NEW LONDON, Conn.  --  Senior Curtis Wheeler (Derby, Vt./North Country Union) won the 5,000-meter run with a school record and NCAA Division III provisional qualifying time of 14 minutes, 39.22 seconds to lead the University of Southern Maine Huskies men's outdoor track and field team to the best finish in the program's history, eighth place, at the 2008 New England Division III Championships hosted by the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn.
    
Wheeler, who surpassed the NCAA provisional qualifying time of 14:48.00, broke his previous school record mark of 14:54.65 set two weeks ago at the State Championships held at Colby College.
    
Wheeler was one of six USM athletes to earn Division III All-New England honors Saturday as the Huskies scored 32 points to finish eighth among the 26 scoring teams.  The eight-place finish is the program's best finish, bettering the tie for ninth place in 2006. 
    
Williams College won the team title with 151 points, followed by M.I.T. in second place with 92 points.  Coast Guard netted 87 points for third place, while Springfield College placed fourth and Tufts University finished fifth with 58 points and 49 points, respectively.
    
Wheeler led three USM runners to finish among the top eight of the 5,000.  Wheeler's twin brother, Nick, placed third with a personal best time of 14:56.05, and senior Chris Hopkins (Worcester, Mass./St. Peter Marian) placed eighth in a time of 15:16.05 to earn Division III All-New England honors.
    
Senior Derek Murchie (Windham, Maine) earned All-New England honors in the 100 and 200-meter dashes.  Murchie placed sixth in both events, crossing the finish line in the 100 in 11.24 seconds and the 200 in 22.68. 
    
Senior Adam Haggerty (Hermon, Maine) placed fourth in the pole vault earning Division III All-New England honors for the second consecutive year, clearing 4.50 meters (14-9). 

Freshman Mason Shepard (Portland, Maine/Deering) also earned Division III All-New England honors placing fifth in the 400-meter hurdles in a time of 56.08.
    
Southern Maine returns to action May 8-10 at the NEIcAAA New England Championships hosted by the University of New Hampshire in Durham, N.H.  The decathlon begins on Thursday and the rest of the championships events will be held Friday and Saturday.