BANGOR, Maine — Hermon’s Kaitlin Saulter has decided to become a full-time track athlete and won’t play soccer for the University of Maine this fall.
The former Hermon High School All-American soccer player runs the 400 and 800 meters at UMaine and intends to run cross-country when her junior year begins this fall.
She had two goals and an assist in 19 games for the Black Bears last season.
“I obviously love soccer still. I’m still coaching. I’m doing soccer camps. But this year, this is the first time I’ve actually loved track and loved running. So I want to see how well I can do in a sport that I actually love,” said Saulter after winning her second consecutive women’s division race in the 36th annual Walter Hunt Memorial Fourth of July 3K road race on Monday.
“It will be trial and error a little bit. It was definitely a tough decision. I thought about it a lot. I talked to both of my coaches back and forth,” said Saulter, referring to women’s soccer coach Scott Atherley and track coach Mark Lech.
She said that she is a “little nervous” about running cross-country in the fall but also is “excited to try something new.”
Saulter still owns the Class B state high school record in the 400 (56.95) and is a scholarship athlete in track but not in soccer. She will retain two years of soccer eligibility if she decides to return to the sport in 2017.
Student-athletes have five years in which to fulfill four years of eligibility in a sport.
Atherley said Saulter will be missed but was “real happy” for her.
“She came to a crossroad in her competitive athletic career where she was intrigued by the idea of wanting to find out how good she could be in one thing,” he said. “Given her multi-athletic gifts, she wanted to see how far she could push herself in track.
“What we told her upfront was to follow her heart and, ultimately, she decided that this was the time to do it. We support her fully,” he added.
“She made a lot of gains between her first and second year with us,” said Atherley. “Athletically, she is very, very good, and as she developed in our program, she really started to pick up on a lot of tactical things.”
Atherley said she was a “game-changer off the bench.”
He added that she will “absolutely” be welcomed back if she decides to return to soccer.