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MAINE RUNNING HALL OF FAME

1957 Waterville cross country awaiting induction

Undefeated champions ready for enshrinement this fall

By Travis Lazarczyk tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer

Bert Hawkins saw the Waterville High School cross country team take off down Gilman Street, and he asked coach Clair Wood if he could join them.

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UNDEFEATED: The 1957 Waterville cross country team won both the state and New England championships. Back Row, from left: Paul Pierce, manager Francis Chase, Roger Jeans, coach Clair Wood and Caril Cliche. Front row, from left: Al Veilleux, captain Ted Sack, Bert Hawkins, Wayne Fotter and Wayne Cochrane.

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Sure, Wood said. Just come early tomorrow and we'll get you outfitted.

Well, Hawkins remembers asking, how about now?

With that, Hawkins took off after the team, running in his loafers. The loafers soon came off, and Hawkins finished the workout in his bare feet.

"I paid for that folly, because both heels the next day were all blistered," Hawkins said.

That didn't matter, Hawkins fell in love with cross country running. Hawkins won an individual state title and anchored a Waterville team that won three straight Maine state championships, and in 1957 took the New England title.

Hawkins, Coach Wood and the rest of the 1957 Waterville cross country team -- team captain Ted Sack, Al Veilleux, Wayne Fotter, Wayne Cochrane, Roger Jeans and Carl Cliché -- will be inducted into the Maine Running Hall of Fame this fall.

Joining the 1957 Waterville team in this year's class are former Colby College cross country and track coach Jim Wescott, Brewer High graduate Bob Booker and Biddeford's Joel Croteau. Two races also will be honored at the Nov. 14 ceremony: The Bridgton 4 of the Fourth and Bucksport Tour du Lac 10-miler.

The Waterville cross country team went undefeated in 1957 and dominated every race it entered. That year, the Kennebec Valley Championships were held after the state championships. Knowing Waterville had already won the state title, some teams elected not to compete in the league race.

"It was kind of anti-climactic," Hawkins said. "Some teams didn't even show up. How do you motivate your team if you've already lost the state meet?"

Waterville won the New England championship in Saxtons River, Vt., on an unusual course.

"About two miles in, there was this hill unlike any hill I'd seen in my life," Hawkins said. "It was a landing hill for an old ski jump. We actually had to put our hands on the ground to pull ourselves up."

Wescott retired in 2003 after coaching for 25 years, at Colby and at North Carolina State. Wescott coached the Mules to New England Small College Athletic Conference championships in 1981, '87, '90 and '93. In 1990, he was named New England Division III Cross Country Coach of the Year. Wescott now lives in Belfast.

The Nov. 14 induction ceremony will be at Killarney's Restaurant at the Holiday Inn in Waterville, and it begins at noon. The ceremony is open to the public, but reservations are requested. Tickets are $25.

For reservations and information, contact Skip Howard, Chairman, Maine Running Hall of Fame, 30 Richards Road, Glenburn, ME 04401-1239, (207) 947-4836, or skippr@roadrunner.com.

Travis Lazarczyk -- 861-9242

tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com