Both area schools – Westbrook and Gorham – posted seasons to be proud of this spring. Neither the Blazes nor the Rams picked up any team State titles, but Gorham nabbed a couple individual crowns on the track, and programs at both schools continue to develop in leaps and bounds, promising further excitement next year.

Gorham

Both the boys and girls tennis teams made solid runs into the second round of the playoffs. The boys entered the postseason ranked No. 9 at 7-5, and upset eight-seed South Portland 4-1 in the prelims before falling to Thornton Academy by the same score in the quarters. The girls earned the six-seed at 9-3, and also faced South Portland in the prelims. The Lady Rams defeated their Riots counterparts, ranked 11th, 5-0, but succumbed to Portland 4-1 in the quarters.

Baseball found their groove as the season passed. They struggled early, but reached .500 at 8-8 by the end of their regular schedule to slide into the playoffs in the final slot, the 12-seed. They grabbed their most spectacular win of the year in the prelims, where they offed No. 5 TA 13-2. They then, however, faced Falmouth in the quarters. The Yachtsmen got the better of the Rams, though it was a close one at 5-3, and they retired for the year at 9-9.

Softball, meanwhile, went 7-9 through the regular season to capture the playoffs’ nine-seed. They exited in the first round, though, dropping a close, 3-2 game against Windham to head back to the dugout until 2016 at 7-10.

Girls lacrosse went 7-5 through the regular season to grab the fifth seed for playoffs. They bounced, however, in a tough quarterfinals loss, 16-5 to No. 4 Scarborough.

Boys lax made a bigger dent in the postseason. The five-seed after a very pretty 9-3 regular schedule, they battled through a fantastic game – one of the best of the year by any two teams – with No. 4 Westbrook, ultimately grabbing a 12-11 W on the Blazes home turf, not to mention the chance to face off with South Portland in the semis. There, however, they ran up against a wall; the defending State Champs, who would eventually return to the Class A Final, upended the Rams 16-7 to send them packing until next spring.

The big news from the boys on the track, who finished 12th of 27 as an outfit at States, came from the racewalkers. Drew York won the 1600-meter event, and teammate Sean Pratt took third.

The girls, who finished fourth of 28, also fared well. Anna Slager – just a freshman – won the 1600 by more than a second over Bonny Eagle’s Kialeigh Marston, and took second to Brunswick’s Tessa Cassidy in the 3200. Hayley Bickford, another freshman, took second in the Racewalk, and the 4×100 Relay squad finished third.

Westbrook

Both the Blazes’ boys and girls tennis teams, as well as softball, baseball and girls lax, missed the cut for the playoffs this year. Softball looked strongest toward the end of the regular season, though; they finished 4-12 and only fell shy of the postseason by one slot. Something similar can be said of the baseball boys, who went 6-10, barely short of the bracketing.

On the track, Westbrook was well represented at States, but looked fairly quiet in the results. The boys finished 21st of 27 squads, with Maurice Johnson claiming fourth in the 100. The girls finished 20th of 28; their 4×800 Relay contingent – Linnaea Miller, Gabby Pabst, Sam Thompson and Halee Phelps – combined for third.

Boys lax brought the Blazes the most glory this spring. The team had its best season ever, opening their regular schedule with a heartening win over perpetual heavyweights Scarborough, and going 9-3 to capture the four-seed, and their first home playoff game in history. They welcomed neighboring Gorham – who they’d beaten just weeks prior – for the quarterfinals bout, and though they fell to the Rams in the end, 12-11, they are young and loaded with talent. They, and their fans, have plenty of reason for optimism in 2016.

For more photos, visit www.keepmecurrent.com/sports, and follow @CurrentSportsME on Twitter.

Westbrook’s Patrick Weimer takes a cut at the ball in the Blazes’ last game of the season, at Bonny Eagle.Gorham senior Kayli-Susan Leavitt warms up before an at-bat in the Rams’ prelim loss to Windham.Gorham freshman Ben Nelson scores for the Rams in their narrow, 5-3 loss to Falmouth in the playoffs.Gorham’s Mike Susi lobs a pass in the Rams’ semifinal matchup at South Portland.Gorham’s Audrey Perreault pushes in close to the Westbrook goal in a regular-season bout between the two teams.The Blazes’ infield breaks before the start of an inning in the team’s 9-3 win over Bonny Eagle near the end of the regular season.Westbrook’s Noah Oliver was one of the league’s best faceoff men this year.

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