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TRACK AND FIELD: Labreck, Dumas, Peterson enhanced sport's profile in '08
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BILL STEWART, Staff Writer Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel 04/19/2009

They dominated Maine high school track and field like few others before them. State records fell in a fury under their reign. Championship meets became their personal playground.

Jesse Labreck, Becky O’Brien and Bethany Dumas left an enduring mark on the sport. But as their decorated scholastic careers came to a close, their legacy and impact on the high school sport is just beginning.

“They made Maine recognizable,” said longtime Thornton Academy coach George Mendros, who helps compile Maine’s track and field records.

“Normally, when you’d go to the New Englands, you’d be lucky to see three Maine girls even place. With them, you’re seeing champions. They were quite remarkable. They give all the other girls something to shoot for. They were recognized nationally.

“There’s no question, a lot of people who don’t even follow track knew who O’Brien was, who Labreck was and who Dumas was. You learned their names. I mean, how many people know there is a Messalonskee High School in the state? People associate that with Labreck.”

Labreck, who competes at the University of Maine, graduated from Messalonskee last spring with seven Class A state records, including three indoors.

Dumas, who competes at the University of Southern Maine, graduated from Cony as the state’s Class A indoor and outdoor pole vault record-holder.

O’Brien graduated from Greely High and holds the Class B state records in the shot put, discus and javelin. She attends the University of North Carolina.

All three were New England champions, and all three, in their own unassuming way, dramatically advanced the sport in Maine.

So, too, did former Hall-Dale standout Laura Peterson, who competes on the Bowdoin College track team. Peterson and Labreck are among just a few girls in state history to clear 5 feet in the high jump, 17 feet in the long jump and soar 37 feet in the triple jump.

Waterville coach Ian Wilson, whose girls are the two-time defending Class B state champions, says these athletes didn’t just bring down barriers, but imploded them.

“The best thing they did is forged new paths for kids in Maine,” he said. “They showed what is possible. You hear about the kids out of state doing this and that, and you think they must be 10 feet tall and bullet proof. In Maine, they put up the numbers and were real people. They left for others the message of, ‘Hey, maybe I can do that, too. Jesse Labreck of Oakland, Maine, did that, so maybe I can do that, too.’

“It’s easier when it’s a kid from Maine. If this girl from Cony could vault 12 feet, then hey, maybe some other kids here could do that, as opposed to some kid from Texas doing it.

“They removed some of the mystique of the national caliber performances. They made it doable for kids in our area. They raised the standard for kids in the state.”

Waterville senior Shelby Tuttle is coming off a record-breaking performance in the indoor season. She set the Class B state record in the triple and long jump.

Tuttle stayed with Labreck in a recent visit to UMaine. The two are friends, and Tuttle plans to team with Labreck for the Black Bears next fall.
Tuttle said Labreck and Dumas pushed her to become as better athlete.

“They made you want to improve,” Tuttle said. “They were just mentally tough. Jesse pushes me a lot. I always hear about how far she jumps. I hear she jumped this or that. I know the records she set. I do think of all her records. I always have her jumps and times in the back of my mind so I know what I need to do.”

Labreck trained with Waterville during the indoor season. Even though they competed in different events, Tuttle said she learned a lot from the Messalonskee star as well.

“She was always really focused,” Tuttle said. “I would pick up on that. It helps you do your events. I could just tell she had that drive.”

For their part, Labreck and Dumas say it’s difficult to comprehend just how much they impacted the sport in Maine.

“I hope I got more people involved, but I don’t know,” said Dumas, who also won Class A titles in the javelin. “I specialized mostly in pole vaulting, and it seemed like no one did it when I first started. It just seemed like an extra thing. It wasn’t a big deal.
“Now, I see a lot more kids trying it out and doing it. I think I got more people excited about it. I hope I did anyway. Hopefully, I encouraged more people to come out and participate in track.”

Added Labreck: “It feels like they are talking about someone else. It doesn’t feel like I did those things. I have no idea. It just doesn’t feel like I did that. I feel like I’m not that special of a person.”

What she accomplished in high school was nothing short of remarkable. A multi-eventer, Labreck was a lock to score 40 points — the most an individual could accrue — at a championship meet. She shined in the hurdles, sprints and the high and triple jumps.

“It was always something I just did for myself,” she said.

Peterson added that she, too, was “committed to the track.”

“I like to see people with the same passion,” she said.

Laurel Finlayson is a senior on the Messalonskee track team. She competes in the hurdles, high jump and relays — many of Labreck’s events. Finlayson said the departure of Labreck was bittersweet.

“I was happy a little bit because it’s my turn to be the senior,” she said. “But she was really good at helping people get better. What I like to do is to push myself, and I looked at her as competition to run after. I looked up to her a lot.”

Echoing Wilson, coaches Kelley Cullenberg (Mt. Blue) and Ronn Gifford (Maranacook) say Dumas, Labreck, O’Brien — a two-time national champion — and Peterson changed the sport.

“They were top-of-the line athletes,” Gifford said. “They became role models for others. They left behind a legacy.”

Added Cullenberg: “They raised the bar for girls sports. They certainly raised it for track and field. I don’t know if there’s an athlete out there who can fill the shoes of Jesse Labreck. She was in a class of her own. But they all make great ambassadors for girls in sports. It’s really neat to have people like them emerge and become household names.”

Labreck is competing in an abundance of events at UMaine, including the long jump, triple jump, high jump, hurdles and two relays.

“I do whatever they want me to do or whatever they will let me do,” she said.

She still hopes to qualify for the NCAA championships.

Dumas, meanwhile, was named the Little East Conference Rookie of the Week for the second consecutive week. O’Brien and the Tar Heels are in the mix for an Atlantic Coast Conference title, and Peterson is focusing on the long and triple jumps at Bowdoin.

“I’m thinking about the college spectrum now,” Peterson said, “and what I have to do here to excel. I look back to see what some of the high school kids are doing. I’m still interested in seeing what’s going there.”

The future is promising for the four athletes, and, thanks to them, so is their sport.

“Someone, some day will probably break their records, because that’s what happens,” Mendros said. “But they came first. It’s a lot harder to be that first person. Once it’s been done, people can see it.”


Bill Stewart — 623-3811, ext. 515

bstewart@centralmaine.com

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