The Maine Principals’ Association has announced sites for Saturday’s state soccer championship games.

As in previous years there will be four sites. However, the Class B state finals will be split between two sites. Hampden Academy will host the Class C games as well as the Class B boys game.

All four girls games will start at 1 p.m. Boys games in Classes A, C and D will begin at 10 a.m. and the boys Class B game will start at 4 p.m.

The Bangor High girls will try for the program’s first Class A state championship when the Rams take on Gorham at Morse High School in Bath. The boys game will feature Mount Ararat of Topsham against Scarborough.

In Class B, the Presque Isle boys will also go for their first state crown with Yarmouth as the opponent. Winslow will face Falmouth in the girls’ game at Lewiston High School.

The Class C boys matchup between Dexter and North Yarmouth Academy will open the three-game day in Hampden. The Class C girls game between Madawaska and NYA will follow the boys, followed by the Class B boys game.

The games in Hampden will be held at the Weatherbee School complex.

The Class D games will be held at Hall-Dale High School in Farmingdale. The Bangor Christian boys will face Richmond, and the Lee girls will square off against Greenville, in a matchup of the 2003 and 2004 Eastern Maine Class D finals. Greenville switched to Western Maine this year.

Snyder gets HA swimming job

Jason Snyder knows it’ll be a huge challenge, but the newly appointed coach of Hampden’s first independent varsity swimming team is ready for what lies ahead.

“I just want to get them swimming at a higher level, get them to go fast and have fun,” he said. “That’s the only way I know how to do it.”

Snyder, a former assistant coach of the Hurricane Swim Club and Seacoast Swimming Association, was recently named the Broncos coach.

A 1978 Hampden graduate and Winterport resident, Snyder worked with former Hurricanes coach Tim Babcock for about 10 years and also coached under Seacoast head coach Mike Parratto. Seacoast is based in Dover, N.H., but Snyder ran its Bangor outpost for a few years.

Snyder got into coaching to spend time with his daughter, Lindsey. She’s now a sophomore on the Central Connecticut State University swim team.

The 2005-06 season will mark the first year Hampden’s swimmers have been on their own. The Broncos had practiced and competed with Brewer High for 17 years. Brewer was considered a cooperative team, but the MPA informed Hampden last year that its team had grown too large to continue to swim with the Witches.

During an April 27 meeting, the SAD 22 school board approved $16,825 to create a new team, but earlier that day Hampden Academy principal Ruey Yehle got word from the MPA that it decided to grant Hampden an appeal of the original decision, which meant the Broncos had one more year with the Witches.

After much discussion, the SAD 22 athletic committee decided to recommend that Hampden start its own team. The school board voted to go along with the recommendation at a June 1 board meeting.

The Broncos will practice 7:30-9:30 p.m. at the Bangor YMCA pool, a four-lane pool that is primarily used for therapeutic purposes and is kept at a warmer temperature than a competitive pool.

“It’s not optimal, but the first thing I plan to tell [the Hampden swimmers] is, we have an Olympic champion who grew up swimming in a warm-water, four-lane pool,” Snyder said, referring to gold medalist Ian Crocker of Portland.

Hampden will swim in all away meets against Brewer, Presque Isle, Caribou, MDI, Ellsworth and Foxcroft. The Broncos will wait a year before hosting in order to learn how to run meets.

Snyder’s hiring was approved at the October school board meeting. The school also hired Sam Manhart as an assistant coach.

Title time: Winslow, Lee, Central

Field hockey and soccer don’t have much in common with softball, but three high schools discovered this weekend that success in the spring season has translated to the fall.

All three schools won at least a regional softball championship last spring, and all three have won at least a regional championship this fall.

Central, the winner of this weekend’s Class C state field hockey title, also won the Class C state softball crown last June. Head softball coach Durice Washburn serves as an assistant field hockey coach to Diane Rollins.

Winslow will be playing in its fourth state soccer final since 2000 – the Black Raiders lost to Gorham 2-0 last year – but won the Class B softball state title last year. The Raiders are actually seeking their third straight state championship, as they won last winter’s basketball crown.

The Lee girls have added plenty of hardware to their school’s trophy case. Last school year the Pandas won Eastern Maine Class D titles in soccer, basketball and softball with a state title in basketball.

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