First baseman named New Hampshire's best player; Lebanon teams win track titles; Derryfield tennis remains dominant.
Portsmouth High School first baseman Mike Montville has been named the 2009 Gatorade New Hampshire Player of the Year.
Montville, a junior who may be best known for his power at the plate, is hitting .560 (28 for 50) with 10 home runs and 38 RBI for the Clippers, who were unbeaten through their first 15 games this season. Portsmouth won last year’s Class I championship and entered the week with a 38-game winning streak.
Montville, who helped Portsmouth’s Post 6 win the American Legion state championship last season, is being recruited by several major Division I college programs as a corner outfielder. He was selected as the Most Valuable Player in last year’s American Legion state tournament.
“Mike is a big, strong kid who has all the physical tools to be a big-time college and pro prospect,” Hollis-Brookline coach Ryan Coulter said. “He has tremendous power to all fields, and is a player who can change the outcome of a game with one swing of the bat.”
Montville was a standout wide receiver for Portsmouth’s football team, and helped the school’s boys basketball team win the Class I title last winter. He set a school record for receptions in a game by catching 17 passes for 152 yards and two TDs in a loss to Souhegan last season.
Montville hit .457 with seven home runs and 40 RBIs for Portsmouth as a sophomore.
“He’s been a dominant player at the plate for us,” Portsmouth coach Tim Hopley said. “The best thing is we’ll have him for another year.”
Track and Field: Lebanon teams sweep
Lebanon continued to dominate Class I competition by winning both halves of the Class I Track and Field Meet on Saturday. It was the sixth consecutive title for the Lebanon boys, and the third straight for the Lebanon girls.
Manchester Memorial and Nashua South each earned 72 points and shared the Class L boys title. Manchester Central won the Class L girls championship. Bishop Guertin, which had won the previous six Class L girls titles, finished fourth.
The Hopkinton girls won their third straight Class M-S girls championship, and Franklin won the M-S boys title.
Tennis: Derryfield claims titles
The Derryfield School won the Class M-S boys and girls tennis championships Saturday at Plymouth State University.
The top-seeded Derryfield girls capped their second consecutive undefeated season by beating second-seeded Littleton, 9-0. Derryfield completed its season with a 15-0 record. Second-seeded Littleton finished 12-2.
The second-seeded Derryfield boys won their seventh consecutive championship with a 6-3 triumph over top-seeded Gilford. Both teams ended the season 12-2. Both of Gilford’s losses came against Derryfield.
The Class L and Class I tennis championships will be determined this week.
Boys Lacrosse: Tournament pairings released
Bishop Guertin (14-0 in Division I), Bow (12-1 in Division II) and Monadnock (14-0 in Division III) are the top seeds for the NHIAA boys lacrosse tournaments, which begin Wednesday.
The Division III championship game will be played June 9 at Nashua’s Stellos Stadium, the Division II championship game will be held June 9 at Exeter’s William Ball Stadium and the Division III championship will be played June 10 at Stellos Stadium.
