The Southern Maine Community College men’s basketball team capped its season March 10 by winning the United States Collegiate Athletic Association Division II national championship title with a 79-75 victory over Johnson & Wales University Charlotte.
The SeaWolves claimed the title after winning three games in the USCAA national tournament in Richmond, Virginia. The victory gave SMCC its first team national championship in the college’s 76-year history.
In the championship game, SMCC jumped out to an early 7-0 lead over the Wildcats and never trailed, leading 36-28 at halftime. Johnson & Wales used a run late and pulled within two with four seconds remaining, but the SeaWolves held on for the four-point victory.
Zachary Mickle led the team with 20 points, Ian Regan had 15 and Anderson Kavutse had 12. Regan and Kavutse each had 10 rebounds.
“I give all the credit to our players, who have been unselfish and bought into our team concept all year,” said Matt Richards, the men’s basketball coach and athletic director, in a March 11 email. “This is a great honor for Southern Maine Community College to bring home a championship to the state of Maine. “
Southern Maine Community College President Joe Cassidy said the basketball program should be proud of its accomplishments this season, especially given the uncertain times with the pandemic. Both the men’s and women’s teams played in the national tournament, with five players on the teams being named USCAA Academic All-Americans.
“This is a historic moment in SMCC’s history,” Cassidy said in the news release. “We are so proud of all of our student-athletes and their success on the court and in the classroom.”
The SMCC men’s team finished the season with a 20-5 record, including 13-1 in the Yankee Small College Conference, earning it a No. 5 seed in the national tournament.
The women’s team, which finished the season with a record of 21-5 and 12-2 in conference games, lost in the first round of the national tournament, but won its next game in the consolation round.
“Our women’s team had such an outstanding season as well, and their support was a catalyst that helped the men’s team be victorious,” Richards said.
Spring Harbor president retiring
Maine Behavioral Healthcare President Kelly Barton announced March 9 that Mary Jane Krebs will retire from serving as president of Spring Harbor Hospital as Dec. 31, 2022.
Mary Jane Krebs Courtesy photo
“During the past 25 years, in which she helped build Spring Harbor Hospital as we know it today, Mary Jane has improved the lives of thousands of people with behavioral health needs,” said Barton in statement to employees of southern Maine’s only private, nonprofit psychiatric hospital, which is a division of Maine Behavioral Healthcare. “After devoting so much of herself to leading teams of providers and creating the conditions for delivering optimal patient care, I understand Mary Jane’s desire to spend more time with her husband, children and grandchildren. Fortunately for us, she has agreed to stay on through the end of the calendar year to manage the transition.”
Krebs has held several leadership roles at Spring Harbor Hospital, Maine Behavioral Healthcare and New York-based hospitals in her 50 years of treating and supporting people with behavioral health needs.
Prior to her appointment as president of Spring Harbor Hospital in 2015 and interim chief nursing officer this past June, Krebs was the hospital’s chief operating officer from 2014 to 2015. During her leadership of the 100-bed hospital in Westbrook, she led the creation of the Lunder Family Alliance program, an integrated program that complements traditional psychiatric treatment with support for the vocational, peer and family needs of young-adult patients ages 18-30. Thanks to donors, including the Lunder Foundation and the Lunder and Purdy families, the Alliance program offers support through Maine Behavioral Healthcare’s Family Navigators, Peer Support Specialist and Vocational Support Services.
St. John Paul II hosts ’40 Cans for Lent’
During the pandemic, many people are finding themselves struggling to feed their families, an increase in need that has once again inspired St. John Paul II Parish (St. Maximilian Kolbe Church, Scarborough; Holy Cross Church, South Portland; St. Bartholomew Church, Cape Elizabeth) to act.
“40 Cans for Lent” is an initiative organized by the Knights of Columbus Councils 8144 and 11747 that asks parishioners and community members to donate canned goods and packaged food during the 40 days of Lent, spanning from Ash Wednesday to Holy Thursday.
Those wishing to participate can bring food to large collection barrels posted in the lobby of each church. During the past three years, despite pandemic roadblocks and protocols, the parish donated nearly 13,000 pounds of food.
All the proceeds from the “40 Cans for Lent” collection in Scarborough, South Portland and Cape Elizabeth are donated to the South Portland Food Cupboard, which was started in 1997. The pantry and its volunteers operate out of a warehouse on Thadeus Street, including students at Holy Cross School in South Portland, who often assist the volunteers with organizing donations and stocking shelves.
For more information on how to help the food cupboard or for distribution schedules, visit www.southportlandfoodcupboard.org or call 207-874-0379. For more information about “40 Cans for Lent,” call the parish office at 207-883-0334.
Statewide career fair launches March 22
Live sessions for the second annual ME Virtual Career Fair will begin Tuesday, March 22 and will include 130 presentations for more than 10,000 students across the state. The Community Coordinators Collaborative, an organization of educators working to support students with career exploration, organized the event in partnership with the Maine Department of Education and the Association of Computer Technology Educators of Maine.
The event will commence on Monday, March 21, with a series of pre-recorded messages from keynote speakers including Commissioner of Education Pender Makin, Mark McInerney of the Center for Workforce Research and Information, Cary Olson Cartwright, Unum’s assistant vice president of corporate social responsibility, and David Herring, executive director of the Wolfe’s Neck Center for Agriculture & the Environment.
The fair will continue throughout the week offering hundreds of live sessions and featuring an array of businesses and
organizations from different industries.
“The virtual career fair has allowed us to expand access and to expose students to the many diverse professions in Maine,” said Sheree Inman, co-chair of the ME Virtual Career Fair, in an email. “We have schools from Presque Isle to Kittery participating and are excited to introduce them to the wealth of opportunities available in their home state. This year, we have more than 100 presenters including trades professionals, entrepreneurs, artists, and scientists such as Maine’s celebrated NASA astronaut Jessica Meir. The presenters are eager to share their experience and proud of what Maine has to offer.”
For more information, visit www.mevirtualcareerfair.org.
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