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Famous Olympian, Seth Wescott, Speaks at Mt. Blue High School

May 29, 2010 - FARMINGTON -- Defending Olympic champion Seth Wescott's performance was less than stellar in the qualifying rounds of the snowboardcross at the 2010 games.

Going into the medal round, however, Wescott unfurled his bib and saw he'd be wearing No. 17. At that moment, he knew his luck had changed.

"Ever since my sophomore year here at Mt. Blue, 17's been my lucky number," he told the students of Mt. Blue High School in the gymnasium Friday.

Wescott, who went on to win the gold medal wearing No. 17, also wore the number on his soccer jersey while playing for his high school team in Farmington. The school retired that jersey Friday.

"I'm really psyched to get this today. It's a really special thing," said Wescott, who graduated from Mt. Blue in 1994.

Wescott also won the gold medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics, the year when snowboardcross became an event at the games.

"It's probably overdue that I brought one of these to the building," Wescott said, holding up a medal in front the crowd.

Friday was the first time Wescott had been inside his old high school since he graduated, but his name has come up often. Teachers and coaches remember him as a quiet student who did what he was told.

"That was Seth. He didn't stick out. He came to class, did his work," history teacher Gayle Perry said.

Joel Smith, now the head coach of boys' soccer at Mt. Blue, was a senior on the team when Wescott was a sophomore.

"Everyone liked him," Smith said. "He's about as down-to-earth as you get."

In the minds of some students, however, his legacy is slightly different.

"He was kind of a rebel, because he would skip class to go snowboarding," junior A.J. Larrabee said.

Wescott admitted he did miss about 40 days of school to train at Sugarloaf during the winters of his sophomore and junior years, but the principal granted him special permission to do so and made him promise he'd have perfect attendance during the off-season.

During his senior year, Wescott left Mt. Blue for five months to attend Carrabassett Valley Academy, a school for high school-age skiers and snowboarders at the base of Sugarloaf.

At the time, Wescott said, only a handful of students had taken a hiatus from Mt. Blue to attend the academy, and teachers were worried he'd fall behind in his schoolwork; but his English teacher recognized that Wescott had found his life's passion and encouraged him to pursue it. That's what Wescott said was the most valuable lesson he learned in high school.

"It's important for you to believe in yourself and follow that dream," he told the students.

After the assembly, Wescott hung around in the cafeteria, while hundreds of students lined up to meet him, pose for pictures and have him sign their yearbooks.

In addition to the school jersey, Wescott went home with a large-scale versions a commemorative stamp featuring him snowboarding, and Maine vanity license plates that read "6GOLD10," for the medals he won in '06 and '10.

Even though Wescott was the guest of honor, Athletic Director Todd Demmons said, Friday's assembly was more about the students and showing them that hard work and determination can reap great rewards.

"He's given our kids a chance to see, if you don't give up, things can happen for you," Demmons said.

Smith, the soccer coach, said it's sometimes hard for students who grow up in small towns to believe that they, too, can make it big. Wescott is their living proof.

"Just living in the town of Farmington doesn't limit you," Smith said. "Seth has shown them that anything's possible."

by Leslie Bridgers, May 29, 2010, Morning Sentinel

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