News Releases

Knight and Pengthong Chosen to Represent USM at National Student-Athlete Conference

April 24, 2008

Jessica Knight

Golf Pengthong

Two University of Southern Maine student-athletes have been chosen to represent the University of Southern Maine at the 2008 NCAA National Student-Athlete Development Conference to be held May 25-29 at Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resorts in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. 

Sophomore Jessica Knight (Alfred, Maine/Massabecic High School) of the women’s ice hockey and lacrosse teams and Golf Pengthong (Winslow, Maine/Winslow High School) of the men’s soccer team are two of the 700 student-athletes out of the 1840 nominations selected to attend the conference.  The 462 institutions represented at the conference are made up of student-athletes from NCAA Division I, II and III. 

Pengthong helped anchor the Huskies’ defense playing in 19 of 20 games for the men’s soccer team in 2007.  Starting in 12 games, Pengthong played a significant role in the Huskies’ defense limiting their opponents to a 1.38 goals against average.  Southern Maine finished the season with a 10-9-1 overall record and a 5-2 record in the Little East.  The Huskies ended their regular season in second place in the conference an earned their first-ever berth to the LEC playoffs.

Knight, the 2007 Little East Conference Rookie of the Year in women’s lacrosse, has excelled for both the women’s ice hockey and women’s lacrosse teams over the past two seasons.  Knight was the ice hockey team’s top goal scorer, netting 10 goals during the 2007-2008 season, including a pair of game-winning goals. 

According to the NCAA, the NCAA Conference was designed to enhance NCAA student-athletes’ leadership development to enable them to become more effective leaders and motivators when they return to their campuses.  The conference provides the student-athletes with an opportunity to discuss key issues that affect them on campus and in their communities.  The conference also provides them with exercises to enhance their decision-making and problem-solving skills, and improve planning and priority management.  The conference is one of the largest non-competitive gatherings of NCAA student-athletes. 

Criteria for selection include the student-athletes’ demonstrated ability and strong desire to be a leader and the student-athletes’ potential to benefit significantly from a leadership development experience. 

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