GORHAM, Maine  --  Seniors Christa Hutchinson (Gorham, Maine/Falmouth [Mass.])
and Hattie Landry (Acton, Maine/Wells), along with junior Emily Poliquin (Lisbon
Falls, Maine/Lisbon), have been named tri-captains of the University of Southern
Maine Huskies women's outdoor track and field team for the 2008 season.  Veteran
head coach George Towle made the announcement this week. 
    
Poliquin, Hutchinson and Landry also served as captains of the Huskies' women's indoor track and field team which captured the Little East Conference and New England Alliance Championships for the eighth consecutive year, and the State Championship for the third time in the last four years.
    
Coming off of a strong indoor season in which she established personal bests in the 200 and 400 meters, Hutchinson is expected to bolster the Huskies' line-up in the longer sprint events.  Indoors, Hutchinson won the 600 meters at the LEC/Alliance meet and was part of the Huskies' 4 x 200-meter relay team that won three titles and set the school record (1:46.50) at the New England Division III Championships.
    
Last year, Hutchinson was named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District One Women's Cross Country/Track and Field First Team.  During the 2007 spring season, Hutchinson established personal bests outdoors in the 400 meters (1:02.27), 400-meter hurdles (1:07.30) and the triple jump (34-3).  Hutchinson earned All-Alliance honors in the 400 and the triple jump.
    
Landry is coming off one of the finest indoor seasons in the program's history.  During the course of the winter campaign, Landry set school records in the 55 meters (7.51), 55-meter hurdles (8.48), and 200 meters (26.24), and was part of the record-setting 4 x 200 relay.  She won three individual titles at the State meet, and won the 55-meter hurdles at the LEC/Alliance Championships.
    
Outdoors last spring, Landry earned All-ECAC and Division III All-New England honors as part of USM's 4 x 100-meter relay team.  She also earned All-New England Alliance honors in the 100-meter dash and 100-meter hurdles, and earned All-LEC and All-New England Alliance honors in the long jump.  Landry's performance as part of the Huskies' 4 x 100-meter relay team helped set a new meet record with a winning time of 50.00 seconds.
    
Poliquin had an excellent indoor season, winning the long jump and finishing second in the triple jump at the State meet, winning the triple jump and taking second in the long jump at the LEC/Alliance meet, and establishing personal bests in both events during the season.  She also picked up All-ECAC honors as part of the 4 x 220-yard relay team.
    
The defending LEC/Alliance champion in the triple jump outdoors, Poliquin had an outstanding season as a sophomore.  Also a member the Huskies' record setting 4 x 100 relay team, Poliquin earned numerous accolades in 2007.  She received All-ECAC and Division III All-New England recognition in the 4 x 100 relay, and picked up Division III All-New England, All-Alliance and All-LEC honors in the triple jump.  Poliquin also earned All-Alliance status in the long jump. 
    
Southern Maine opens its outdoor season on March 26 at the USAT Invitational in Clermont, Fla.  USM will also compete at the Florida State Relays on March 28-29. 
    
After their two dates in the Florida, the Huskies return to the New England and will compete at the Mt. Holyoke Invitational on April 5 and the UMass Lowell Invitational on April 12.  The Huskies travel to nearby Brunswick, Maine, for the Bowdoin Invitational on April 15 and the Aloha Relays on April 18-19.  The Huskies will defend their Little East Conference and New England Alliance championships on April 26 at Rhode Island College.
    
The Huskies will send qualified competitors to the New England Division III Championships at the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., on May 1-3; the NEIcAAA Championships, hosted by the University of New Hampshire, on May 8-10 and the ECAC Division III Championships on May 15-16 at Springfield College.