Alpine Skiing
Coach: Sean Munkacsi
Key athletes returning: Grant Hamblen (sr., C); Emily O’Donnell (sr., C); Maeve Pitman (sr., C)
Outlook: Munkacsi’s kids are developing apace. “Although we lost several key racers to graduation, the younger skiers are more than ready to make up for those vacancies,” he says. “I am confident that our senior tri-captains will set a positive tone conducive to improving every run and race.” Looking beyond his leadership, he notes that his greener athletes are not without experience: “We have a great group of young skiers with diverse backgrounds including freestyle, children’s instructors and free skiers that I believe will translate into success in the race courses.” The Rams are currently training on dry land, but “can’t wait to get onto the hill. Shawnee Peak always does an outstanding job of making snow and setting courses, and we are looking forward to another great season in partnership with them.” Hopefully this winter dumps more white stuff on the mountains than last winter did – although, even if it doesn’t, one suspects the Rams will still manage to have fun. “Last year was a very challenging season due to the lack of snow and extremely mild temperatures,” says Munkacsi. “With that said, we still had a great year as a team.

Boys Basketball
Coach: Mark Karter (fourth year)
Last year’s record: 14-5, fell in Class AA semis
Key players: Jackson Fotter (sr., G); Kyle King (jr., F); Cam Holmes (sr., F); Logan Drouin (sr., F)
Key matchups: Bonny Eagle, Windham, Scarborough, Thornton
Outlook: “The Rams will look to be competitive in a tough conference by utilizing a balanced attack on offense and tough man-to-man defense,” Karter says. Gorham returns just two starters this season, a circumstance that could especially hobble them on the attack. Still, the program has stood out in recent years and Karter is a knowledgeable, veteran coach, so the squad is likely to find its groove as the winter unfolds. “Heavy losses to graduation will be a major challenge on the offensive end,” Karter says, “and the team will be looking for the impact players stated above to be major contributors as the year moves along.” The Rams look forward to their rivalry games in particular; they will see the Scots, the Eagles, the Storm and the Trojans each twice this season.

Girls Basketball
Coach: Laughn Berthiaume
Last year’s record: 21-0, AA State Champions
Key players returning: Emily Esposito (sr.), Kaylea Lundin (sr.), Kristen Curley (sr.), Michelle Rowe (jr.), Alexis Fotter (jr.), Brittany Desjardin (so.), Mackenzie Holmes (so.), Courtney Brent (so.)
Key matchups: TA, Bonny Eagle, South Portland, Scarborough, Deering, Cheverus
Outlook: The Lady Rams should be a force on the courts again this year; they said goodbye to very few graduates in June and return the core of their undefeated Championship team – including Esposito, without doubt one of the State’s best. Espo averaged 18.1 points per game last winter. “We have excellent leadership from our Tri-Captains, Emily, Kaylea and Kristen,” Berthiaume says. “This trio hasn’t played a minute of JV basketball in their careers and have been impact players for our team since they were freshmen. They will lead a balanced attack that includes the inside presence of Mackenzie Holmes, who is tough to defend with single coverage.” For her part, Holmes knocked down 14.7 ppg in 2015-16. All that being said, Berthiaume and Co. are taking things one day at a time. “Our goal for the season is to not look too far ahead and make sure we are taking care of the things that we have control of,” he says. “We want to defend at a high level and not rely on trying to just outscore opponents.” Berthiaume identifies the Trojans and Scots as key opponents in part because his girls will see each of them twice. 

Cheering
Coaches: Julie Dvilinsky (head), Jessica Taylor (assistant)
Last year’s record: Second at Shriners’ Invitational, first at SMAAs, sixth at Regionals, fourth at States, ninth at New Englands
Key athletes lost: Megan Yaskula
Key athletes returning: Kelly Aube, Sally Aube, Meredith Dvilinsky, Jamie Carter, Brooke Hall, Rachel Jean, Tommi Kate Oneil
Outlook: “With a team of mostly veteran members, we are stronger in stunting and tumbling then in years past,” Dvilinsky says. “We are excited to combine our strength and experience with a focus on technique, and hope that this leads to our third straight SMAA conference title. We also hope to return to New Englands for 2017.”

Boys Hockey
Coach: Jon Portwine
Last year’s record: 7-12, fell in tournament quarters
Key players returning: Carter Landry (sr., F/D); Adam Peterson (sr., F); Noah Bird (sr., G); Lucas Roop (jr., F); Nick Gray (so., D); Trevor Gray (so., F/D)
Key matchups: Gardiner, York, Cape Elizabeth, Yarmouth, Kennebunk
Outlook: Gorham reached consecutive State Finals in 2014 and 2015, but suffered significant losses to graduation in June of that latter year, shunting them backwards in the standings come 2015-16. This winter, they’ll still be young overall, but do return much of last year’s varsity team. “With the experience gained last season and a very deep roster, the Rams will be in the playoff picture again this season,” Portwine says. The team has scheduled quite a few tough, Class A crossover games this winter; they look forward to building off the knowledge gained in facing those challenges.

Girls Hockey (a co-op with Bonny Eagle)
Coach: Nat Germond
Last year’s record: 0-18
Key players returning: Mary Adams, Isis Adams, Anna Rathbun, Karen Stemm, Kaitlyn Jordan
Key matchups: Biddeford, York
Outlook: The girls hockey season seasons starts quite early, meaning the Lady Rams have played five games at this point; they stand 2-3 at the moment. That’s already a better record than they compiled last year, and they do boast a number of talented, determined players. “We’re working hard to get into the postseason,” Germond says simply of his girls. This team may not pull out any huge upsets this season, but they are clearly on the right track. 

Indoor Track
Coaches: Jason Tanguay (boys, eighth season); John Caterina (girls, 15th season)
Last year’s record: Boys sixth at SMAAs, 22nd at States; girls seventh at SMAAs, eighth at States
Key athletes returning: James Benson (sr., C, sprints/jumps); Ethan Orach (sr., C, middle distance); Sarah Lorello (sr., C, sprints/jumps); Audrey Perrault (sr., C, shot put); Anthony Chase (jr., C, distance); Garrett Higgins (jr., C, jumps); Aaron Farr (jr., sprints/jumps); Luke Gowen (jr., sprints/jumps); Alex Ousback (jr., middle distance); Anna Slager (jr., C, distance); Bridget Rossignol (jr., pole vault/spritns/hurdles); Maddie Rossignol (jr., sprints); Grace McGouldrick (jr., sprints/hurdles); Zack Brown-Davis (so., middle distance); Evelyn Kitchen (so., shot put/triple jump)
Outlook: Tanguay’s boys are dealing with significant turnover this winter; Tanguay himself remains upbeat, however. “We graduated a dozen seniors last year and most of these student-athletes were point scorers for our team,” he says. “I am hopeful that the new additions to our team will make positive strides to fill those gaps. There are many new faces, and I am excited to see them progress this season.” Several newcomers should bolster the Rams’ efforts across their schedule, including juniors Sam Burghardt (jumps), Wil Rossignol (sprints and jumps) and Jacob Sladen (middle distance and distance), as well as freshmen Wes Brineger and Ryan Farr. “I look for us to be competitive during the regular season with a few athletes qualifying for the bigger meets,” Tanguay says. Meanwhile, on the girls’ side, Caterina expects to be “very competitive.” “Gorham brings back all of their top competitors from last winter and [adds] some talented newcomers,” he says. Slager is the defending State Champion in both the one-mile and two-mile runs. Bridget Rossignol is a standout pole vaulter and “could be a high [States] scorer,” while McGouldrick is a top sprinter and hurdler. Then there is the Lady Rams’ fresh blood – namely, distance runners Iris Kitchen and Kate Tugman, both ninth-graders, and middle-distance runner Sarah Johnson, now a junior. That trio plus Slager should give Gorham one of the best 4×800 outfits in Maine. 

Swimming
Coach: Adam Cyr
Last year’s record: Boys 0-8; girls 4-4, sixth at Southwesterns, 12th at States
Key athletes returning: Delaney Burns (sr., C); Molly Sposato (sr., C); Caelyn Smith (so.)
Key matchups: Jan. 6 @ Kennebunk, Jan. 27 vs. MGA, Feb. 3 @ St. Dom
Outlook: Cyr’s boys squad is very small for a swim team. “So our outlook,” he says, “is the same as last year: strong individual improvement, never taking a swim off, always challenging the other team to swim hard even though we don’t have the numbers to win many meets.” Cyr highlights freshman Patrick Bishop as a key newcomer. “Patrick has quickly cemented himself as the best swimmer on the team,” Cyr says. “He works hard at improving every day and has a strong sense of the fun and excitement that comes with high school swimming.” On the girls’ side of things, Cyr has bigger numbers to work with, and hopes to parlay that into a string of respectable performances. “This season we look to really compete and be stronger team than last year. Last year’s seniors were amazing, but there were only two of them, and we added nine new swimmers to this group, some of whom are very strong. So this year we are going to strive to win more meets and improve our finish at Southwesterns.” Cyr calls Smith (or “KK”) “an amazing all-around swimmer who leads the team at just about every event.” Burns, one of the team’s captains, he singles out as the hardest worker he’s ever had the pleasure of coaching, and Sposato – the team’s other captain – he dubs “the true emotional leader of the team” as well as “one of the best swimmers and a rare breaststroke talent … This team’s success can be credited to Molly; she pushes her teammates to do their best and backs it all up in the pool.” Joining the Lady Rams this year is Laura Bolduc, a freshman who is “already impressing with her hard work and talent; [she’s] definitely our strongest new swimmer and will be an integral part of the team all season.” Looking at his schedule, Cyr likes the Kennebunk matchup because those other Rams, perennial powerhouses, are “always a great benchmark.” The MGA meet will be Gorham’s senior night, and St. Dom is the team’s last opponent before Southwesterns arrives.

Mackenzie Holmes – a dominant force last year as a 6-foot-2 freshman – returns to the court for the Lady Rams this winter. Expect her to trample countless hapless foes in a most entertaining fashion.

Trevor Gray, seen here tussling with a Scarborough opponent, returns to the ice for the Rams this winter as a sophomore.