In addition to Bart Hersey, Olympian Kevin Eastler of Farmington, UMaine sophomore Lauren Forgues of Boothbay and the Maine Association of the USATF were honored with four of the nation’s top six awards in racewalking.

Eastler, 30, an Air Force captain stationed at Buckley Air Force Base in Colorado, was recognized as America’s top male racewalker. He won both the 50K and 20K national championships, as well as the Pan American Cup Trials. He posted an Olympic “B” standard for the 50K and an Olympic “A” Standard qualifying time of 1:22:56, when he placed 12th in Spain.

Forgues, who was second (13:55.9 for 3,000m) among the top U.S. women at the USA Indoor T&F Championships in Boston last February, dominated competition in the junior ranks. The winner of both the Pan American Cup Trials (50:35) and the USA Junior Nationals (51:49), Forgues went to South America twice to represent the U.S. She won the bronze medal in the Pan American Racewalk Cup. Forgues then improved upon that feat in July with a silver medal in the Junior Pan American Games in Brazil.

The state was honored by the USATF committee for its mational-leading programs in the middle school and high school and in hosting this year’s Master Track & Field Championships. Maine is the only state to contest both boys and girls racewalking in scholastic competition. Texas is actively pursuing a similar program, while New York has had girls racewalking in their high school program since the 1970s.