The 2017-18 winter sports season will kick into high gear this weekend with most teams playing their first games or competing in their first tournaments on Friday and Saturday.

Our local teams have a ton of talent on their rosters and should make plenty of noise on the hardwood, ice, mats, track and in the pool.

I decided I would take a shot at making some educated guesses heading into the season. I’m not going to try and tell you how every one of our athletes or teams will do this year, but I will make some bold predictions for the 2017-18 winter campaign.

Kennebunk boys basketball will make a deep playoff run

I went back-and-forth on if I should really go out on a limb and say the Rams would be holding a Gold Ball at the end of the year, but there are a ton of factors that go into whether a team can win a state title. From injuries to a team getting hot at the right time, you can never say with 100-percent certainty that a team will win a championship.

But I do believe I can say with confidence that the Kennebunk boys have the talent to compete with any team in the state. Junior guards Cam Lovejoy, Tripp Bush and Zack Sullivan are probably the most dangerous back-court trio in Class A.

I expect head coach Barrett Belanger and his team to be hunting for gold at the end of the season.

The Lady Gulls are ready to fly in Class C

Speaking of teams who are ready to take the next step, the Old Orchard Beach girls basketball team will also bring back a ton of talent from last year’s squad that made the regional final.

Head coach Dean Plante has most of that team back, including seniors Brianna Plante, Kaitlyn Cote and Meg LaPlante, juniors Emily Greenlee and Samantha Donnell and sophomore Maggie Strohm.

The Lady Gulls have the talent, experience, and work ethic to make another deep playoff run in Class C — and I expect them to do just that.

Local wrestlers will bring home plenty of state hardware

Our local wrestling teams have plenty of standouts returning this year and I’m guessing I will be pretty busy when it comes time to cover the postseason tournaments.

Sanford’s Sam Anderson will be the favorite to bring home another state championship, and he may be joined on top of the podium by other local grapplers.

One of those potential state champs is Anderson’s teammate, Isaac Plante, who took second in the state last season. Plante should be in the hunt for a gold medal this season.

Another wrestler with championship potential is Massabesic’s Matthew Pooler, who finished third at 152 pounds as a freshman last year. Pooler has the talent and work ethic to climb to the top of the podium this season. One thing that should help him is having freshman standout Noah Hernandez in the same wrestling room. Those two should push each other all year to reach new heights. I also expect Hernandez to bring home hardware from the state tournament.

In Class B, returning state champion Nolan Potter will be a heavy favorite to win another gold. The Wells senior should help the Warriors repeat as Class B team champions.

Other local wrestlers who should make noise this season include: Biddeford’s Josiah Garcia, Kennebunk’s Alden Shields, Noble’s Sam Martel, Sanford’s Nick Works and Wells’ Michael Wrigley.

A new ‘Knight’ at the JT

You will notice that I mentioned a Noble wrestler above. That is because we are adding the Noble Knights to our coverage area starting with the winter season.

The Knights will join Biddeford, Kennebunk, Massabesic, Old Orchard Beach, Sanford, Thornton Academy and Wells as the schools that we cover.

We are excited to add the Noble teams to the mix and look forward to giving the Knights the coverage that they deserve.

— Sports Editor Pat McDonald can be reached at [email protected] or at 282-1535 ext. 322. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.