Edward Little of Auburn, which reached the Eastern Maine Class A boys basketball championship game last winter, was picked as the top team for the 2008-09 season in the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class A coaches preseason poll.

Coaches had their annual preseason meeting Thursday evening and selected the top eight teams in the 16-team Class A division – encompassing all of the teams in Eastern Maine Class A – as well as a list of players to watch.

Edward Little was the No. 1 pick by the league’s coaches, followed by Mt. Blue of Farmington, Brewer, Hampden Academy, Bangor, Morse of Bath, Skowhegan and Lawrence of Fairfield.

Edward Little, 16-5 a year ago after falling to Bangor 61-54 in the regional final, will be led this season by senior forward Corey Therriault, who broke through last winter to earn Bangor Daily News Eastern Maine Class A All-Tournament Team and honorable mention All-Maine recognition.

Mt. Blue, an Eastern A semifinalist that finished 13-7 last season, features one of the top backcourt combinations in seniors Ben Russell, an honorable mention All-Maine choice for the 2007-08 campaign, and All-Eastern A tourney pick Jamie Sawyer.

Brewer finished just 6-12 and out of the tournament picture a year ago, but the Witches have an additional year of experience and a solid corps of returning players that includes guards Dom Drake and Kyle O’Connell, as well as a new coach in Clayton Blood.

Hampden Academy, 11-8 last winter, has been one of the more consistent programs in the KVAC ranks in recent years, and the Broncos return what should be a solid 1-2 frontcourt punch in Jacob Moore and Noah Burditt.

Bangor, which finished 21-1 after winning the regional title before being upended by Cheverus of Portland in the 2008 state final, will have a new look this year as the bulk of last year’s squad, including All-Maine choices Ryan Weston and Jon McAllian and honorable mention selections Lee Suvlu and Bill Zolper, have graduated. Senior guards Ryan Larochelle and Nate Frazier are two of the most experienced returning players for coach Roger Reed’s club.

Morse (6-13 in 2007-08) and Skowhegan (11-8) each qualified for the Eastern A preliminary round last season, and both are threats to improve on that effort this winter. Morse has a talented inside player in Ryan Chaney along with Alex Kee, Alonzo James and Nate Elwell, while Skowhegan will rely on the leadership of Billy Clark and Jordan Taylor.

Lawrence, which reached the Eastern A semifinals last year with a 12-9 record, boast returning veterans Ben Violette, Matt Perkins and Brooks Spaulding.

KVAC Class A players to watch are the following: Bangor: Nate Frazier, Ryan Larochelle; Brewer: Dom Drake, Kyle O’Connell; Brunswick: Rob Basquez, Steve Carter, Rashon Edgerton; Cony: Brian Carville, Greg O’Neill; Edward Little: Shane Ciriello, James Philbrook, Corey Therriault; Hampden Acad.: Noah Burditt, Jacob Moore; Lawrence: Matt Perkins, Brooks Spaulding, Ben Violette; Leavitt: Kolin Gauthier, Doug Nash; Lewiston: Omar Mohammad, Ronnie Turner; Messalonskee: Zack Brown; Morse: Ryan Chaney, Nate Elwell, Alonzo James, Alex Kee; Mount Ararat: Cam Vermette, Josh Walker; Mt. Blue: Ben Russell, Jamie Sawyer; Nokomis: Chris Braley, Jordan Richards; Oxford Hills: Jordan Farrar, Cody Hadley; Skowhegan: Billy Clark, Jordan Taylor.

Preseason practices in all classes get under way Monday, with the 2008-09 regular season set to begin Dec. 5.

NFHS to honor Benson

Jeff Benson of Oxford Hills of South Paris is one of eight high school athletic administrators who will be honored by the National Federation of State High School Associations with the receipt of an NFHS Citation Dec. 16 at the 39th annual National Conference of High School Directors of Athletics to be held in San Diego.

NFHS Citations are presented annually to outstanding athletic directors in recognition of contributions to interscholastic athletics at the local, state and national levels. State associations nominate athletic directors for NFHS Citations, and the NFHS board of directors approves recipients.

Benson has spent the last nine years as an athletic administrator, first at Gray-New Gloucester and Edward Little of Auburn and now at Oxford Hills. Before that, he served as a special education teacher, social studies teacher and athletic director during 19 years at Lisbon.

Benson has been named both Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference athletic administrator of the year and the Robert Lahey Athletic Administrator of the Year for Maine, and he also received a Maine Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association Special Achievement Award.

Benson coached varsity baseball, varsity soccer and junior varsity basketball at Lisbon, leading the Greyhounds’ baseball team to five consecutive Mountain Valley Conference championships from 1983 to 1987. Lisbon was Western B runner-up in 1985 and 1986, and Benson was named Mountain Valley Conference baseball coach of the year in 1987.

eclark@bangordailynews.net

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