The Women’s Indoor and Outdoor track programs at the University of Southern Maine (USM) have to be one of the best kept secrets in the University’s athletic department. The outdoor track program has won 18 straight New England Alliance Championships, a combination of the Little East Conference (LEC) and Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC). The indoor program has a streak of 17 straight titles for both the LEC and the New England Alliance.
The force behind these teams has been their coach, George Towle. Talking about the teams’ success, Towle said, “We look at the conference championship as a meet where the entire team can and is expected to contribute. I think there is a certain level of pride among the team to continue to perform at a high level. We try to bring a balanced team to the meet and there have been many years when we have scored in all 19 events.”
This was echoed by one of this year’s team members, Lizzie O’Neal, when she said, “I think we’re successful because we’ve worked to have a team atmosphere. As individual as a sport track is, we really work hard to support each other in different events and we go into big meets knowing that we not only have to compete for ourselves, but for the success of the team.”
Towle has been part of the USM coaching staff for 32 years. He started out as a part-time cross country coach and became a full-time coach in 1998 when the Costello Field House opened. Al Bean, the USM athletic director, and other members of the athletic staff commented on what makes Towle so successful sharing that he is a tireless advocate for kids, makes his schedule fit theirs, that he is a great recruiter and has a way of developing athletes to help them reach their potential.
O’Neal added, “George is really good at finding the strong suits in all of his athletes and making sure we’re doing all that we can to reach our full potential.” Every year he has athletes named to the All New England, and sometimes the national teams. Last year, one of his team members was the National Pentathlon Champion. Several members of this year’s team have a good chance to advance to the NCAAs in Geneva, Ohio, on May 25-27. Bean also commented that George has been able to assemble a core of very talented assistant coaches.
Coach Towle and his athletes have developed a model for consistency and success over an extended period of time. High expectations, committed athletes, and history of success has taken the USM outdoor and indoor track teams a long way.