Karen Sirois had a solid high school basketball career at Cony High School in Augusta, and went on to have a successful collegiate career at the University of Maine at Farmington.

The former Rams point guard, who amassed more than 1,000 points at the college level, has been named Cony’s new girls basketball coach.

The 23-year old Sirois replaces her high school coach, Paul Vachon, who coached the Rams for 23 years and guided them to seven Class A state championships.

Vachon resigned earlier this spring to become Cony’s new athletic administrator, a job he will start on July 1.

Sirois led the Rams to four EM Class A regional final appearances and the regional championship in 2002.

Sirois is UM-Farmington’s all-time leader in assists, and she led the Beavers to three North Atlantic Conference championships, including back-to-back crowns in 2006 and 2007.

She inherits a Cony squad that finished third in the Eastern Maine Class A ranks last winter and advanced to the regional finals before losing to Oxford Hills of South Paris.

Devils, Witches look strong

It’s a pretty safe bet that the Calais and Brewer softball teams should be in the upper echelon of the Eastern Maine Class C and A ranks the next few years.

After all, coach Greg Smith’s Blue Devils didn’t field a single senior as they fell to Georges Valley of Thomaston in Saturday’s state title game in Standish.

“Class C will still be wide-open next year,” Smith said. “There’s still some good teams in Class C with Penobscot Valley [of Howland], Houlton and Penquis [of Milo].”

The Devils will return a solid nucleus, including pitcher Tessa Clark, who kept a hard-hitting Georges Valley team in check after surrendering two runs – only one of them earned – in the first inning of Saturday’s contest.

Clark, Courtney Hill, Alex McVicar, Honor Wilkinson and Nicole Osborne should all be fixtures in the Blue Devils’ lineup.

Coach Harry “Skip” Estes’ Witches, who won the first state championship in school history over Biddeford Saturday, graduate only four senior starters.

Estes’ lineup is laden with juniors and sophomores, including winning pitcher Melanie Judkins, a sophomore who compiled a 12-1 record this spring, and junior Meghan McLain, who drove in what proved to be the game-winning run and preserved a one-run Brewer lead against Biddeford with a diving catch at shortstop.

Houlton re-hires Graham

Shawn Graham was re-appointed to the girls basketball coaching position at Houlton High School recently.

Graham’s hiring was approved at a recent school board meeting. All coaches at the school receive one-year contracts.

“He’s been doing a great job. He’s a great asset to our program,” said Houlton athletic administrator Wayne Quint.

“He’s well-liked by his peers, well-liked by other coaches and well-liked by the players … a nice representative for Houlton High School.”

Graham has guided the Shiretowners to three consecutive Bangor Auditorium appearances, and they earned the top seed in Eastern Maine Class C last winter and advanced to the regional final.

The Shiretowners graduated two seniors from that team, including 6-foot-1 center Rachel Foster, but will return a good squad next winter, particularly in the backcourt with Vanessa Sanderson and Lainey Herring and Desiree Dow up front.

O’Brien, Slovenski are champs

Some of Maine’s finest high school track and field stars shined brightly at the Nike Outdoor National Championship meet over the weekend in Greensboro, N.C.

Becky O’Brien from Greely in Cumberland Center and David Slovenski of Brunswick each earned a first-place finish while Noble of Berwick’s Anthony Stanton recorded an eighth-place finish in the high jump.

Slovenski cleared 16 feet, 41/2 inches to win the pole vault, besting his nearest competitor by four inches.

O’Brien dominated the shot put, winning by nearly seven feet with a heave of 52-13/4. She later took second in the discus with a toss of 153-11.

Noble’s Stanton cleared 6-7 in the high jump while Thornton Academy of Saco’s Dan Smith recorded impressive throws of 52-1 in the shot put and 163-3 in the discus.

rmclaughlin@bangordailynews.net

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