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Dexter girls basketball coach Margaret Veazie sat down Friday night and composed a letter to the girls on her team.
And Saturday, during a practice before the Tigers left for the Class C state championship game in Augusta, she read the letter to the girls.
“I bawled all the way through it,” she said after coaching Dexter to its first-ever basketball state title. “I told them I’m sorry I’m leaving, but they understand this is something I have to do. They’re ready to let me have my life. It’s very hard.”
As if playing for a state championship wasn’t enough pressure, the Dexter and Dirigo of Dixfield teams both had a lot to deal with as they went into Saturday’s game at the Augusta Civic Center.
For the Eastern Maine champion Tigers, who picked up their first state crown with a 50-31 victory, there was the issue of Veazie leaving. For the Western Maine winner Cougars, there was the pressure of continuing a 10-year streak of success at the Civic Center.
The Dexter girls were also touched by the latter issue – there was quite a bit of speculation about who would be able to break Dirigo’s decade-long run of postseason wins in Augusta – which made for a stressful week.
“Oh my gosh, we were really nervous coming into it,” said Dexter sophomore Sabrina Cote. “I think everybody would tell you the same thing. It’s crazy.”
Tiger senior Brittany Veazie could empathize with how the Cougars must have felt after the game. She was part of a Dexter field hockey team that won its fifth straight Class C state title last fall and has won 62 games in a row.
“I feel kind of bad because from field hockey I know what it’s like to have people out to get you,” she said.
Dirigo coach Gavin Kane felt bad for his Cougars but was pleased with the overall season. Dirigo lost four starters, including All-Mainers Lyndsay Clark and Alyssa Burns, from a team that won two straight state titles.
“I’m sure they didn’t want to be the first team to lose here but they don’t have anything to be ashamed about,” Kane said. “We came in here with just one returning starter and I don’t think anybody expected us to go undefeated through the season or even win the Western Maine title. So I’m very, very proud of this group of kids.”
Both teams are already talking about a return to the state game, this time at the Bangor Auditorium in 2005.
Dirigo will lose one senior non-starter and Margaret Veazie wouldn’t be surprised if the Tigers got back there again. Starters Ashley Ames, Mallory Ames, and Cote and sixth man Meagan Fogarty are all underclassmen.
“They’re good kids and someone’s going to have an awfully nice time coaching them,” Margaret Veazie said.
Bangor softball field progressing
Fund-raising efforts for the new Bangor High softball field are kicking into high gear now that the season is a few months away.
The field will be playable when the season starts as workers got most of the construction done this fall.
The field itself is nearly done (the infield just needs its final layer, a minor detail that can be done quickly when the snow melts). The seating area is finished and the dugouts are almost completed.
Sewer and water lines need to be installed into the building for restrooms and concessions. Eventually the field will have lights for night games, although that part of the project is a lower priority now.
“We’re trying to get them a place they can call their own,” said Neal McCrum, who along with Alan Dall has spearheaded the efforts.
“It’s nice to have lights, but the Port-a-Potties get a little bit old,” McCrum said.
For more information, call McCrum at 947-8565.
Jessica Bloch can be reached at 990-8193, 1-800-310-8600 or jbloch@bangordailynews.net.
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