Courtesy: Robby Mac Donald
Earlier this month, Michael Bartley, Eric Bickford, Arthur Conover, Kevin Haley, Niall Janney and Genevieve Worthley were inducted into the Maine Swimming and Diving Hall of Fame at the induction ceremony held in Portland, Maine.
Twenty-six of Bartley’s Maine interscholastic divers earned state titles. Bartley, a 1964 Olympic Trials diving qualifier, also coached at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, where his divers earned 24 NCAA Division 3 All-American honors.
Bickford set Maine interscholastic records for Portland’s Deering High in 1970 in the 400 free, 1971 in the 200 IM and the 400 free. The two-time Portland YMCA MVP won gold medals in all individual events in which he competed at the Maine Interscholastic Championships. He finished his interscholastic career undefeated in the 400 free. At Keene State College, he earned All-American honors in the 200 butterfly
Former Kenyon College captain and NCAA Division 3 national champion Conover, a 15-time Mid Maine Dolphins record holder as an age group swimmer, has the distinction of being the first NCAA Division 3 swimmer to break 15 minutes in the 1650-yard freestyle, finishing in 14:56.44 in 2017.
The National Federation Interscholastic 2017-18 Coach of the Year, Haley coached 48 Maine individual interscholastic state champions at Cheverus High School. His Cheverus teams won eight boys’ state titles and one girls’ title. Between 2014 and 2020, Haley’s boys’ teams were undefeated.
Janney, a 2012 Olympic Trials 200 fly qualifier and competitor while competing for Harvard University, swam age group for the Boothbay YMCA and then later for the Long Reach Swim Club of Bath. During his age group career, he set 12 Maine YMCA state records, three New England YMCA records, and qualified for both the Junior and Senior Nationals.
As a member of the Westbrook Seals, Worthley set numerous breaststroke records both in short and long course competition. Racing for Deering High, she claimed 7 individual titles and earned a full scholarship to Eastern Michigan University. At EMU, she was an NCAA D-1 B cut qualifier.
