While the same old soccer powers are back in Western Maine, four Eastern Maine high school soccer teams will make their debuts in the state finals.

Class A Lawrence of Fairfield and Class B Winslow won their first regional boys titles. Class B Bucksport and Class C Searsport had never before won girls championships.

Those teams, along with the Class A Brunswick girls, Class C George Stevens of Blue Hill boys, Class D Lee girls and Class D Van Buren boys, will take on their Western Maine opponents in state championship games.

All four girls games will start at 10 a.m. and the boys games are set for 1 p.m.

The Class A games will be held at Deering High in Portland. Both the Lawrence boys and Brunswick girls will face teams from Greely of Cumberland Center.

Class B games are set for the Point Lookout field in Northport. The Winslow boys and Bucksport girls will both play Falmouth High teams.

In Class C, the GSA boys are matched against North Yarmouth Academy, while the Searsport girls will face Traip of Kittery at Morse High in Bath.

Class D’s matchups have the Van Buren boys and Lee girls both playing Waynflete of Portland in Hampden.

Runners set for New Englands

The top cross country runners in the state will also be in action this weekend as they travel to Portland for the New England Championships.

The race will be held at the Riverside Golf Course.

The girls will start at 11:30 a.m. and the boys begin at 12:30 p.m. The course may be walked today from 1 p.m. until 2:30 and Saturday from 8 a.m. until 11.

Maine sends 25 boys and 25 girls to each race, which includes the winner of the state Class A, B, C and D competitions and then the top 21 times regardless of class.

Lacie Dow of Ellsworth and Heather Clark of Brewer are among the top qualifiers on the girls side; Sumner of East Sullivan’s Ryan O’Keefe and Levi Miller of Belfast have two of the top Maine boys’ times.

The Maine Principals Association, which governs interscholastic sports does not, however, send teams to compete in New England championships. That’s been a point of contention because the state is hosting the cross country meet. The MPA cross country committee recommended that teams be allowed to participate this year but the general body reaffirmed the no-teams rule with a unanimous vote at an April meeting.

Davis back with Tigerettes

When you think of Shead High girls basketball, you’ve got to think of Bob Davis, who skippered the Tigerettes of Eastport for 17 years before giving up the post in 1998.

But with Dean Preston leaving the school to coach the women’s team at the University of Maine-Machias, Davis will be back as the girls coach for this season. Preston had replaced Davis.

Davis was approved with a 5-0 vote by the school committee Wednesday night.

Davis, who is also a basketball referee in Washington County, led Shead to a 189-125 record during his first stint as head coach.

“I guess I’m back for another run,” he said with a chuckle.

He intends to continue officiating games, he said.

Davis also serves as the Shead athletic director. He said the school got less than five applications for the basketball job.

This time around, Bob Davis will get to coach daughter Samantha, a junior guard. Davis said his younger daughter is a bit feistier than older daughter Laura, who was a member of the Shead teams in the late 1990s.

“We’ll see how it goes,” he said. “Where I’m in charge, If I get on her a lot she might say something back. It could be fun.”

Preston coached the Tigerettes to the 1999 Class D state title.

Howard gains Bangor swim post

The Bangor girls swim team has a new coach with a wide range of experience – in California.

Cindy Howard, who recently moved to the area with her Maine native husband Jeff, has been named the new coach of the Rams.

Howard previously coached the 100-member swim team at Granite Hills High School in San Diego, Calif. and also coached a U.S. Swimming age-group team there.

Howard said she met with the Bangor girls last week.

“We had a large turnout,” she said. “I was really surprised. I had 50 girls sign up and I could have another 20 or 30.”

Howard’s daughter Cameron is a sophomore at Bangor High and intends to swim on the team. Cameron Howard specializes in backstroke and individual medley and is also swimming for the Seacoast Swimming Association of New Hampshire.

How good is the newcomer?

“Well, I saw the [Bangor school record] times on the wall at Husson College and I think she may set some new records,” Cindy Howard said.

Meanwhile, some parents of local swimmers were awaiting the appointment of a new coach because their daughters swim for the Hurricane Swim Club of Bangor, which is a USS-affiliated team. In past years those girls did not participate in both high school and club teams, but this year some are considering both.

It all depends on the philosophy of the new Bangor High coach and whether the appointee would want to work with the Hurricanes.

With her background as both a high school and USS coach, Howard said she believes kids should have the opportunity to do both.

“It’s very new to me [to not have kids swim for both teams],” she said. “In San Diego we always had kids swimming for USS and the high school. I think we have to do what’s best for the swimmers, but I’m willing to work with the [Hurricane] coaches.”

Howard replaces Ginny McMillan, who coached the Rams for four years before resigning earlier this year. McMillan and her husband Sean were expecting a baby this summer.

McMillan led Bangor to runner-up honors at the Class A girls championships and a Penobscot Valley Conference title last season. Under McMillan the Rams won three straight PVC titles and never finished below third place in the state meet.

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