Portland: Title time has arrived

The hardware is about to be bestowed in girls’ hockey, indoor track, swimming, Alpine and Nordic skiing and wrestling and rest assured that local teams will be heard from in all of the above.

Here’s a glimpse as title time dawns:

Girls’ hockey

Jane Flynn of the Portland/South Portland/Cape Elizabeth/Waynflete Beacons girls’ hockey team is congratulated after scoring a goal during Saturday’s South Region semifinals versus Gorham. The goal wasn’t enough, as the Beacons were eliminated, 5-2. Derek Davis / Portland Press Herald

Cheverus’ girls’ hockey team, the reigning state champion, was just two wins from a repeat title at press time.

The Stags, ranked first in the South Region standings after a 15-1 regular season, had no trouble with No. 4 Falmouth/Scarborough in Saturday’s semifinals, 8-2. Lucy Johnson scored three goals, Briella Doherty added two and Zoey Radford, Caroline Rousseau and Mikayla Talbot all finished with one.

Cheverus takes on No. 2 Gorham (13-6) in the regional final Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., at Troubh Ice Arena in Portland. The Stags won both regular season encounters, 7-0 away and 3-0 at home. Cheverus is 2-0 all-time versus the Rams in the tournament, including last year’s 8-1 regional final victory.

The Portland/South Portland/Cape Elizabeth/Waynflete Beacons co-op squad, seeded third, ousted No. 6 York, 9-3, in the quarterfinals, then was eliminated by Gorham in Saturday’s semifinals, 5-2, to finish 11-9. In the win, Marina Bassett and Phoebe Knoll had two goals apiece, while Jane Flynn added three assists. In the loss, Flynn and Libby Hooper scored once apiece and goalie Erin Winship stopped 24 shots, but it wasn’t enough.

“I’m really proud of the way we played,” said Beacons coach Bob Mills. “I thought that game could’ve gone either way.”

Indoor track

The Southwestern Maine Activities Association indoor track championship meet was held Saturday at the University of Southern Maine in Gorham.

Cheverus’ girls tallied 147.5 points and came in first, holding off runner-up Windham (121). The Stags got first-place performances from Macey Weisberg in the junior 55 (7.59 seconds), junior 200 (26.56) and junior long jump (16 feet, 5.5 inches). Cheverus also won the 4×200 (1 minute, 50 seconds) and 4×400 (4:28.53) relays.

Portland (81 points) finished fifth. Standout Samantha Moore captured the senior 800 (2:15.83) and open mile (4:57.96). The Bulldogs also took the open sprint medley relay (4:31.23).

Deering (59) was seventh. Lara Gin won the senior 400 (59.79).

In the boys’ meet, won by South Portland with 150.5 points, Portland (134) was second. Aziz Mohamed won the junior 400 (54.41). Ben Mbongo was first in the junior long jump (19-5). Benjamin Prestes took the senior 800 (1:59.43). The Bulldogs also captured the junior 4×200 relay (1:38.53).

Deering (30) came in ninth.

Cheverus (28) was 10th.

The Class A state championship meet is Monday in Gorham.

Swimming

In the pool, in the North Division girls’ Southwesterns meet, won by Cape Elizabeth with 326 points, Deering/Portland was runner-up with 220. Maria Delmonte won the 100 backstroke (57.72 seconds) and was second in the 100 freestyle (53.78).

Cheverus (86) came in seventh.

In the North Division boys’ Southwesterns meet, won by Cape Elizabeth with a whopping 412 points, Deering-Portland (71) tied Westbrook for sixth. Andy Marvin was first in the 100 freestyle (49.16).

Cheverus (46) placed eighth.

Waynflete took part in the South Division meet. The Flyers boys had 75 points and came in sixth (Yarmouth won with 225).

The Flyers girls had 57 points and finished ninth (Thornton Academy was first with 282).

The state meets are next Monday and Tuesday in Brunswick and Orono.

Skiing

Cheverus’ boys’ Alpine ski team finished third behind Falmouth and Kennebunk at last week’s SMAA championship meet. Reis Stamaris was second individually in the slalom (with a two-run combined time of 1 minute, 32.7 seconds) and placed third in the giant slalom (1:20.89).

The Class A and B Alpine state meets are Wednesday and Thursday at Black Mountain in Rumford.

The Nordic state meets are next Monday and Tuesday at Titcomb Mountain in Farmington.

Wrestling

Deering’s Pedro Lombi battles Cheverus’ Evan Metivier in the 215-pound final at the Class A South wrestling championships Saturday. Lombi came out on top. Shawn Patrick Ouellette / Portland Press Herald

The Class A South regional wrestling meet was held Saturday in Sanford. Deering’s Pedro Lombi repeated as champion by winning the 215-pound weight division, pinning Cheverus’ Evan Metivier in the third period.

The Class A state meet is Saturday in Augusta.

Boys’ hockey

Toby Lappin, right, is congratulated after scoring one of his four goals in last week’s home win over Scarborough Ben McCanna / Portland Press Herald

The boys’ hockey regular season still has a little over a week to go.

In Class B South, Cheverus/Yarmouth began the week 11-2-1 and second in the Heal Points standings behind Leavitt following a 7-0 home victory over reigning state champion Cape Elizabeth. Brady Martin led the way with two goals, while Lucas D’Alessandro, Andrew Cheever, Quinn McCoy, David Swift and Hakon Yeo added one apiece. Cheverus/Yarmouth was at Mt. Ararat Tuesday, hosts York Thursday, goes to Brunswick Saturday, then wraps up the regular season next Wednesday at Greely.

In Class A, the Portland/Deering/South Portland Beacons co-op team was 9-6 and sixth in the standings after wins last week over visiting Scarborough (7-3) and host Biddeford. Against the Red Storm, Toby Lappin led the way with a four-goal outburst, while Danny Fitzgibbon, Lucas Milliken and Ben Palson also scored. Goalie Michael Zaccaria made 23 saves.

“It’s great to score, but I had the boys behind me the whole time,” said Lappin. “I wouldn’t have been able to score without them. The goals started with the little stuff that we work on in practice.”

“Toby’s played well all year and as of late, he’s come on really strong,” said Joe Robinson, who co-coaches the Beacons, along with Jeff Beaney. “He’s up there in scoring. He’s a very important player for us.”

The Beacons welcome Bangor Thursday, go to Marshwood Saturday and close the regular season next Thursday at home versus Marshwood.

“It’s been a back-and-forth season, but we have momentum going into the end of it,” Lappin said. “I think we have an opportunity to make a run. It’s going to be a close battle with the top teams. It’ll come down to who wants it most.”

“We just want to get in the tournament,” said Robinson. “It’s even more wide open this year. We just have to get a little bit better game by game. I think we’ll be alright.”

Press Herald staff writer Travis Lazarczyk contributed to this story.