STANDISH – Amber Dostie is comfortable on the St. Joseph’s College campus, which is only eight miles away from her family’s Standish home.

And even in the dorm, Dostie enjoys familiarity with twin sister (and field hockey player) Peyton, her roommate.

But Amber Dostie is not one to strive for comfort on the cross country trail.

“I want to do better,” said Dostie, the Bonny Eagle graduate now in her freshman year with the Monks.

Dostie handles change well, it turns out. In her first collegiate meet 12 days ago, Dostie was the second-place finisher (and first Division III runner) in the Rivier Invitational, covering the 5K course in 19:32.

In last weekend’s Colby Invitational, in wet conditions, Dostie won the 5K race in 20:25.

“She’s a very talented young runner,” Monks Coach Ray Putnam said.

Dostie was a standout runner for the Scots, known mainly for her track prowess (state indoor 800-meter champion). College is an obvious step up in competition, and Dostie is jumping right into it.

“Now I’m training a lot harder,” she said. “I’m working out with the men’s team. It’s challenging.”

The men’s team?

“She can stay in the pack with the men,” Putnam explained. “This way she gets pushed.”

And pushed is what Dostie wants.

IN OTHER WOMEN’S cross country news, Colby won its own invitational, led by a second-place finish from freshman Anna Doyle of Winthrop, in 20:59.

In the Bowdoin Invitational, University of Southern Maine junior Molly Carl of York won her third race of the season, finishing the 6K course in 22:38.82. USM finished fourth as a team.

MIT won the meet, followed by the host Polar Bears, who were led by junior Olivia MacKenzie of Buxton. She finished third in 22:57.04.

THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND women’s cross country team received the inaugural Scotty Whitelaw Sportsmanship Award last weekend at the ECAC Honors banquet in Hyannis, Mass. The award was presented to the UNE runners for their actions in ECAC championships last November when Jess Partlow and Lindsay Forrette stopped in the race to help a fallen runner from another team.

THE USM MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY team won the 22-team Pop Crowell Invitational in Wenham, Mass, led by the sixth-place finish of senior Seth Neuts of Portland (27:13). UNE finished fifth.

Bowdoin won its own invitational with Polar Bears senior Matthew Hilliard winning in 25:57.78.

ST. JOSEPH’S WON a key field hockey game, beating North Atlantic Conference rival UMaine-Farmington 1-0. The Monks’ home conference, the GNAC, does not have field hockey, so St. Joseph’s competes in the NAC.

The Monks (6-2, 4-0) sit atop the NAC standings.

Bowdoin (6-0, 4-0) and UNE (11-0, 3-0) also continued their unbeaten marches through their respective conferences this past week.

IN VOLLEYBALL, St. Joseph junior Sarah Hawkes of Pownal recorded 22 kills and junior Kiah Begley of Berwick dished out 44 assists in a five-set win over Lasell College.

Both players are adding to their career records. Hawkes now has 703 kills, and Begley has 1,773 assists.

Bowdoin (13-1, 4-0) has won 12 straight matches and leads the NESCAC standings.

ONLY BATES WON among Maine’s Division III football teams last weekend, as the Bobcats beat Tufts 28-9. Sophomore Ryan Curit of South Portland caught eight passes for 50 yards, including a 16-yard score. He also rushed for 37 yards on four carries.

THE HUSKIES of the University of Southern Maine golf team bested three other schools in the Southern Maine Cup at the Gorham Country Club. Each team featured three pairs of golfers, competing in a format featuring six holes of best ball, six of scramble, and six of alternate shot.

The USM pairs of Cody Berkowitz (Saco) and John Gagliano (Windham), Nick Mullins (Naples) and Brett Kapteina (Stamford, Conn.), and Leo Paquette (North Yarmouth) and Josh Hogan (Falmouth) all shot a 71. The Huskies’ team score of 213 beat second-place UNE by eight strokes.

And the University of New England Invitational on Monday, at Cape Arundel Country Club in Kennebunkport, Endicott and UNE tied for the low team score at 298. Endicott won the title based on the score from teams’ No. 5 golfers. Endicott junior Jack Wyman of Falmouth High was the medalist with a 1-under 70.

Staff Writer Kevin Thomas can be contacted at 791-6411 or at: kthomas@pressherald.com

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