Winter/Spring 2012 - the University of Maine at Fort Kent

Athletic Hall of Fame
UMFK hosts its fifth annual Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Dinner and Ceremony on Saturday, March 24 in the
University’s Sports Center. The inductees of the Class of 2012 is a distinguished group: Sterling LeBlanc; Guy Cousins;
Paula Martin Zwemke; Beth Daigle King; and Andre Anderson. This year’s ceremony also recognizes the silver
anniversary of the heralded 1986-87 men’s basketball team coached by Larry Murphy (HOF ’08) and led by Jeff
Pillsbury (HOF ’09) and Juan Hernandez (HOF ’10), among others.
STERLING LEBLANC ‘69
Sterling Leblanc was an avid athlete, coach, and
teacher.
A native of Old Town, Maine, Sterling
came to UMFK following a standout high school
athletic career. He quickly made a name for
himself in Fort Kent as a driving force on a men’s
basketball team coached by the legendary
Lowell “Ozzie” Osgood (HOF ’08), averaging
15-16 points per game.
A 5’9” shooting guard, Sterling had superb
jumping skills and often could be found mixing
it up under the backboard, and soaring to
grab rebounds from taller opponents. He was
the sparkplug on very talented teams, included
ones with center Terry Drown (HOF ’09).
Sterling earned the Most Improved Player
award during his freshman year, was team cocaptain,
and was named to the all-Northeast
College Conference (NECC) team during his
junior campaign.
In his senior year, Sterling helped his team
captured its first-ever NECC conference championship.
He was again named to the NECC All-
Conference team, and was named the Bengals’
Most Valuable Player.
Sterling finished his career as a member of
the elite 1,000 point club.
Upon graduation in 1969 with a degree
in Education, Sterling began his teaching and
coaching career in Van Buren, where he lead the
16 | The Bell Tower
Crusaders to their first-ever appearance in the
Eastern Maine Basketball Tournament. He later
coached and taught English in the Presque Isle
and Rockland school systems.
Combining his love of teaching and athletics,
Sterling transitioned into the health and fitness
industry. He completed advanced studies
and received his personal training certification,
and later opened personal training studios in
the Camden and Rockport area.
Sterling was passionate about strength
training and healthy living, which he infused
into the community. He started a running club in
the early ‘80s, setting the stage for completing
numerous marathons, biathlons, and triathlons.
He was a pioneer in the sport of racquetball;
participating and hosting tournaments and
clinics throughout the state.
Sterling passed away in November 2010.
GUY COUSINS ’81 & ‘83
Guy Cousins played soccer at UMFK from
1977-1980, serving as team captain during
his sophomore, junior, and senior years.
The Caribou, Maine native was a Northeast
College Conference all-star four years running,
1978-81, and earned Most Valuable Player
awards in 1979 and 1980. He was the Maine
Soccer Colleges scoring champion in 1979 and
1980, finishing fourth in the nation in scoring
his final season.
Guy finished his career at UMFK with 62
goals and 35 assists.
Cousins received the Roger Grindle
Sportsmanship Award in 1981 and the Student
Senate award for Athletics in 1981 & 1982.
While still attending UMFK, Guy worked for
the Maine State Legislature for three years as
a bipartisan House staff member.
Guy earned an Associate of Arts in
General Studies in 1980, and a Bachelor of
Science in Education in 1983. He graduated
cum laude, with a grade point average of 3.31.
He later earned a Master of Social Work from
the University of Dundee in Scotland.
Since graduation, Guy’s professional
experiences have taken him to live and practice
in Italy and Scotland, as well in the United
States. He has worked in school, community,
residential, and hospital-based settings with
adults, children, adolescents, couples and
families.
Guy is active in community work, coaching
two high school sports teams and is a
member of the board of a local youth soccer
association. Twice he was selected Coach of
the Year by the Kennebec Journal newspaper
for girls soccer, and by the Mountain Valley
Conference coaches for tennis.
Guy joined the Maine Office of Substance
Abuse (OSA) in 2006 as its associate director,
and later as acting director. He was
appointed director of OSA in 2008. He was
appointed acting director of Adult Mental
Health Services in 2011 and was asked to integrate
the two offices within the Department of
Health and Human Services.
PAULA (MARTIN) ZWEMKE
‘89
Paula Martin played basketball at UMFK from
1986-89, serving as team captain during her
final two years. She was the team’s Most
Valuable Player in 1988 and was the recipient
of the coach’s award in 1989.
During her final two seasons, Paula was
third and fourth in Maine in three-point shooting
percentage. In one tournament game
against Husson College, she made 10 of 15