Boys Cross Country
Coach: TJ Hesler
Last year’s results: Sixth at Regionals, ninth at States
Key athletes returning: Aiden Willey (jr., Captain); Anthony Breton (jr., Captain); Justin Tomison (jr., Captain); Anthony Mason (so.), Josh Chadbourne (so.)
Key newcomers: Ken Beaumier (fr.), Andrew Sirois (fr.)
Key meets: Southern Maine Classic, Manchester Invitational, Festival of Champions, Regionals, States
Outlook: “The Bonny Eagle Boys XC team is very young,” Hesler says, “with only one senior on the roster. Leading the returners is junior Captain Aiden Willey, who finished 13th in the State Meet, and has qualified for the New England Championships in both indoor and outdoor track in the past two seasons. Two more junior Captains, Breton and Tomison, finished 23rd and 65th in the State Meet and have improved tremendously over the track and summer seasons. Anthony Mason and Joshua Chadbourne are two other returning varsity runners looking to make an impact, while freshmen Ken Beaumier and Andrew Sirois will also be in the mix as varsity runners. The schedule this year features three invitationals: The Southern Maine Classic, the Manchester Invitational and the Festival of Champions; these will be used to get the team ready for strong performances at the Regional and State meets in October.”

Girls Cross Country
Coach: Mike Burleson
Last year’s results: Fourth at Regionals, Fifth at States
Key athletes returning: Ami Beaumier (sr., Captain); Kayla Raymond (sr., Captain); Christine Toy (sr., Captain); Emma Abbott (jr., Captain); Delaney Hesler (fr.); Emaline Pendleton (fr.)
Key meets: Festival of Champions, Manchester Invitational
Outlook: The Lady Scots return the entirety of last year’s standout varsity squad, and add a strong freshman class to the mix. Given how well they performed during last year’s championship stretch, they ought to be contenders for the crown at both Regionals and States this autumn. “Leading the pack will be Ami Beaumier, Kayla Raymond and Christine Toy, who were sixth, eighth and 19th at the 2017 State Meet,” Burleson says. “Beaumier will be the top returner from a year ago; she also added state titles for the Two-Mile indoors and 3200 outdoors to her resume. Toy ended her outdoor season as the top Maine finisher in the 1600 at the New England Championships, setting a new personal record of 5:13.82. Raymond ended her 2018 outdoor track season with the fastest 800 leg of the 26 teams in the Emerging Elite DMR at the New Balance National meet clocking a time of 2:14.79. Look for key performances from Junior captain Emma Abbott as well as Freshmen Delaney Hesler and Emmaline Pendleton to keep the 1-5 gap close.” Burleson likes the Festival of Champions and the Manchester Invitational as previews of the States and New Englands courses.

Field Hockey
Coach: Vonde Saunders
Last year’s record: 5-8-1
Key players returning: Mia Alexander (sr., F, Captain); Sam Averill (sr., M, Captain); Mya Daniels (sr., M)
Key newcomers: Emma Burnham (M), Zoe Schmaling (D)
Outlook: Saunders is new to the BE squad this year, but eager to get a move on. “Having strong leadership – with seven seniors – I’m getting excited to start the season!” she says. “We have some strong newcomers and returners that are starting to work great together. Working as one unit is the biggest part of playing on a team!”

Football
Coach: Kevin Cooper
Last year’s record: 8-2, fell vs. TA in A South Semis
Key players lost: Zach Klein (OL/DL), Connor Sirois (QB/DB), Arlo Pike (TE/DE), Nick Thorne (RB/DE), Alex Sprague (RB/LB), Greg Emerson (WR/DB), Kordell Menard (WR/DB)
Key players returning: Aidan McGlone (C/LB), Will Horton (OG/N), Will Whyte (RB/DB), Zach Maturo (QB/DB), Will Hendrix (WR/LB), Tyler Williams (TE/DE), Lucas Trask (OL/DL)
Key matchups: TA, Scarborough
Outlook: The Scots don’t return many starters from last year, but, as Cooper puts it, “we have a lot of players that are just chomping at the bit to show what they can do.” Cooper goes on: “We have a number of rangy, athletic skill-players and some decent size up front. On defense, we are going to try and be more aggressive than in the past and get after teams. We think if we can keep growing as a team and getting better day-by-day that we will give league favorites TA and Scarborough a run for their money at the end of the year.” The Trojans and especially the Storm will be strong this year, but the Scots should never be counted out.

Golf
Coach: Brett Levin
Last year’s record: 4-6
Key players returning: Ian Jarvis (sr.), Bobby Faucher (sr.), Cory LaBrecque (jr.), Colby Sanborn (jr., No. 4)
Key newcomers: Remy Levin (fr.)
Key matchups: TA, Greely, Gorham
Outlook: “The Division lost some very good players last year,” Levin says, “and no team is truly dominant this year, so it’s really up to the teams that can play the smartest golf.” Jarvis will lead the BE pack as their No. 1; Faucher, LaBrecque and Sanborn will follow him at No. 2, No. 3, and No. 4.

Boys Soccer
Coach: Lawrence Robertson
Last year’s record: 5-8-1
Key players returning: David Byrne, Zack Allocca, Regan McCleary, Elias Eberhart
Key matchups: Westbrook, Windham, Cheverus

Girls Soccer
Coach: Scott Nason
Last year’s record: 10-5-1; fell to Marshwood in tournament quarterfinals
Key players returning: Sydney Gillingham (sr., G, Captain); Keelin Sweeney (sr., D, Captain); Cassidy Koons (sr., M, Captain); Madison Johnson (jr., A); Emily Ginter (jr., A); Madison Boothby (jr., A); Randi Lee Robinson (jr., D); Laura Libby (so., D); Kailey Koons (so., M)
Key matchups: Scarborough, Falmouth, Gorham, Cheverus
Outlook: The Lady Scots put together a fantastic push last season, and they return the majority of that team’s central figures, particularly on defense, where they should look quite solid. Nason, though, is new to the helm, which fact has obviously required some adjustments. “We’ve spent a lot of our time working to become a more possession-based team and playing out of the back instead of playing a direct style of play,” Nason says. “This group of players has taken to the new style very well…Our challenges will come in the attacking third of the field, as we need to become a little more imaginative in the attack. I believe that we have the potential to finish higher than last year’s sixth-place if we remain solid in the backs and develop our attack. We’ve had mixed successes in the preseason and are looking to become a more consistent team.”

Volleyball coach Kelley Champagne couldn’t be reached.

Adam Birt can be reached at abirt@keepmecurrent.com. Follow him on Twitter: @CurrentSportsME

Kailee Cummings pushes forward for Bonny Eagle in a bout at Gorham last year.

Bonny Eagle said goodbye to a long list of talented seniors last year; typically, though, the program features plenty of young talent as well–meaning fans can look forward to the coming season with optimism.