| Title: | Student-Athlete; Swimming |
| Year: | 1983 |
Mark Doughty, 1983, Swimming
One of the best swimmers in the state between 1980 and 1983, Mark Doughty was truly the first elite swimmer from Brewer High School. Tall and imposing, at 6’3” in his high school years (he grew to 6’6 post high school), Doughty could cover a lot of water in a short period of time. During his career he held school records in the 200 yd Medley Relay, the 400 yd Freestyle Relay, and all eight individual swimming events: the 50, 100, 200 and 500 yd Freestyle, the 200 yd Individual Medley, the 100 yd Butterfly, the 100 yd Breaststroke and his forté the 100 yd Backstroke. His backstroke record stood on the Brewer history books for 31 years. His versatility in the water was evidenced by his outstanding accomplishments in the Individual Medley (I.M.), an event comprised of 50 yards each of butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle. He still holds to this day the school record in the 200 yd I.M. at 2:00.25.
Having been an age-group swimmer since the age of nine, Doughty began his interscholastic swim career at Brewer his sophomore year. As Brewer’s premier swimmer, Doughty often won both of his individual events in dual meets. This talent was instrumental in Brewer’s defeat of perennial powerhouse Bangor two years in a row and resulted in Brewer capturing the 1982 and 1983 Penobscot Valley Conference league titles, an award given to the conference team with the best dual meet record. Doughty was the P.V.C. Champion in his two events all three years he competed for Brewer High School making him one of the most dominant male swimmers in eastern Maine. He accumulated P.V.C. victories in the 100 yd breaststroke, the 100 yd freestyle, and twice in the 200 yd I.M. The graceful power with which he swam the backstroke was second to none; he was also the P.V.C. Champion in the 100 yd backstroke his junior and senior years. In his six P.V.C. blue ribbon swims, he set five P.V.C. meet records: once in the 100 yd breaststroke, twice in the 200 yd I.M. (also a Husson Pool Record) and twice in the 100 yd backstroke. At the Class A State Championships, Doughty was equally as stellar. His junior year he captured the silver medal in the 200 yd I.M. and absolutely dominated the 100 yd backstroke with a time of :56.02 winning the event by four seconds…more than a quarter of the length of the pool! This victory made Doughty the first Brewer athlete in history to win an individual swimming event at a state meet. During Doughty’s senior year, he again seized gold in the 100 yd backstroke and silver in the 200 yd I.M. His individual accomplishments at the 1982 and 1983 state championships were a huge contributing factor to the Brewer Men’s Swim Team’s third place and runner-up finish respectively.
As the top backstroker in the state, Doughty was named to the Maine State All-Star First Team in the 100 yd backstroke as well as the lead-off swimmer for the 200 yd. Medley “A” Relay in 1982 and 1983. Over three years, he also earned the National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association Top 10 Award in numerous events in all four strokes solidifying his mark as one of the most versatile swimmers in the state. As a testament to his strong work ethic and leadership skills, Doughty was selected captain of the Brewer Men’s Swim Team in 1982 and 1983 and earned the Brewer Swim Team’s Most Valuable Swimmer Award all three years of his high school career.
An excellent student athlete, Doughty was an honor roll student and made the 1983 Maine All-Academic Swim Team, a prestigious award bestowed only to seniors. His contributions to Brewer High School extended well beyond the pool. He was also a member of the golf and tennis teams as well as the chorus and the photography club. Doughty also showed finesse on frozen water; an avid hockey player, Doughty played three years of intramural ice hockey.
During Doughty’s junior year of high school, he joined the U.S. Navy and upon high school graduation, he pursued a Naval career spanning six years as an electrician. For several years, he served his community as a volunteer firefighter for the City of Brewer and for 22 years he owned his own shipping/trucking company as an independent contractor for FedEx Ground. Doughty presently serves in the Maine Air National Guard as an Air Refueling Technician and Instructor. Deployments to Europe and Afghanistan as well as numerous assignments stateside have allowed Doughty to have many adventures and experiences serving his country. A superior mentor for peers and youth alike, Doughty coached Brewer Youth Hockey for over 14 years leading his son Charles’ team to a championship title in 2012 and coached the Maine Air and Army National Guard’s summer youth program for over 10 years.
Mark Doughty lives in Brewer with his wife Tammie, a Registered Nurse Supervisor for St. Joseph’s Hospital. They have two grown children who both currently (2018) serve in the Maine Air National Guard: Candace, a medical technician, and Charles, an Aerial Porter who will be attending Maine Maritime Academy in the fall.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE INDUCTION AND ACCEPTANCE SPEECH OF MARK DOUGHTY
Presenter Candace Doughty and Mark Doughty