Bangor Christian loses softball star to finger injury

The Bangor Christian baseball team knew it would be without one of its top players this spring. When the Patriot softball team lost one of its top players this year, it came as a surprise. Either way, both squads have been dealt big blows in the past months.

Gabby Eastman, who was batting around .600 for the softball team, will likely miss the rest of the softball season after breaking a finger in a car accident last Thursday. Dave Chrisos is still recovering from the injuries he suffered in a car crash in February.

Eastman, along with teammates Danielle Miller and Vanessa Layton, were involved in the accident in front of the school on Broadway. The three were on their way to Bangor Christian’s softball field on Kenduskeag Avenue when their car was hit.

None of the girls was seriously injured, but Bangor Christian athletic director Aaron Wilcox said the question for Eastman was whether she needs surgery.

“Either way she’s pretty much done,” Wilcox said of the junior third baseman.

Chrisos’ condition was much more critical after his accident in which he skidded on a patch of ice near the intersection of Broadway and Judson Boulevard. The basketball guard and captain was in Eastern Maine Medical Center for about three weeks.

Wilcox said Chrisos, a junior who likely would have been the top pitcher and hitter this year, is going to school part time and being tutored, and is still going through physical therapy. Chrisos could be back playing sports this summer, however.

“I don’t know what he’ll be able to do,” Wilcox said. “But he’s on his own timetable. He’s a very goal-oriented person.”

Withey heading to Bowdoin

Lauren Withey, the Camden Hills basketball star who sat out most of her senior season with a knee injury, is heading to Bowdoin College in Brunswick, her father Bob Withey said recently.

Withey had been accepted at Bowdoin, Wesleyan and Brown. She was considering a year at Phillips Exeter Academy, but decided to head to college this fall.

The athletic 6-foot forward is also a top tennis player but could not play for the Windjammers this spring because of her injury. Withey tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee during the basketball preseason.

New Englands approaching

Maine’s high school golf season may be in the fall, but the New England championships will be held next month, as will championships for tennis and outdoor track and field.

The golf championship tournament will take place Monday, June 17 at Bretwood Golf Course in Keene, N.H. Track and field championships will be held Saturday, June 8 at Plymouth South High School in Plymouth, Mass., at 11 a.m. The tennis tournament will be Saturday, June 15 at William Hall High School in Hartford, Conn., at 8 a.m.

Schools are good sports

Bangor, Brewer, Caribou, Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln, Houlton and Hodgdon are among the schools that won Maine Principals’ Association sportsmanship awards for ice hockey and wrestling this winter.

In hockey, Bangor took Class A East honors and the Houlton-Hodgdon team won for Class B East. Biddeford and Gorham won in Western Maine Classes A and B, respectively.

Brewer was the Class A East winner in wrestling, while Caribou was the Class B East honoree and Mattanawcook took the Class C East award. In Western Maine, Class A Massabesic of Waterboro, Class B Wells and Class C Traip of Kittery all won awards.

In swimming, the Cheverus of Portland girls and boys took Class A honors. The Greely of Cumberland Center boys and Scarborough girls won in Class B.

Jessica Bloch can be reached at 990-8193, 1-800-310-8600 or jbloch@bangordailynews.net.