By Michael Hoffer
MaxPreps.com
The always-busy February vacation week has presented area high school sports fans with a plethora of championship action in several sports:
Wrestling: It's Massabesic…Barely
Last Saturday, wrestling got things started with the state meet. In Class A, Massabesic held off Noble in a thriller, winning 151 1/2 points to 147 1/2. The Class B title went to Belfast (160 points). Mountain Valley (124) was runner-up. In Class C, Lisbon tallied 145 points to hold off Dirigo (132 1/2) and Dexter (129).
Indoor Track: Familiar Faces Shine at States
Monday brought the indoor track championship meets, where several records fell.
In Class A, Brunswick won the boys' title with 81 points, while Scarborough (45 points), Thornton Academy (44) and Gorham (43) had an intriguing battle for second. Brunswick pole vaulter David Slovenski set a state and New England record with his top vault of 16 feet, 2 1/2 inches.
In the girls' meet, Scarborough (91 points) won its fourth successive championship. Brunswick was second with 71 points. Brunswick's Clare Franco set a record in the 400 (57.88 seconds). Scarborough's 800 relay team (Kira Gordon, Alex Laniewski, Lauren Blaisdell and Annie Mills) set a record with its first-place time of 1 minute, 49.35 seconds. Messalonskee's Jesse Labreck (high jump, 5 feet, 6 inches) and Cony's Bethany Dumas (pole vault, 11 feet, 10 inches) also broke state records.
In Class B, Falmouth won its third straight boys title, scoring 103 points to outdistance Greely (73 1/2).The Yachtsmen got wins from Tom Winger in the long and triple jumps, Ethan Shaw in the mile, Brian Seitz in the 400, and from its 800 relay team (Will Wegener, Pat Cunniff, Sam Cobean and Seitz). The Greely girls rebounded from a rare year away from the pinnacle and captured their seventh championship in eight seasons with a score of 86 points. Waterville (57 points) was a distant second. Record-breaking senior shot put standout Becky O'Brien broke her state meet record with a throw of 49 feet, 11 3/4 inches, but was disappointed she didn't hit the 50 mark in her final indoor state meet. Greely's Hillary Cederna (long jump and 200), York's Chelsey Tewell (55 and 55 hurdles), and Old Town's Hilary Maxim (mile and two-mile) won multiple events.
Swimming: McAuley Surprises; DQ Fells Falmouth
Arguably the biggest surprise at the swimming state meets, held Monday and Tuesday, was the Falmouth girls not winning a fifth consecutive title. The Yachtsmen were in great shape to do so Tuesday night, but their 400 freestyle relay team was disqualified in the preliminary round and Falmouth watched as McAuley came from behind to win its first championship in six seasons with 273 points. Greely was second with 268. Falmouth (253) had to settle for third. Falmouth's Kristin Jackson was named Swimmer of the Meet after setting a state record in the 200 individual medley (2 minutes, 7.45 seconds) and winning the breaststroke (1:07.68). Kristen Desrosiers led McAuley to the crown with victories in the 200 (1:59.02) and 500 (5:23.35) freestyle. Greely's Jessica Howard won the Class B diving crown for the fourth year in a row with 313.50 points.
In the Class A girls' meet, Bangor (281 points) held off Scarborough (264), Morse (256) and Cape Elizabeth (246). Sanford's Jenni Roberts set a new record in the butterfly (58.35 seconds) and was named Swimmer of the Meet. South Portland's Curry Girr was the diving champ (332.55 points).
In Class A boys, Bangor repeated as state champ, coming from behind on the final relay to tally 244 points, edging Cape Elizabeth and Cheverus by five. Cheverus' Matt Libby was named Swimmer of the Meet after winning the 200 free and the butterfly.
In the Class B boys' meet, Mt. Desert Island won its fifth straight crown, holding off Greely, 381 1/2-353. MDI's Justin Gilmartin won Swimmer of the Meet honors after setting new state records in the butterfly (52.14 seconds) and the backstroke (53.36 seconds). Greely's Nate Mecray took both the 50 and 100 freestyle.
Skiing: Freeport, Fort Kent Win Combined Championships
The Class C skiing championships wrapped up Wednesday and when all was said and done, the Fort Kent boys and the Freeport girls were the overall champions.
On the boys' side, Central Aroostook held off Freeport by one point to win the Alpine crown. Waynflete repeated as Nordic champ, edging Winthrop by just four points. Fort Kent was fourth in Alpine and sixth in Nordic, but still wound up beating Freeport by eight points. Telstar won the girls' Alpine title with 37 points. Waynflete (last year's champ) and Fort Kent tied for the Nordic title with 52 points. Freeport wound up 30 points better than Telstar overall.
We'll recap the Class A and B state meets next week.
Boys' Basketball: Cheverus, Thornton Academy Reach Regional Final
At the time of this writing, the Western A and D and the Eastern A and B Finals are set.
In Western A, top-ranked Cheverus and No. 2 Thornton Academy made it to Saturday's championship game, but it wasn't easy. The Stags held off Windham in the quarterfinals, then made a huge statement Wednesday night with an emphatic 63-49 win over nemesis Portland in the semis. The Golden Trojans had to survive by the skin of their teeth to avoid a quarterfinal round upset at the hands of Westbrook. Wednesday, Thornton Academy bounced back from a slow start and pulled away to beat South Portland.
In Eastern A, powerhouse Bangor continues to look unbeatable. Both Brunswick in the quarterfinals and Mt. Blue in the semis hoped to slow the Rams' Express, but neither could do so and Bangor won both games by convincing margins to set up a regional final battle with second-ranked Edward Little (which downed Messalonskee in overtime and Lawrence).
In Western B, top-ranked Cape Elizabeth reached the regional final with a quarterfinal drubbing of Wells and a come-from-behind victory over Greely in the semis. The Rangers had advanced by virtue of one of the more stirring comeback wins in tournament history. Trailing Falmouth by 10 with 1:22 to play, Greely pulled within two with 1.6 seconds left and set up a play for junior Erik Thayer, who caught the ball behind the 3-point line and launched a shot which hit nothing but net for a 50-49 win. Greely led the Capers by a point going to the fourth period in the semifinals, but Cape Elizabeth had too much down the stretch and won, 48-39. The Capers will meet either No. 2 Yarmouth (an easy quarterfinal round winner over Lake Region) or No. 6 Freeport (which shocked defending state champion and No. 3 seed Mountain Valley).
The Eastern B story has been compelling as well. Top-ranked Maranacook barely beat Rockland in the quarterfinals, then downed Mattanawcook by 19. The Black Bears will next face a Camden Hills team which easily downed John Bapst in the quarterfinals before having to pull off a great rally of its own before beating Presque Isle in overtime in the semis.
In Western Class C, Top-ranked Dirigo, No. 2 Winthrop, No. 3 Traip Academy and No. 4 Boothbay Region all made it to Thursday's semifinals.
In Eastern C, form held as well as No. 1 Calais, second-ranked Lee Academy, No. 3 Schenck and No. 4 Orono all advanced.
Richmond has lived up to its top seed in Western D. The Bobcats had no trouble with Buckfield in the quarterfinals, then routed Rangeley in the semis to set up a regional final date with perennial powerhouse Valley (winners over Greenville and Forest Hills).
In Eastern D, the top three seeds (Central Aroostook, Deer Isle-Stonington and Woodland), along with No. 5 Fort Fairfield, reached the semifinal round.
Regional final games are this weekend. The Class B state championships are Friday, February 29. The Class A, C and D title games are Saturday, March 1.
Girls' Basketball: Cony Again Rises to the Occasion
Defending Class A girls' state champion Cony was relegated to the No. 3 seed for the Eastern A playoffs, but the Rams have returned to the regional final nevertheless. Cony defeated Brunswick in the quarterfinals, then downed Morse in the semis to set up a date with surprising No. 5 Oxford Hills (winners over Bangor and top-ranked Lawrence).
In Western A, the top three teams and No. 5 moved into the semifinals. Top-ranked Deering had no trouble with Massabesic in its quarterfinal. No. 2 South Portland pulled away to beat Biddeford. No. 3 Noble went down to the wire with sixth-ranked Marshwood and barely escaped an upset. No. 5 Westbrook held off No. 4 Scarborough to earn a semifinal round date with Deering (a team the Blue Blazes beat during the regular year). The Knights and Red Riots meet in the other semi.
In Western B, seeds No. 1, 2, 4 and 6 advanced to the semifinals. Lake Region got a scare from ninth-ranked Wells before advancing. No. 2 Falmouth was only up three on No. 7 Gray-New Gloucester in the fourth quarter of its quarterfinal before pulling away to win by 14. No. 3 Mountain Valley was undone by a sixth-ranked Greely team which was hot from the perimeter. The Rangers made some key free throws down the stretch to win by three. No. 4 York pulled away from No. 5 Fryeburg to advance.
In Eastern B, top-ranked, undefeated and defending state champion Waterville returned to the regional final after defeating Old Town and Erskine Academy by decisive margins. The Purple Panthers will battle No. 3 Mattanawcook (which crushed Belfast and upset John Bapst) for the right to play for the Class B title.
The Western C story features the upset run of No. 12 St. Dom's, which has downed both No. 5 Hyde and No. 4 Hebron to reach the semifinals, where it will face top-ranked Madison. In the other semifinal, No. 2 Monmouth meets a third-ranked Waynflete team that made a major statement in a quarterfinal round win over No. 6 Mt. Abram, the defending state champion.
In Eastern C, top-ranked Houlton, No. 2 Lee Academy (which won the Class D title a year ago), No. 3 Washington Academy and No. 5 George Stevens advanced to the semifinals.
Arguably the most compelling story of the tournament to date came in Western D. On Tuesday, fifth-ranked Forest Hills had to complete its game with No. 4 Richmond with just four players on the floor after the already-small roster was decimated by fouls. Forest Hills somehow battled to the very end before the Bobcats hit a 3 at the end to win the game. That victory sent Richmond to the semifinals to face top-ranked Buckfield (which crushed No. 9 Seacoast Christian by an 85-29 score in the quarters). No. 2 Valley and No. 3 Vinalhaven do battle in the other semifinal.
Lastly, in Eastern D, top-ranked Washburn was shocked by No. 9 Kathadin, 36-34, in the quarterfinals. Kathadin moved on to face No. 4 Ashland in the semifinals. No. 2 Woodland and third-ranked Central Aroostook will play in the other semifinal.
Regional final games are this weekend. The Class B state championships are Friday, February 29. The Class A, C and D title games are Saturday, March 1.
Hockey: Biddeford Takes Perfect Mark into Playoffs
The hockey playoffs begin this weekend and all eyes will be on Western A top seed Biddeford, the defending state champion, which wrapped up a 20-0 regular season Monday with a win over Scarborough. The Tigers will get either No. 8 Portland or No. 9 Deering in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Kennebunk finished second and will get either No. 7 Fryeburg/Lake Region or No. 10 South Portland in its quarterfinal. Third-ranked Falmouth will battle either No. 6 St. Dom's or No. 11 Westbrook next week. Bonny Eagle wound up fourth. It will get either No. 5 Thornton Academy or No. 12 Scarborough in the quarterfinals.
In Eastern A, Lewiston, the three-time defending regional champ, held off Brewer for the top seed. Waterville finished third, Lawrence fourth, Gray-New Gloucester/Poland fifth, Bangor sixth and Brunswick seventh. The lone prelim will be between No. 8 Messalonskee and No. 9 Cony.
In Western B, preseason favorite York lived up to expectations and earned the top seed. The Wildcats won't play until March 1 in the semifinals, when they will meet either No. 4 Leavitt or No. 5 Maranacook. No. 2 Greely and No. 3 Cape Elizabeth also have a bye into the semifinal round.
In Eastern B, Winslow finished first and will face either No. 4 Presque Isle or No. 5 Houlton in the semifinals. No. 2 John Bapst and No. 3 Gardiner will play in the other semifinal.
Michael Hoffer is the sports editor of The Forecaster, a family of weekly newspapers based in Falmouth. Michael can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net
