For Christina Mosher, college has been an easy decision. She’s wanted to go to the University of Maine forever, she said, and last week the 6-foot-4 junior center from Mt. Blue of Farmington made a verbal commitment to play for the Black Bears starting in… Read More
The fledgling football program at Mount View High School in Thorndike got another boost Monday night with the vote of the School Administrative District 3 board of directors to support providing $17,000 in funding for the 2006 season. The money, which is subject to approval… Read More
Eastern Maine high school softball teams from Classes B, C and D that appreciate the ambiance and amenities during Eastern Maine finals at Brewer High’s Coffin Field will definitely get that experience again this year. Although Brewer athletic director Dennis Kiah told the Maine Principals’… Read More
While most Maine high school tennis players look locally for an indoor court or just a sunny day to get in some preseason practice, Eliot Potvin has taken a more global view. The reigning state schoolboy champion from Hampden spent last week nearly a continent… Read More
It’s that time of year again. Major and minor league baseball are under way and now, in our great state, it’s time for the high schools to begin play along with all the youth leagues. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]];… Read More
Belfast High girls basketball coach Ted Rioux is heading to Waterville to serve in the same capacity next year. Belfast athletic director Terry Kenniston said Rioux, who had coached the Lions for five seasons, told the girls on his team last week. googletag.cmd.push(function () {… Read More
Carl Parker is retiring from his full-time career in education in June, but don’t expect the veteran coach and administrator to fade away from the Eastern Maine sports scene. Parker is leaving his post as athletic administrator and dean of students at Nokomis Regional High… Read More
The Bangor and Presque Isle softball teams had a scrimmage scheduled for Saturday afternoon, but when it became clear the weather wouldn’t exactly cooperate, the Rams and Wildcats turned to a new resource. The teams played their scrimmage in the University of Maine’s Mahaney Dome,… Read More
A new era of John Bapst wrestling will begin next winter when the Crusaders will stage home meets for the first time. That’s because a group of wrestling boosters spearheaded by Maria Franklin, whose son was a freshman wrestler at the Bangor school this winter,… Read More
CORINTH – It’s practice as usual for the Central High softball team Monday afternoon. There’s someone in the gymnasium batting cage, another girl hitting off a tee and a third group working on fielding drills with coach Durice Washburn. But this isn’t an ordinary year… Read More
Daniel “Tiger” Stewart is the new varsity baseball coach at Bucksport High School. Stewart, the Golden Bucks’ junior varsity coach for the last three years, replaces Mike Cowing, who recently resigned after three seasons due to “philosophical differences with a very few parents.” googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
Dave Gudroe remembers his family’s introduction to wrestling in the late 1960s, when older brother Steve came home from school and told his parents he was going to wrestle for Dexter High School. They weren’t amused. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes =… Read More
Here’s a change – both the Bangor and Brewer softball teams can actually see their respective fields for the first time in years on the first day pitchers and catchers can report thanks to the snow shortage this winter. And once the teams start regular-season… Read More
Camden Hills of Rockport will join the varsity ice hockey ranks next winter, the result of a recent unanimous vote of support from the Five Town Community School District board. The Windjammers have fielded a club team that played a subvarsity schedule for the past… Read More
Long-distance running standout Cassie Hintz of Stillwater is on the fast track – both in the classroom and on the track. The Old Town High School senior already has completed her academic requirements for graduation, and currently is taking a 14-credit course load at the… Read More
Old Town High School is getting ready to unveil its new coyote mascot. Not only is the student council planning to buy a coyote mascot costume, but the school will also be the beneficiary of an anonymous donation. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var… Read More
The recently crowned state champion Mount Desert Island High boys and Bangor girls swimming teams are among the high school swimming relay teams and individuals that hold the top seeds for this weekend’s New England Championships. The New Englands will be held Saturday at Roger… Read More
Sean Callahan, the boys basketball coach at Houlton High for the past four years and the school’s girls soccer coach for the last three seasons, is leaving those posts for family reasons. Callahan’s wife, Emily, an employee with the state Department of Health and Human… Read More
LTC football officials and coaches have opted to continue holding their annual Eastern Maine Class C championship game at the home field of the highest-seeded finalist. The league had held discussions after the 2005 season about moving the final game to a neutral site, perhaps… Read More
A good bench is key to any strong run in the tournament. Two girls teams that emerged with Eastern Maine titles on Saturday went to their benches early and it paid off. Coaches looked to backups Shaina Watananuchit of Presque Isle and Chelsea Chambers of… Read More
Eastern Maine, meet the Coyotes. That’s the nickname the Old Town High School athletic teams will go by from now on, pending approval by the school board at a meeting Wednesday night. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes =… Read More
With February vacation just one week away, high school wrestlers and cheerleaders get a head start on championship competition with state meets scheduled for Saturday. But they’re not alone, as conference titles also will be determined in indoor track and swimming. googletag.cmd.push(function () { //… Read More
For one night last February, the Valley girls basketball team was on a huge high after knocking off No. 1 Rangeley in the Western Maine tournament. A few nights later, however, the Cavaliers were out of the tourney themselves. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot… Read More
PRESQUE ISLE – The Presque Isle girls basketball team got its first taste of life without senior guard Kylan Smith, but the Wildcats shouldn’t be too long without her. The 5-foot-6 Smith was diagnosed with mononucleosis this weekend, and she’ll likely be out until the… Read More
Bangor High junior Casey Quaglia is on the fast track to fast times as the Eastern Maine Indoor Track League season winds down. Quaglia lowered his personal best for the indoor two-mile to 9 minutes, 59.77 seconds while winning the event during a meet at… Read More
Nineteen Maine high school basketball players have been nominated for the 2006 McDonald’s All-American Team. The Maine standouts – 10 boys and nine girls – were among 2,500 players nationwide nominated for the honor by the McDonald’s All-American Basketball Team selection committee. googletag.cmd.push(function () {… Read More
The John Bapst of Bangor boys basketball team entered weekend play on the outside looking in on Eastern Maine Class B postseason play, but now are clearly in the playoff hunt after a 46-44 victory at previously unbeaten Presque Isle on Saturday. “It’s obviously a… Read More
Camden Hills forward Marianne Croce’s competitive basketball career is over, and the Windjammers have spent the past couple of weeks learning to play without the four-year varsity standout. Croce, a KVAC Class B all-star and Eastern Maine Class B all-tourney honorable mention, tore both the… Read More
As the Genie portable lift elevated a member of the Dexter High custodial staff toward the ceiling of Guiski Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon to contain a leak in the roof, the flashbacks were inevitable. Twenty years earlier, a similar lift was brought in to deal… Read More
Eastern Maine Class C girls basketball got a shakeup this weekend as two teams picked up their first losses of the season and the team at the top of last week’s Heal points went down. Old foes Central of Corinth and Dexter met, with the… Read More
Armed with a solid returning nucleus from last winter’s Class C tournament team, the Schenck Wolverines figured to be key players this season as the East Millinocket school moved to the Class D ranks. Midway through its 2005-06 schedule, coach Steve LeVasseur’s club has done… Read More
Despite a disappointing loss to Presque Isle Saturday, the Mount Desert Island girls basketball team is excited by its 7-1 start to the season. Although girls basketball success at the school is nothing new, the Trojans are winning in a different way – with relatively… Read More
Schoolboy soccer at Greenville High School will have a decidedly different look next fall, as Steve Lizotte has stepped down as the Lakers’ head coach after 27 seasons. The 52-year-old Lizotte wants to be able to watch his son Jonah, an All-Western Maine Class D… Read More
Part of the sacrifice for enjoying the good life in northern and Down East Maine involves many a long road trip. The Calais High boys basketball team will make such a sacrifice during the next three days to learn just where it stands as the… Read More
The Bangor High School girls basketball team has little to complain about. The Rams are 4-1 and emerged from a tough stretch of games with wins against Nokomis of Newport, Lawrence of Fairfield and Messalonskee of Oakland since Dec. 20 – and they’re playing spectacular defense. Read More
Many schoolboy basketball fans anticipated Presque Isle getting off to a quick start this season. But the Wildcats aren’t the only Class B team from Aroostook County building momentum as Christmas approaches. Caribou also is 3-0 after a come-from-behind 50-47 home-court victory over Ellsworth on… Read More
It took Nancy Snowdeal all of last summer and part of this fall, but she’s glad she came to the decision to resign after three seasons as the Bangor High varsity softball coach. Snowdeal submitted her resignation to Bangor officials, including athletic director Steve Vanidestine,… Read More
Three Class A running backs are finalists for the 2006 Fitzpatrick Trophy. Aaron Chambers of Skowhegan, Ken Paul of Massabesic of Waterboro and John Wiechman of Bonny Eagle of Standish have been selected from a field of nine semifinalists to vie for the award, which will be presented… Read More
Perhaps the most notable results from the first weekend of the schoolboy basketball season came in Class D, where both regional champions lost their opening games. Katahdin of Stacyville upended reigning state champ Central Aroostook 68-48 in one of the few games played Friday night,… Read More
Not only do the Bangor Christian and John Bapst high schools share an address -they’re both located on Broadway in Bangor – but both girls basketball teams have undergone some big changes as they head into 2005-06 season. The Patriots have a new coach in… Read More
Although there have been some challenges, Ruth Fitzpatrick is happy to be back working with kids full time. Fitzpatrick was hired a few weeks ago to take over the position of dean of students and co-curricular coordinator at Searsport High School. googletag.cmd.push(function () { //… Read More
Rob Greenlaw is the new boys varsity basketball coach at Searsport High, replacing Richie Oliver, who resigned late last week due to philosophical differences with the school administration. Greenlaw, who conducted his first practice with the Vikings on Monday, is a first-time coach at the… Read More
One of the state’s top basketball players will be back on the court this winter, but don’t look for her to play the same role as she did last year. Cony of Augusta junior Cassie Cooper, who helped lead the Rams to the Class A… Read More
Maine’s Eastern Maine Class A basketball tournament will enter a new era at a new location this season, as the event moves from Bangor to Augusta and will be held two weeks earlier than in the past – during February vacation week. Those changes, as… Read More
Hampden guard-forward Tanna Ross had successful surgery on her right knee Monday, but she’ll still sit on the bench for her junior season while trying to recover from a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Ross’ mother, Sheree Ross, said everything went well Monday and the athletic… Read More
Ellsworth High School athletic director Jay Brown was named the interim boys basketball coach at the school Monday, replacing Dan Clifford. Clifford left earlier this month to become the athletic director at Sumner Memorial High School of East Sullivan and the three middle schools in… Read More
Bangor High basketball star Mark Socoby is scheduled to have surgery to repair the torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on Dec. 7 in Portland, according to his mother, Ann. Socoby and his family went to a doctor in Portland on Tuesday for… Read More
Richie Oliver can attest to the fact that chance conversations sometimes are the genesis of new opportunities. Oliver was visiting Saint Joseph’s College in Standish in September to watch his son, former Rockland High multisport standout Wade Oliver, play fall baseball as a freshman outfielder… Read More
Bangor’s run in the Class A schoolgirl soccer tournament fell short at the finish line, but the Rams are still optimistic they can reach another state championship game next year. Although five key players started in their final game against Gorham Saturday, a 1-0 win… Read More
Sean McNally, a 6-foot-7, 240-pound junior forward from Gardiner Area High School, is expected to announce Monday a verbal commitment to play Division I basketball at the University of Maine beginning in the fall of 2007. According to a news release issued by Gardiner coach… Read More
Sixteen of the state’s top high school soccer teams will converge on fields in Hampden, Farmingdale, Lewiston and Bath on Saturday to crown 2005 state champions. Determining where those title matches will be held is a process that’s ongoing through the fall, according to Maine… Read More
Talk concerning the firepower of the Brewer High football team’s offense this fall has centered on the three-man wrecking crew of Ricky Porter, Ben Caldwell, and Zach Wilson. But if the Witches’ 42-13 domination of Gardiner in the Pine Tree Conference Class B quarterfinals is… Read More
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… Read More
A familiar face will be back on the sidelines at East Grand School in Danforth this winter, as Troy Cilley will return as the Vikings’ boys varsity basketball coach after a one-year absence. Cilley, a Princeton native, compiled a 93-30 record in six years at… Read More
The 2005 high school football came to a bittersweet yet promising end for the Mount Desert Island Trojans. After winning just one game in the two previous years combined, coach Mark Shields’ club finished off a 3-5 season with a 43-20 victory over Old Town… Read More
Hannah Breton of Greenville has slowed down from her blistering goal-scoring pace early in the season, but it’s not from loss of intensity. After scoring 17 goals in the first 21/2 weeks of the season – including a stretch in which she scored all five… Read More
Ted Taylor, who assisted Dan Kerluke with the Bangor High School hockey team the past three years, has been named to succeed Kerluke. Kerluke left to become a volunteer assistant at the University of Maine, his alma mater, after compiling a 43-20-1 record in his… Read More
Orono High sports are enjoying plenty of success this year. The football team is 6-2 and sitting in third place in its conference. The Red Riots girls soccer team went 13-0-1 in the regular season and are in second place for the Eastern Maine Class C playoffs. Read More
“The real big difference has been on the defensive side of the ball.” Paul Withee googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i < slot_sizes.length; i++) { if (isMobileDevice())… Read More
Two years ago, the Eastern Maine Class D girls soccer final between Lee Academy and Greenville was held on a Friday while almost every other regional final was played on a Saturday. The reason for the schedule change was simple. Both schools had student-athletes who… Read More
HERMON – David Pepin, who has guided the Searsport High baseball team to the Eastern Maine Class C championship game each of the last two seasons, will try to bring that success to the hardwood this winter as the new boys varsity basketball coach at Hermon High School. Read More
The high school football season has a special rhythm for those who compete and coach in pursuit of a trip to the state finals in Portland each November. There’s film day, practices light and heavy duty, and subvarsity games, all leading to Friday nights under… Read More
Soccer and basketball were the two most popular participatory sports for Maine interscholastic athletes during the 2004-05 school year, according to information released by the Maine Principals’ Association. High school soccer totaled 8,321 participants – 4,435 boys and 3,886 girls -in Maine last fall, according… Read More
It’s easy to catch a glimpse of Nori Francis-Mezger on the soccer field – just look for her orange soccer shoes. Except this year, the standout forward won’t be on the field for Eastern Maine Class C Searsport. Francis-Mezger transferred to Hampden Academy right before… Read More
The Orono and John Bapst field hockey teams had a scrimmage set for the preseason, but it didn’t quite go off as planned. The two teams did play – but Red Riots coach Samantha Runco and Crusaders coach Gina Schuck were figuring they’d both be… Read More
When Chris Hallett was 5 months old, his dad became principal at Washburn High School. A generation later, and with a 3-month-old son of his own, Hallett is returning to Washburn to become a guidance counselor and the Beavers’ new boys varsity basketball coach. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
The two newest faces to the Bangor High girls soccer team aren’t exactly new. Larry Smith, in his first season as a varsity head coach, served as a volunteer assistant with the team a few years ago. Jessie Roberts, who played with the Rams her… Read More
Bryant Barr, a 6-foot-4 senior shooting guard from Falmouth High School, has verbally committed to accept a full basketball scholarship from Davidson College in North Carolina beginning in 2006-07. Barr, a third-team Bangor Daily News All-Maine selection last season, becomes the third member of Maine’s… Read More
The evidence is mounting that Rockland High will be a major player in the LTC football race this fall. The Tigers, whose back-to-back 5-4 campaigns in 2003 and 2004 marked the program’s first winning seasons since 1988, opened the 2005 season last Friday by knocking… Read More
For the second year in a row, two of Maine’s top high school softball players have been selected to participate in the TurnerSport USA Hawaii Classic this winter. This time, they’re both from Eastern Maine schools. Brewer junior pitcher Jordan McLain and Bucksport junior pitcher… Read More
Open up an Aroostook County phone book and you’ll find lots of Cyrs. But for the Madawaska girls soccer team, the four Cyrs on the team – that’s not counting coach Dan Cyr – are confusing because of their first names. There are two Ashley… Read More
Allen Campbell decided to take up cross country in the fall because he wanted to get into shape for the winter basketball season. Nathan Lizotte was looking to gear up for wrestling. Justin Morin wanted to be ready for basketball; G.H. Bragdon runs to prepare for skiing. Read More
Change greets each high school football season, but some years more than others. And 2005 is one of those years. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i… Read More
HOWLAND – As with many school districts in Maine, Penobscot Valley High School in Howland is trying to find a way to keep programs and improve facilities despite ever-tighter budgets. But the Eastern Maine Class C school has found a way to keep up its equipment and facilities… Read More
One of the most successful coaching tenures in Maine high school golf history has ended after 28 years with Gary Rees’ decision not to return to Dexter High this fall. The 60-year-old Rees, who coached teams at Dexter and Greely High in Cumberland Center to… Read More
Ed Ortego wasn’t planning to be back as head football coach at Brewer High School this fall, until his wife suggested he return for one more season. Ortego’s wife, Nancy, moved back to Louisiana – where the family had lived until relocating to Maine in… Read More
Ben Lothrop had a pretty successful time on the sidelines and in the dugout during the 2004-05 school year. He coached the Ashland girls basketball team to the Eastern Maine Class D championship game and the Hornets’ baseball team to the regional playoffs. googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
The Van Buren and Madawaska soccer teams always play each other early in the fall – for Madawaska, the games against Van Buren are typically its first and last of the regular season – and the two St. John Valley schools have always been rivals. Read More
Lee Academy’s fledgling postgraduate basketball program now has a leader. Brian McDormand, a Colby College graduate and longtime high school coach in Massachusetts, has been named the academy’s first postgraduate coordinator, according to Lee headmaster Bruce Lindberg. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes… Read More
Whitney Hand’s summer of competitive golf exceeded even her own expectations, and she more than accomplished several personal goals. One of Hand’s better results came in the Junior Greater Bangor Open, where she finished fourth despite playing from the men’s tees. googletag.cmd.push(function () { //… Read More
Jeremiah Barkac is an All-American again – with a slight twist. Barkac, a Parkman resident set to begin his junior year at Dexter Regional High School, placed fifth in the 105-pound Greco-Roman division at the recent ASICS/Vaughan Cadet and Junior Wrestling Championships held in Fargo,… Read More
While the rest of the state’s interscholastic athletes and coaches entered a Maine Principals’ Association-mandated two-week no-contact period Monday, most of the schools in Aroostook County have been at it for more than a week while trying to prepare for the early opening of the fall season. Read More
LINCOLN – Art Greenlaw, who guided Stearns High of Millinocket to four state championships and five LTC titles during an 18-year tenure, has been named the new head football coach at Mattanawcook Academy. Greenlaw, a retired educator who served as an assistant coach for the… Read More
Gavin Kane has developed one of the most successful schoolgirl basketball programs in Maine history at Dirigo High of Dixfield. Next winter, he’ll double his coaching load as he takes on the additional responsibility of coaching the school’s boys varsity team. Actually he’s already doing… Read More
The tools of Ramsey Lafayette’s existence last winter and spring were those of recovery – needles and medicine, doctors and hospitals – as the all-conference football player from Hampden battled stage 3A melanoma. But checkup after checkup suggests that the chemotherapy has worked, that his… Read More
One of the most versatile schoolboy athletes in central Maine will stay home to pursue a two-sport future at the college level. Winslow High standout Eric Lopez, who earned all-conference honors in football, basketball, and baseball as a senior with the Black Raiders, will make the short drive… Read More
It was a ceremony true to Larry Worcester’s sporting background. Worcester, the longtime basketball and soccer coach at Washburn High School, was waiting patiently Monday to be formally approved as the new principal at Woodland Elementary School in Aroostook County. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define… Read More
Messalonskee of Oakland girls basketball coach John Donato recently resigned for personal reasons and because of an evaluation he received last month from Messalonskee’s new athletic director. Donato, the former Houlton girls basketball, golf and baseball coach, is getting married to Kelly Scott of Bangor… Read More
HAMPDEN – Hampden Academy already plays its home football games under Friday night lights, but starting this fall the Broncos will have an even stronger connection to Texas football. That’s because the SAD 22 school board unanimously approved the hiring Wednesday evening of Harry McCluskey,… Read More
The Brewer girls basketball team has a tough road ahead considering its three-win season last year and five-year absence from the quarterfinal round of the Eastern Maine Class A tournament. But new head coach Andy Nickerson is eager to turn things around. With a little… Read More
Cassie Hintz of Stillwater, who recently completed her junior year at Old Town High School, recently ran to a fifth-place finish in the junior women’s 5,000-meter run at the 2005 USA Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships held in Carson, Calif. Hintz, running unattached after… Read More
A new era of soccer will begin at Hermon High this fall as the school has hired two new varsity coaches and will schedule at least five games under new lights for both girls and boys soccer. There was also good news for the tennis… Read More
LINCOLN – With less than two months until the start of preseason high school football practices, Mattanawcook Academy is in the market for a new head coach. Mike Bisson, who took over the program last year after serving as an assistant football coach with the… Read More
The Eastern Maine Class A baseball championship game is set to follow the division’s basketball tournament south next year. The Maine Principals’ Association baseball committee voted this week to move the Eastern A final from Mansfield Stadium in Bangor to Augusta next June. The Class… Read More
Tom McCann has been a key part of the Maine-Nebraska Friendship Series since the second year of the event – in 1986. And as the longtime coach at Kearney (Nebr.) High School watched Team Nebraska’s victory over Maine in the first meet of the 2005… Read More
Softball fans in central Maine, especially anyone who has followed the coaching career of Terry Parlin, had a lot to celebrate this weekend. Parlin, who spent 10 years as the coach at Messalonskee of Oakland, led Winslow to its second straight Class B state title,… Read More
Lee Academy plans to expand its academic offerings to include a postgraduate program, and with that is expected to come a postgraduate men’s basketball team. Approval for the postgraduate program came June 3 from the Lee Academy board of trustees, and school officials led by… Read More
After his Southern Aroostook softball team played and beat Ashland in 12 innings Saturday, coach Jon Porter was asked to write up a couple of lines about the game for a local newspaper. “I didn’t know where to begin because there were so many momentum-changing… Read More
Elaine Colwell is proud of the track and field legacy she and her senior classmates are leaving behind at John Bapst of Bangor. Four years, four Class C state championships. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var… Read More
Another strong season has vaulted the Bucksport softball team into top spot for the Eastern Maine Class B playoffs, which start with preliminary games today. And the 14-2 Golden Bucks are hoping last year’s very short postseason run won’t happen again this year. Bucksport didn’t… Read More