College Athletic Association (NESCAC) first team and Maine All-State first team.

A co-captain, Wolfington was 10th in the NESCAC in scoring (13.2) and fourth in 3-point field goal percentage (39.7). She helped the Mules go 15-11 (6-4 in NESCAC) and reach the NESCAC tournament semifinals.

Wolfington finished her career ranked Colby’s ninth all-time scorer with 1,143 points. She also had 485 rebound and 135 assists and made 183 3-pointers.

The all-star game is at 1 p.m. at Western New England University in Springfield, Massachusetts.

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Former Colby College basketball coach Dick Whitmore will be returning to the sidelines on Saturday to coach in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division III College All-Star Game in Salem, Virginia.

The NABC selects two retired Division III coaches each year to coach in the game and selected Whitmore to lead the East squad this year. Whitmore was the head men’s basketball coach at Colby for 40 years, compiling a 637-341 record. He also served as interim head coach at Thomas College for four games in 2013-14 and raised his record to 639-343. He ranks eighth all-time in career Division III victories.

Randy Whitehouse — 621-5638

rwhitehouse@mainetoday.com

Twitter: @RAWmaterial33


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