Aaron Wilcox will return to the sidelines this season as boys basketball coach at Bangor Christian School.

He previously coached BC’s boys varsity basketball team in 1992, 1993 and 1994, but has served in a variety of coaching capacities at the school, as well as serving as BC’s athletic director until returning to the classroom this fall.

“I’ve really wanted to do it again,” said Wilcox, “so when the opportunity came up I jumped at it.”

Wilcox replaces Gary Colson, who coached the Patriots for seven years before taking a leave of absence last winter. During that tenure, he led BC to Eastern Maine Class D championships in 2002 and 2003.

Colson recently told school officials that he was not going to return to the post this season.

Charlie Colson coached the Patriots on an interim basis during the 2003-04 season, guiding the team to a 5-13 record.

“We’ve got a lot of kids back,” said Wilcox of the upcoming 2004-05 edition, “but we’re still going to be young.”

Tournament schedule released

OK, so high school basketball has barely started, with teams in Classes B, C and D on the hardwoods since Monday with Class A programs to start practices on Nov. 29.

But it’s never too soon to look ahead to Tourney Week, is it?

A schedule for the Eastern Maine tournament delivered to the office by veteran B, C and D tournament director Bill Fletcher heralds the coming of this rite of Maine winter, with the first tournament game scheduled to be played at the Bangor Auditorium this season a matchup of the Nos. 3 and No. 6 girls teams in Eastern Maine Class B at 3:05 p.m. Friday, Feb. 18, 2005.

That marks the first of 42 games at the Auditorium that will determine boys and girls champions in Classes B, C and D. Championship Saturday is Feb. 26, followed on Thursday, March 3, by the Class D state championship games and on Friday, March 4, by the Class C state finals.

What will be the last Eastern Maine Class A tournament played at the Auditorium is scheduled to begin at 3:05 p.m. Friday, March 4, with a 3-6 girls clash. The Eastern A finals are set for Saturday, March 12, with the girls game at 3:05 p.m. and the boys game at 7:05 p.m.

The Class A state finals will be held in Bangor on Saturday, March 19, with the boys final at 3:05 p.m. and the girls game at 7:05 p.m.

The full membership of the Maine Principals’ Association voted 61-4 Friday to move the Eastern A tournament from Bangor to the Augusta Civic Center and the Western B tournament from Augusta to the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland beginning in 2006, and also advance the Class A regional tournaments to February vacation week, the same week the Eastern and Western B, C and D tournaments currently are held.

Hintz to run in Foot Locker event

Cassie Hintz, a junior at Old Town High School, will take to the road this weekend to compete in the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships Northeast Regional.

Hintz will compete against some of the best runners from Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington, D.C., for the chance to earn a spot on the national team when she runs Saturday at Van Cortlandt Park in The Bronx, N.Y.

The 5,000-meter race begins at 11:10 a.m. and the top eight girls in the seeded races advance to the nationals scheduled for Dec. 11 in San Diego.