Lennon, Casavant set for induction
By Kevin Sjoberg
Sports Reporter
PRESQUE ISLE — The Presque Isle High School Athletic Hall of Fame will grow by two on Jan. 17 when Debbie Lennon and Chris Casavant are inducted in a ceremony to take place at the Northeastland Hotel.
Happy hour will be held from 5:30-6:15 p.m., with a buffet dinner to be served at 6:15 p.m. and the ceremony set to get under way at 7 p.m. Tickets are $30 and can be obtained through the PIHS athletic office and at Star City IGA.
Debbie Lennon
(Class of 1982)
DEBBIE LENNON fires up a shot against Cony during a tournament game in the early-1980s. Lennon is being inducted into the Presque Isle High School Athletic Hall of Fame Jan. 17.
Contributed photo
Known for her fearless style of play, Debbie Lennon excelled in field hockey, basketball and softball for the Wildcats in the late-1970s and early-’80s. Lennon was a three-sport star all four years, played volleyball for three seasons and added track and field to the athletic resume her junior and senior years, but it was basketball in which she received the most accolades.
She helped lead the 1982 team to an Eastern Maine Class A title. She was an All-Aroostook and All-State first team choice her junior and senior campaigns and made the Senior East All-Star Team. In the summer of 1981, she was selected as one of 15 female basketball players from throughout the state to pilot an exchange program with Nationalist China. She was chosen Presque Isle’s Outstanding Female Athlete her senior year.
Lennon’s talents earned her a scholarship to play basketball at Div. I Boston College, but she opted instead to attend the University of Maine at Farmington, where she played one season and was second on the team in both scoring (11.1 points per game) and rebounding (5.4 per game). She also shot 70 percent from the foul line as the Beavers finished as the District V runner-up and ranked No. 1 in the state.
Lennon remained active in sports following her playing days, participating in competitive softball and basketball leagues, while also enjoying racquetball, bowling, tennis, volleyball and golf. She now enjoys quilting, gardening and woodworking. She owns a cleaning company and resides in Belgrade Lakes.
Chris Casavant
(Class of 1990)
CHRIS CASAVANT takes a jumper during a home game played during the 1988-89 season. Casavant is being honored Jan. 17, when he gets inducted into the Presque Isle High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
Contributed photo
Chris Casavant’s impressive varsity athletic career at Presque Isle High School spurred success at the collegiate level and professionally, where he has become a highly-regarded coach and baseball umpire.
Casavant lettered in soccer and basketball for three seasons each and in the spring played baseball as a freshman, sophomore and senior and tennis as a junior. He enjoyed great success in all four sports. He was the Butch Shaw Award winner as the top Class A soccer player in Aroostook County his senior year. Casavant was a Big East Conference all-star and Bangor Daily News All-State honorable mention selection in basketball and in baseball was an all-conference first-team choice. The one year he opted to play tennis in the spring, he was the Aroostook County singles runner-up and qualified for the state tournament.
He went on to play basketball collegiately – one year for the Maine Central Institute post-grad program before settling in at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, where he played four years. He is fourth all-time on the Owls’ scoring list with 1,541 points. As a senior, Casavant made both the All-Maine and all-conference first team and received honorable mention as an NAIA Div. III All-American. He was inducted into the university’s athletic hall of fame in 2004.
A high school physical education and health teacher in the Caribou school system, Casavant, who has coached varsity basketball for 16 years, is beginning his 12th season as coach of the Vikings boys’ team. He has been named Big East Conference coach of the year on three occasions. He is also a veteran baseball umpire who has worked 12 Eastern Maine championship games and 10 state finals.
