South Portland High winter sports preview

Boys basketball

Coach: Phil Conley (second year)

Last year’s record: 14-4 in the regular season; lost to Thornton Academy in Class A West semifinals after defeating Biddeford in the quarterfinals

Key players: juniors Keegan Hyland (G), Matt Lee (G), Connor Hasson (C), Ryan Curit (F/C), Brian McHugh (F), Jon DiBiase (G), Spencer Bowring (G/F) and Greg Reinhold (F/C)

Key games this season: Jan. 13 @ Thornton Academy; Jan. 27 vs. Portland; Jan. 30 vs. Cheverus

Season outlook: The Red Riots return arguably the top player in the state in Hyland. He led the SMAA in scoring a year ago as a sophomore and was an all-state selection. He is a pure shooter who doesn’t need much room to get his shot off.

While the Riots don’t have a single senior on the roster, experience is not a concern. “The group of juniors we have are all leaders,” Conley said. They’ll look to push the ball up the court and create some transition baskets, as they don’t have much size. They should be one of the better teams in a very competitive league. Defending state champion Cheverus appears again to be the team to beat, but Thornton Academy and Portland also have strong teams. As Conley said, “Each time out, you have to bring your A-game in this league.”

Girls basketball

Coach: Mike Giordano (13th year)

Last year’s record: 15-3 in the regular season; lost to Noble in Class A West semifinals after defeating Biddeford in quarterfinals

Key players: seniors Brianna Hawkins (F) and Kelsi Conley (F); juniors Danielle McCusker (G) and Esther Palmieri (G); sophomores Abby Hasson (C), Danielle DiBiase (G) and Stephanie McDonough (G)

Key games this season: Jan. 2 vs. Deering; Jan. 6 @ Scarborough; Jan. 19 vs. Noble

Season outlook: The Red Riots graduated the starting backcourt from last year’s squad, but return an all-SMAA first team selection down low in the 5-foot-11 Hawkins. She averaged 11.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.9 blocks a game, while shooting 51 percent from the field last season. With Conley (5-8) and Hasson (6-0), South Portland will be formidable inside.

“The development of our guards will be a key to our season,” Giordano said. The team’s goal is a return to the Western Maine tournament, the coach said.

Ice hockey

Coach: Joe Robinson (second year)

Last year’s record: 10-8-1 in the regular season; lost to Lake Region-Fryeburg in the preliminary round of the Class A West tournament

Key players: seniors Nick Fornwalt (F), Brandon Martin (D) and Dustin Matthews (D); junior Aidan Boyce (F); sophomore Tommy Ellis (D)

Key games this season: Dec. 13 vs. Portland; Feb. 14 @ Deering

Season outlook: The Red Riots made a big leap in wins in Robinson’s first year at the helm, more than doubling their win total from the year before. A more difficult schedule this season will make the road back to the postseason a tougher one, but it’s a challenge Robinson hopes his team is up for. “We really need to step up to the challenge to get to where we want to go,” he said.

Fornwalt returns as the leading scorer, with 39 points a year ago when he was named a tier-II all-state selection. He and Boyce will lead the offense while Martin, Matthews and Ellis will anchor the defense.

Swimming

Coach: Robert Card (fourth year)

Last year’s record: boys – 2-6, finished 19th at Class A state meet; girls – 1-8, finished 12th at Class A state meet

Key swimmers: boys – senior Will York (backstroke) and junior Nick Brown (distance); girls – seniors Curry Girr (diving) and Brittanie Walsh (IM, butterfly)

Key meets this season: Jan. 16 vs. Thornton Academy; Jan. 23 @ Scarborough

Season outlook: Card said the goal for both teams is to have a .500 record and finish in the top-10 at the state meet. The girls return Girr, who is the defending Class A state diving champion. The boys will look to Brown and York for points as they try to build upon last year’s performances.

Track

Coaches: David Kahill (boys, second year); Bob Zinchuk (girls, 18th year)

Last year’s record: boys were 7-2 in the regular season, finished ninth at both the Southwestern meet and the Class A state meet; girls were 7-9 in the regular season, finished 10th at Southwestern meet and 18th at Class A state meet

Key athletes: boys – seniors Tanner Burgdorf (hurdles), Kevin Campbell (middle distance), Brandon Emerson (sprints, hurdles), Tony Haeuser (sprints, high jump, hurdles), David Hardison (sprints, high jump, hurdles), Ryan Skillings (shot put) and Jake Viola (shot put); juniors Brian Arsenault (sprints), Jonathan Clement (distance), JC Esquibel (sprints, middle distance) and Joe Michaud (sprints, middle distance); sophomore Adrian Reid (sprints); girls – Seniors Melissa Bodwell, Aleesa Larson, Caity Ferreira and Tia Brown; juniors Tanya Wilkes, Kristin Jerome, Bobielynn Fisher, Emily Conroy, Wendy Zarate and Faith Abraham; sophomores Annelise Donahue, Maria Letourneau, Kim Fisher, Katie Murphy, Jess Johnson and Hailey Grohman; freshmen Shelby Miller, Meghan Cyr, Mariah Theriault, Jamie Fisher and Sarah Ouellette

Key meets this season: Jan. 10 with Thornton Academy and Westbrook; Jan. 31 with Portland, Deering, McAuley and Cheverus

Season outlook: The boys have a balanced team with some promising youngsters and good leaders in the upper classes. “The strong junior and senior classes should lead the team with great attitudes and competitiveness all season,” Kahill said. “We have some talented athletes who have the potential to be very successful in the championship meets.” Kahill will look to develop depth in the distance events, as well as in the junior division. “We have a promising group of ninth and 10th graders who should do nicely,” he said.

The girls will look to improve each week and hopefully be at their best at the end of the season. “We will be competitive each meet and hope to learn to compete and qualify a lot of athletes for the state meet,” Zinchuk said.

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