By Roger Brown
MaxPreps.com
The quarterfinal round of this year's Class I girls basketball tournament was filled with surprises.
Top-seeded Kearsarge and third-seeded Bow were among the teams eliminated Sunday, when the quarterfinals were held at Southern New Hampshire University. Fourth-seeded Oyster River, last year's Class I champion, also saw its season end following a 45-32 loss to fifth-seeded Lebanon.
It was payback for Lebanon, which lost to Oyster River in last year's quarterfinals.
"I'm sure there was a little bit of revenge on their mind," Oyster River coach Dave Nichols said. "In five years we're 5-0 against them. This is the first time they've beaten us. They picked a nice stage to do it at."
Abby Bergeron tossed in a game-high 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Lebanon, which extended its winning streak to 10 games and improved its record to 16-4. Oyster River finished at 15-5.
"We never really talked about Oyster River," Lebanon coach Tim Kehoe said. "For us the whole talk wasn't Oyster River, it was the quarterfinals (and we) just weren't good enough this year."
Lebanon will face eighth-seeded John Stark (14-6) in Wednesday's semifinals. John Stark trailed Kearsarge by nine with three minutes to play in regulation, but fought back for a 39-36 overtime victory.
John Stark senior Libby Cullerot, a 5-foot-10 center, led all scorers (18) and rebounders (16). Kearsarge (18-2) led by 11, 25-14, at halftime.
John Stark and Lebanon split two regular-season meetings. Each team won on the other's home court.
Second-seeded Hanover (18-2) will meet sixth-seeded St. Thomas (16-4) in Wednesday's other semifinal. Hanover beat seventh-seeded Souhegan, 46-36, and St. Thomas advanced with a 54-41 triumph over third-seeded Bow.
Marie Girard tossed in a game-high 25 points for St. Thomas. She also had seven rebounds. Bow completed its season with a 16-4 record.
Hanover overcame a 21-10 halftime deficit against Souhegan (14-6). Emily Hough led the Marauders with 14 points and seven rebounds.
Hanover beat St. Thomas 44-37 at home in the only regular-season meeting between the teams this season.
Wrestling: Timberlane Prevails Again
Timberlane won its eighth-consecutive Class L/Division I state championship Saturday by beating Concord 239.5-237.5 in an event decided on a final match. It was Timberlane's 15th state championship overall.
Two Timberlane wrestlers prevailed in their weight class: Ty Sullivan won the 160-pound championship, and Derek Sickel won the 171-pound title.
Concord, which earned the program's first dual-meet victory over Timberlane earlier this month, finished second in the Division I tournament for the fourth year in a row.
Concord's victory ended Timberlane's 69-metch winning streak.
Hollis-Brookline captured its first wrestling state championship when it won the Division II title at Bow High School on Saturday.
Hollis-Brookline, which started its wrestling program 18 years ago, earned 182 points. Plymouth (155.5) finished second and John Stark (127) came in third.
Hollis-Brookline's Dan Golia (112 pounds) and Matt Oliva (160) each won individual championships.
Boys Soccer: McLarney Named State's Best
Londonderry midfielder Robbie McLarney has been selected as the Gatorade New Hampshire Boys Soccer Player of the Year.
McLarney, a junior who moved from forward to midfield following his sophomore season, led the Lancers to a 13-3 record last season, when he scored 11 goals and added seven assists.
"He's willing to go get balls and control our speed of play," Londonderry coach Shawn Diaz said. "He's become a better defensive player, which helps in the midfield, but what's most valuable is that he likes to combo with his teammates instead of just dribbling around the field."
Concord's Nathan Krinsky (2006), Fall Mountain's Adrian Dubois (2005) and Bishop Guertin's Nathan Demers (2004) are past winners of the award.
