MAYA TRACEY, Sophomore – Field hockey

Courtesy Greely Athletics.

• WMC Division One first-team

Tracey loves field hockey and the sport has loved her back as she played a major role in Greely’s resurgence into a top contender.

Tracey debuted with 11 goals and eight assists, earning second-team all-star mention. This fall, Tracey remained a top contributor for the Rangers, scoring nine of their 22 goals and assisting on two others.

Highlights included two goals versus Wells and two goals in a victory over Lake Region.

Greely ultimately dropped a one-goal decision to Gray-New Gloucester/North Yarmouth Academy in the quarterfinal, but its upward trend continues.

Maya Tracey, Greely’s Fall Athlete of the Year, will continue to lead the Rangers to big things over the next two seasons. It won’t be long until she’s mentioned with the elite players in the state.

Coach Burgess LePage’s comment: “Maya is the type of player whose enthusiasm for the game is so easily identified from the very first second she makes contact with a ball on the field. You can feel how excited she is to go out there and create moments of greatness with her teammates. She has an eagerness and intensity about how she plays that is infectious. When you watch her play field hockey, you can tell that she never takes for granted the opportunity to play the sport. Maya seizes every opportunity to get better at her craft during practices, oftentimes starting early and ending late in order to get in more touches. This extra effort boosts her performance in games as she mixes her talent with excellent game-sense. During timeouts or halftimes, Maya is not often amongst the first athletes to speak, showing her respect to the upperclassmen, but when she does step up to share what she sees on the field, her observations propel our team forward and convey a sense of hope and purpose to the squad. We are so thankful to have Maya as a part of our program and cannot wait to watch her continued success in upcoming years.”

Russ Dillingham / Sun Journal

Prior winners:

• 2023 Molly Mulligan (volleyball)
* 2022 Ruth Weeks (golf)
* 2021 Savanna Harvey (field hockey)
* 2020 Hannah Perfetti (field hockey)
• 2019 Marin Provencher (cross country)
• 2018 Rachel Smith (golf)
• 2017 Sydney Meredith-Pickett (field hockey)
• 2016 Kayley Cimino (volleyball)
• 2015 Izzy Hutnak (soccer)
• 2014 Katherine Leggat-Barr (cross country)
• 2013 Kirstin Sandreuter (cross country)
• 2012 Haleigh Roach (volleyball)
• 2011 Maggie Bradley (volleyball)
• 2010 Kirstin Sandreuter (cross country)
• 2009 Erin Cadigan (volleyball)
• 2008 Hillary Cederna (volleyball)
• 2007 Mackenzie Ross (field hockey)
• 2006 Aly Robinson (soccer)
• 2005 Amanda Gray (volleyball)
• 2004 Rachelle Doucette (soccer)
• 2003 Hayly Ross (field hockey)
• 2002 Kim Alexander (soccer)
• 2001 Amanda Chase (field hockey)

BEN MCCARRON, Senior – Football

Courtesy Greely Athletics.

* Eight-man, large school, defense first-team
* Captain

McCarron not only helped the Greely program return to stand-alone status. He was the player of the game in the biggest victory in program history, leading the Rangers to the pinnacle at last after making a series of highlight-reel plays.

McCarron was a role player as a sophomore, but it didn’t take long for him to make an impact.

“Benny wasn’t a standout starter at the time, but he did fill some key roles for us situationally,” said Greely coach Caleb King. “That first year, we quickly learned that Benny couldn’t be on look defense because he would sniff out every offensive play we would try and run.”

McCarron became a star as a junior and the Rangers, after going winless in 2022 and getting off to a slow start that season, caught fire and made a shocking run to the state final. McCarron became an All-Conference linebacker with a penchant for making the biggest plays in the biggest spots. The Rangers lost to Mt. Desert Island, but the best was yet to come.

“We lost in the state game and I think that motivated a lot of guys and Ben was no exception,” King said. “This offseason, Benny committed himself to preparing to be the best football player he could be and he continued that mission every day in practice during the year.”

McCarron would produce 128 tackles in 10 games, 70 of which were solo. Greely lost in the season opener to Camden Hills, but didn’t drop another game. After beating Lake Region in the state semifinals, the Rangers returned to the state final against Mt. Ararat and McCarron put on a clinic. On both sides of the ball.

McCarron scored the game’s first touchdown, catching a pass from Andrew Padgett. Then, his defensive skills became the biggest story. McCarron wound up with 16 tackles (12 solo), three interceptions and he brought two of them back to the house, including a 79-yard pick-six just before halftime to essentially salt away what became an emphatic 58-20 victory.

“We knew this year was going to be our year,” said McCarron. “We lost our first game and we hadn’t lost since. We knew we were a good team. This means so much to me, the seniors and the whole team. I remember going an entire season not winning a single game. Losing last year in the state championship game really stayed with us. It made everyone push that much harder. That drive got us here and led us to the win today.”

“Certain players rise to greatness in the biggest games, and that was certainly true for Ben in the championship game,” King said.. “It was a performance that will be hard for anyone to forget.”

Ben McCarron, Greely’s Fall Athlete of the Year, authored the most dramatic and triumphant final act you can imagine. It was the perfect ending for one of the special players in program history.

Coach Caleb King’s comment: “There is no doubt in my mind that Ben was the best linebacker in Maine football this year. I could be mistaken, but I believe he led the state in tackles, regardless of class or division. There is a ton of pressure on linebackers in eight-man, especially for a team like us that typically doesn’t play with a safety over the top. Either our linebackers make the tackle or the other team scores. Ben accepted that challenge every week and repeatedly rose to the occasion. Ben made us a better football team on both sides of the ball. He was a tough runner and was a fantastic lead blocker and pass protector. There was nothing better than running dive or inside lead with Benny and watching him rattle off 10 or 15 yards on first down. Ben was the heart of our defense. He is an extremely cerebral player and quickly picked up our opposition’s offensive schemes in practice every week. Ben was a linebacker that could make every tackle and couldn’t be tricked, but what really made Ben great was his relentless drive. He never came out on defense and that really started in the offseason. Ben was at almost every lifting and conditioning workout this summer. He never groaned or complained during conditioning and finished in the front on every rep. Ben wasn’t necessarily a ‘rah-rah’ guy, but rather someone who was always leading by example. None of Ben’s success was by accident. He is a self-made player who consistently put in the work every day to be great. Ben has a quiet confidence about him and was a natural leader of our team. His graduation will leave a giant hole on our team, both in play and leadership. As a coach you could give Ben an assignment and he would do it. No questions, no hesitation, just execution. Beyond that, we lose a guy with a real passion for Greely football. That love of the game transferred to all his teammates and we were a better football team because of it.”

Courtesy Greely Athletics.

Prior winners:

• 2023 Andrew Padgett (football)
* 2022 Ethan Njitoh (soccer)
* 2021 Ethan Njitoh (soccer)
* 2020 Andrew Klein (golf)
• 2019 Aidan Melville (soccer)
• 2018 Joey Cassella (football)
• 2017 Quinn Molloy (soccer)
• 2016 Paul Buchanan (football)
• 2015 Sam Peck (football)
• 2014 Aidan Roberts (golf)
• 2013 Matt Crowley (soccer)
• 2012 Sven Jacobsen (football)
• 2011 Stefan Sandreuter (cross country)
• 2010 Jon Higgins (football)
• 2009 Logan Price (cross country)
• 2008 Steven Chase (soccer)
• 2007 James LePage (cross country)
• 2006 Oliver Blum (soccer)
• 2005 Greg Frost (soccer)
• 2004 Casey Diehl (cross country)
• 2003 Will Robinson (golf)
• 2002 Ben True (cross country)
• 2001 Ben True (cross country)

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net.