Two in a row. Three out of four.

Those are the numbers for Tyler Jasud of Rumford and the University of Southern Maine men’s cross country team, which continues to dominate the landscape of the Little East Conference.

Jasud captured the league’s individual championship Saturday for the second year in a row. The Mountain Valley High School graduate covered the 8-kilometer course at Keene (N.H.) State in a time of 26 minutes, 2 seconds.

Southern Maine claimed both the Little East and New England Alliance team titles, hoisting the former trophy for the third time in Jasud’s career and winning the latter distinction for the second time in the last three autumns.

Two other local runners played a pivotal role in the Huskies’ title defense.

Justin Richardson of Turner (St. Dominic Regionaal High School) was fifth with a time of 26:34. Stoneham’s Tim Even (Fryeburg Academy) picked up 14th-place points at a 27:35 clip.

Those results rounded out a profitable October for the Huskies, who also shone brightly at the State of Maine Championships and the Open New Englands.

Jasud was fourth in the state showcase and 21st in the regional event. Followed closely by Richardson (fifth) and Nick Downing of Winthrop (11th), Jasud paced the Huskies to a runner-up finish at the Maine championship.

Playing up a storm

Two Maine programs are represented among the top five in the current NCAA Division III New England East field hockey rankings.

Saint Joseph’s College (14-3) stands at No. 1 in the poll, while the University of New England (13-2) is fifth.

Local players are the top three scorers for UNE, which extended its school records for single-season wins and most consecutive triumphs with its ninth straight victory, 3-2 in overtime Tuesday versus Bridgewater State.

Taryn Flagg of Livermore Falls, a junior who has played two record-shattering seasons since recovering from a bone transplant in her leg, now has 16 goals and nine assists for 41 points.

Jay’s Michelle Oswald (Mt. Blue) has added 14 goals and five assists for the Nor’easters. Brianna Tupper of Winthrop owns 12 goals and eight assists.

UNE is the No. 2 seed in the Commonwealth Coast Conference tournament and will host either Nichols or Gordon on Wednesday.

Jillian Kimball of Albany Township (Telstar) and Jaimee Brett of Otisfield (Oxford Hills) are senior starters for St. Joe’s. Kimball, a defensive stalwart, has two goals and four assists. Brett checks in with a goal and an assist at midfield.

Staires chooses baseball

Wondering where to watch former Mountain Valley High School football star Justin Staires this fall? You didn’t need to stray far from home, but you needed to keep your eyes on the baseball diamond instead of the gridiron.

Staires played a fall baseball schedule at Central Maine Community College. The 2008 Fitzpatrick Trophy finalist was 4-0 as a pitcher and clubbed four home runs at the plate. He also had the privilege of suiting up with his brother, Nathan Staires, for a Mustangs team loaded with tri-county talent.

Matt Lyons and Ben French supplemented the Staires family as former Falcons on the CMCC roster. Other local standouts on the squad were Alex Smith, Eric Picard and Joe Douglass, formerly of Poland Regional High School; Adam Lutz and Kyle Bussiere out of Edward Little; William Gayton and Josh Leino of Lewiston; Devan Knight of Lisbon; Steve Rouillard of Leavitt; and Tom Edgecomb of Oak Hill.

CMCC’s soccer team sported a distinct Lewiston flavor this fall. Yussuf Shinio, Ahmed Mohamed, Abdi Hersi, Osman Bashir, Omar Hussein, Erik Waite, Abdi Ahmed, Abdi Said, Abdi Hassan and Hilowle Aden all are former Blue Devils who chalked up numbers in the scoring column for the Mustangs.

Joining them on the squad were Jeff Wierzbicki of Lisbon, Cameron Klingman of Hebron, Nathan Lavoie of Wales and Devin Zamboni of Wilton.

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