It was a memorable winter sports season, filled with triumph

The winter sports season kept us entertained throughout December, January, February and into March and while it has come to a close, there is much to remember and hail.

On the basketball court, the Brunswick and Cheverus girls wound up atop the heap, winning the Class A and Class AA state titles, respectively. Deering’s girls enjoyed a bounce-back season, Freeport, Greely and Yarmouth returned to the tournament, Mt. Ararat gave Brunswick all it could handle in a regional final appearance, North Yarmouth Academy continued its recent trend of excellence, winning 18 games, while Scarborough and Waynflete reached the regional final round with South Portland falling just short.

On the boys’ side, while no local teams made it to states, Portland and Scarborough reached the regional finals, while Cape Elizabeth, Cheverus, Deering, Falmouth, Freeport, Greely, South Portland, Waynflete and Yarmouth were all playoff participants.

On the ice, the Cheverus girls won their second championship in a row, again knocking off Yarmouth/Freeport on the big stage.

The Cheverus/Yarmouth boys captured a therapeutic championship in dramatic fashion. The Portland/South Portland/Deering co-op team, as well as Falmouth, proved to be top contenders in Class A, while in Class B South, Greely returned to form.

Indoor track produced champions from Greely, Scarborough and South Portland, while 11 individuals took home crowns in a running, throwing or jumping event.

Dominance in the pool continued, as both Cape Elizabeth teams repeated in Class B, Scarborough’s boys captured another Class A crown and the Deering/Portland girls won a championship for the first time. If that wasn’t enough, 17 individuals won at least one event at states as well.

There were two individual wrestling champions and as always, local skiers dazzled, as four individuals won at least one event, Falmouth swept the Class A Alpine crowns, Freeport’s boys won the Class B Nordic championship and the Greely girls finished on top in Class B Nordic as well.

While spring beckons, let’s give one final cheer to the champions and top stories of a winter sports season that won’t soon be forgotten.

Winter state champions

Brunswick Dragons girls’ basketball, Class A
Cape Elizabeth Capers boys’ swimming, Class B
Cape Elizabeth Capers, girls’ swimming, Class B
Cheverus Stags girls’ basketball, Class AA
Cheverus/Yarmouth boys’ hockey, Class B
Cheverus Stags girls’ hockey
Deering/Portland RamDogs girls’ swimming, Class A
Falmouth Navigators boys’ Alpine skiing, Class A
Falmouth Navigators girls’ Alpine skiing, Class A
Freeport Falcons boys’ Nordic skiing, Class B
Greely Rangers boys’ indoor track, Class B
Greely Rangers girls’ Nordic skiing, Class B
Scarborough Red Storm girls’ indoor track, Class A
Scarborough Red Storm boys’ swimming, Class A
South Portland Red Riots boys’ indoor track, Class A

Winter regional champion

Yarmouth/Freeport girls’ hockey, North Region

Winter individual state champions

Indoor track

Lisi Palmer, Brunswick, Class A girls’ high jump
Lara Gin, Deering, Class A girls’ 400
Ruby Prentiss, Falmouth, Class A girls’ shot put
Reece Perry, Freeport, Class B boys’ pole vault
Shealyn Brochu, Morse, Class B girls’ 400
Sarah Ouellette, Morse, Class B girls’ pole vault
Aidan Greenleaf, Mt. Ararat, Class A boys’ 400
Lydia White, Mt. Ararat, Class A girls’ pole vault
Samantha Moore, Portland, Class A girls’ 800
Samantha Moore, Portland, Class A girls’ mile
Arnaud Sioho, South Portland, Class A boys’ triple jump
Abby Noble, Yarmouth, Class B girls’ 55

Swimming

Layla Hammer, Brunswick, Class A girls’ 100 freestyle
Cookie Mahoney, Cape Elizabeth, Class B girls’ 100 freestyle
Cookie Mahoney, Cape Elizabeth, Class B girls’ 200 freestyle
Cormac McKenney, Cape Elizabeth, Class B boys’ 100 butterfly
Cormac McKenney, Cape Elizabeth, Class B boys’ 100 breaststroke
Logan McVeigh, Cape Elizabeth, Class B boys’ diving
Graham Plourde, Cape Elizabeth, Class B boys’ 200 individual medley
David Steinbrick, Cape Elizabeth, Class B boys’ 200 freestyle
David Steinbrick, Cape Elizabeth, Class B boys’ 500 freestyle
Hope Taylor, Cape Elizabeth, Class B girls’ 500 freestyle
Maria Delmonte, Deering/Portland girls’ 200 individual medley
Maria Delmonte, Deering/Portland girls’ 100 backstroke
Cole Gorsuch, Falmouth, Class A boys’ 50 freestyle
Cole Gorsuch, Falmouth, Class A boys’ 100 freestyle
Jillian James, Falmouth, Class A girls’ diving
Audrey Cohen, Greely, Class B girls’ 100 breaststroke
Audrey Cohen, Greely, Class B girls’ 200 individual medley
Eliza Marco, Morse, Class B girls’ 50 freestyle
Gaffney McDonough, Morse, Class B boys’ 50 freestyle
Sawyer Wright, Morse, Class B boys’ 100 freestyle
Josh Langworthy, Mt. Ararat, Class A boys’ 100 backstroke
Keegan Rowe, Mt. Ararat, Class A boys’ 100 butterfly
Aidan Saunders, Mt. Ararat, Class A boys’ 100 breaststroke

Skiing

Keegan Lathrop, Cape Elizabeth, Class B boys’ Alpine slalom
Teo Steverlynck-Horne, Freeport, Class B boys’ Nordic classic
Teo Steverlynck-Horne, Freeport, Class B boys’ Nordic freestyle
Teo Steverlynck-Horne, Freeport, Class B boys’ Nordic pursuit
Sylvia Harvey, Greely, Class B girls’ Nordic classic
Sylvia Harvey, Greely, Class B girls’ Nordic freestyle
Sylvia Harvey, Greely, Class B girls’ Nordic pursuit
Brooke Boone, Yarmouth, Class B girls’ slalom
Brooke Boone, Yarmouth, Class B girls’ slalom

Wrestling

Pedro Lombi, Deering, Class A 215 pounds
Luke Burns, Scarborough/Gorham, Class A 190 pounds

Michael’s top five stories

5 Typical excellence on the slopes and trails

Freeport’s Teo Steverlynck-Horne dominated Class B Nordic this season, sweeping the events and leading the Falcons to a state title. File photos.

Forecaster Country has long been home to the state’s finest Alpine and Nordic skiers and the 2023-24 campaign was no different, even in a year where snow was at a premium. Falmouth’s boys and girls Alpine teams captured more hardware, each winning Class A. Freeport’s boys won the Class B Nordic crown, thanks in large part to the excellence of Teo Steverlynck-Horne, who won the classic, freestyle and pursuit titles. Greely’s Sylvia Harvey pulled off an identical sweep on the girls’ side, helping the Rangers to the pinnacle.

4 Triumvirate of track titles

South Portland’s Arnaud Sioho played a key role in helping the Red Riots win a Class A title for the first time in 22 years.

Three of the four track and field state championships were won by local teams. In Class A, South Portland’s boys captured the crown, holding off Mt. Ararat, Lewiston and Portland, while Scarborough’s long title reign came to an end. Arnaud Sioho’s victory in the triple jump helped the Red Riots to a first-place finish. The Red Storm girls took care of business, downing Bangor, Portland and Cheverus to take the top spot. In Class B, the Greely boys finished eight points clear of runner-up York. While York managed to win the girls’ championship, Greely, Freeport and Yarmouth all placed in the top five.

3 Dominance in the pool

Deering-Portland’s Maria Delmonte holds the championship plaque after the RamDogs won the Class A girls’ swimming state championship for the first time back in February.

While local schools won three of the four indoor track state titles this winter, swimming raised the bar another notch, going four-for-four. In Class A, the biggest story was the first ever championship won by the Deering/Portland “RamDogs” co-op squad. Led by Maria Delmonte, the Class A individual champion in the 200 individual medley and 100 backstroke, the RamDogs held off Falmouth and Thornton Academy for top honors. Scarborough’s boys meanwhile, made it three straight Class A crowns, holding off the Edward Little/Leavitt/Poland co-op team in the last relay to win dramatically. In Class B, Cape Elizabeth got pushed by Camden Hills on the girls’ side, but the Capers had no peer yet again, winning for the third consecutive year, by a mere 13 points. Swimmer of the Meet Cookie Mahoney won the 100 and 200 freestyle and Hope Taylor was first in the 500 free. The Capers boys also three-peated, but had a much easier time of it, outdistancing runner-up Morse by a whopping 135 points. Swimmer of the Meet David Steinbrick led the way by capturing both the 200 free and 500 free, while Cormac McKenney was also a dual event winner (taking the 100 butterfly and the 100 breaststroke), Graham Plourde finished first in the 200 individual medley and Logan McVeigh was the top diver.

2 First time, long time

Brunswick’s girls’ basketball team celebrated a first-ever state title the first Saturday of March.

A recurring theme this winter was a team winning a state title for the first time or the first time in a long while. On the hardwood, Brunswick’s girls, after falling short last winter, rolled to the Class A title, the first in program history. Cheverus’ girls won for the second time in three years, but did so in undefeated fashion for the first time. On the ice, Cheverus’ girls repeated for the first time, while the Cheverus/Yarmouth boys’ co-op team won Class B for the first time since it was formed four years ago. The Clippers had last won a title as a stand-alone program way back in 2002, while the Stags’ drought dated to 2006. South Portland’s boys’ indoor track team won its first crown since 2002 and in the pool, another recently formed co-op team, the Deering/Portland girls, won their first Class A championship. It was indeed a campaign for the record books.

1 The Season of the Stag

Cheverus/Yarmouth teammates swarm goalie Ethan Tucker after winning the Class B boys’ hockey state championship.

What a winter sports season it was on Ocean Avenue. Cheverus’ girls’ hockey team got the fun started with a second straight state championship, beating Yarmouth/Freeport yet again in the big game, 4-0. Next up, girls’ basketball culminated a first-ever unbeaten campaign with a 38-24 win over Gorham in the Class AA Final, as Miss Maine Basketball and Maine Gatorade Player of the Year winner Maddie Fitzpatrick bowed out in epic style. Putting a cherry on the victory sundae was the boys’ hockey team, a co-op with Yarmouth, which won a title for the first time, edging Camden Hills in the final, 4-3.