TOPSHAM — They could have said it was sweat; they had just played field hockey for four hours.

But as teams placed down their sticks, picked up sheets of yellow paper with hand-written dedications on them and sat on Mt. Ararat’s track to listen to the personal stories of cancer survivors — all with ties to the Midcoast field hockey community — it was clear the beads of water falling down faces were not sweat.

More than 300 people came to Mt. Ararat on Saturday for the 10th Drive Out Cancer Field Hockey tournament. Eight schools (Mt. Ararat, Brunswick, Morse, Lisbon, Lincoln Academy, Oak Hill, Greely and Lewiston) participated in the all-day round-robin scrimmage, but intermission was the main event.

Representatives from each team read facts about the event, which started as a scrimmage between Mt. Ararat and Morse and has since raised more than $95,000 for the Maine Children’s Cancer Program, and introduced the guest speakers, which included Oak Hill assistant coach Abby Fuller; the Mt. Ararat Middle School field hockey mother-daughter duo of Bridget Murphy and Adelynn Moody; and Seth Meyer, a tennis coach from Camden and the younger brother of Mt. Ararat head coach Krista Chase.

“It’s always very emotional for me to see all of this come together,” Chase said. “All the teams together, listening to the girls speak, the presenters speak, and of course having my brother speak really for the first time since he almost died. (It’s) very emotional, but not even in a sad way. Just so much hope, so much strength and so much reflection on the pervasive nature of cancer and how it impacts so many people. Seeing the girls up there with their signs of who they’re playing today’s tournament for was just a big visual representation of how we’re all in it together.”

Field hockey teams from Mt. Ararat, Brunswick, Morse, Lisbon, Lincoln Academy, Oak Hill, Greely and Lewiston gather for a group photo at the 2024 Drive Out Cancer Field Hockey tournament. Cooper Sullivan / The Times Record

More than $4,900 was raised online, while the total amount, including donations collected on Saturday, was to be announced later.

Fuller was the first to speak. As a senior in high school, the former Oak Hill goalie was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Nine years later, she is currently in remission. Fuller still undergoes monthly screens due to a rare genetic disorder, Cowden syndrome, that predisposes her to other types of cancers.

“The fight never stops,” Fuller said to the crowd. “Events like these, or any other event you go to raise awareness at, are so important. … You guys think you’re out here playing field hockey, but it means a lot more than that. Not only to everyone here who is out there supporting you, but to people like me who have gone through the battle of childhood cancer.”

Fuller mentioned the help she and her family received over the years and urged the young girls to build community and support networks now, “because you don’t know when you are truly going to need them,” she said.

Murphy and Moody, both of Harpswell, have found support through the Mt. Ararat middle school field hockey program.

As a child, Moody wanted to play field hockey because her mother, Murphy, was playing pick-up. However, at age 5, Moody was diagnosed with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. A year later, the Maine Children’s Cancer Program cleared Moody for some practices, but no games. Murphy jumped on the opportunity.

“I reached out to our amazing Coach Chase to explain our situation — that Adelynn probably could not do everything that all the other girls are doing but really wanted to play,” Murphy said during her speech. “Coach Chase was amazing and gave Adelynn the opportunity to finally be a part of a team. She paired Adelynn with a high school student. … and worked one-on-one with her. Adelynn fell in love; in love with field hockey, an amazing coach and amazing group of girls. She finally had something positive to look forward to.”

In 2020, at age 8, Moody relapsed and underwent chemotherapy. She is now in remission and playing field hockey year-round.

“She also can’t wait to be a part of the Drive Out Cancer event as a field hockey player in a couple more years,” Murphy said.

Adelynn Moody, left, and Bridget Murphy, right, speak during the 2024 Drive Out Cancer event. Cooper Sullivan / The Times Record

Mt. Ararat freshman Kamryn Chase introduced the last speaker, her uncle Seth Meyer. The tennis coach admitted that although he grew up around the sport — his mother, Carolyn Neighoff, was the longtime coach at Cony and his stepmother, Martha Meyer, a breast cancer survivor, officiated on Saturday — he still doesn’t understand the rules of the game.

He does understand the impact of the event his “absolutely inspiring” sister organizes every year.

As of July 31, Meyer is in remission from a February diagnosis of stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Just months prior, saying the words “I am a cancer survivor,” as he did on Saturday, seemed like a longshot.

“But I kept fighting,” Meyer said. “I was really sick. There was months were I couldn’t walk, talk, eat or drink, but I kept fighting. At one point I had seven tubes coming out of my body for various reasons, and it was a nightmare. But I kept fighting, and I was lucky enough to have strong people fight with me.”

Meyer spent 86 days at Maine Medical Center in Portland. His wife, Erin, was present the entire time, Chase and other family members would visit whenever they could, while Martha Meyer stayed with their 15-year-old son, Will, in Camden.

Meyer’s journey with cancer is not over, as he has weight and strength to regain and fear to overcome. But as he urged those listening to him, he will continue while living every day without waste, taking nothing for granted, and of course, fighting.