DAVIS MANN, Senior – Basketball

Derek Davis / Portland Press Herald

• SMAA Class A all-star, first-team
* SMAA Class A All-Defensive team
* SMAA All-Academic team
* Class A South tournament MVP
* Maine McDonald’s Senior All-Star
* Team MVP
* Captain

Courtesy Falmouth Athletics.

Mann produced a season that dreams are made of, capped by one of the most transcendent clutch performances we’ve ever seen.

All of which cemented Mann’s legend and made his team a state champion.

Mann joined the Falmouth varsity as a sophomore and became a starter his junior season. He showed glimpses of greatness his first two seasons, but this winter, Mann was simply spectacular, coming up huge time and time and time again.

Mann, whose elusiveness and athleticism allowed him to get to the hoop for easy looks, while his shooting acumen gave him the opportunity to drain countless 3-pointers, averaged 21.8 points per game in the regular season.

Highlights included 28 points in a win over reigning Class A champion Gray-New Gloucester, 41 points in a victory over Westbrook, 24 points in a win at Deering, 23 in a victory over Kennebunk, 25 in a win over Brunswick, 31 in a second victory over Westbrook, 23 in a thrilling, down-to-the-wire home win over previously unbeaten Noble, 34 in a narrow loss to eventual repeat Class AA champion Windham, 24 in a win over Gorham, 24 in a victory over Freeport and 36 in a win over Scarborough.

In the tournament, Mann, somehow, elevated his game and was even better, averaging 26.2 points per contest with a pair of monstrous performances along the way.

Foul trouble limited Mann to just six points in a quarterfinal round victory over Gray-New Gloucester, but he erupted for 39 points in a semifinal round win over Fryeburg Academy. The regional final versus top-ranked Noble was an instant classic and Mann’s ability to make big plays when all appeared lost kept Falmouth in the game before it finally eked out a 56-53 victory behind Mann’s 17 points. Following that game, Mann was named the regional tournament’s most valuable player.

And that was all a mere appetizer to what occurred on the night of Feb. 28 in Augusta, in the state final versus a Messalonskee squad seeking its first Gold Ball. Mann kept his team in the game by willing his way to the hoop and his assist on a David Gravier basket in the waning seconds forced overtime. There, the Navigators went on to a 70-60 victory, as Mann scored a team-record 43 points, while adding seven rebounds, four assists and three steals.

“The first quarter, I knew the ball was going in the hoop and I knew I had to keep attacking the whole game,” said Mann, who scored over 500 points on the season. “Not just to get open looks for me, but for my teammates.”

And as a result, Davis Mann, Falmouth’s Winter Athlete of the Year, will live on in program lore. He led his team from the depths of despair to the pinnacle and did so in simply breathtaking fashion.

Coach Dave Halligan’s comment: “Davis is special. He held the fort for us. He did what an MVP does. He just went out and let his game speak for itself. He put the team on his back all season long. He’s been double-teamed, triple-teamed, faced special defenses and he doesn’t say anything. That’s the type of player he is.”

Previous winners:

• 2023-24 Ian Christie (Alpine skiing)
* 2022-23 Mitch Ham (hockey)
* 2021-22 Andrew Christie (Alpine skiing)
* 2020-21 Owen Drummey (hockey)
• 2019-20 A.J. Noyes (Alpine skiing)
•2018-19 John Auer (track)
•2017-18 Theo Hembre (hockey)
•2016-17 Connor Perron (swimming)
•2015-16 Thomas Coyne (basketball)
•2014-15 Jake Perron (swimming)
•2013-14 Joe Lesniak (Alpine skiing)
•2012-13 Tom Wilberg (basketball)
•2011-12 Jack Cooleen (basketball)
•2010-11 Reid Pryzant (track)
•2009-10 Stefano Mancini (basketball)
•2008-09 Mike Chase (hockey)
•2007-08 Tom Winger (track)
•2006-07 James Tolan (hockey)
•2005-06 Bryant Barr (basketball)
•2004-05 Peter Gustavson (hockey)
•2003-04 Brandon Bonsey (track)
•2002-03 Jon Hutchins (hockey)
•2001-02 Garrett Weliever (basketball)

JILLIAN JAMES, Senior – Diving

Gregory Rec / Portland Press Herald

Courtesy Falmouth Athletics.

• Class A state diving champion
• All-State
* All-State, All-Academic
• All-conference

James has had all eyes upon her throughout her high school career and each year she raised the bar, setting records and winning state titles and to no one’s surprise, her senior season was one of triumph and yet another record.

James made an immediate splash as a freshman, winning the Class A state diving title with score of 410.85 points. As a sophomore, James repeated as champion with a score of 414.70. As a junior, she took it another level, setting a new record with a whopping 521.20 points, breaking a school record which had held for a quarter-century, before winning the state title again with a meet record score of 488.05.

Another state title this season seemed a formality to most, but James had to battle through injury to be at her best by the time the biggest meets were held.

At the North Division Southwesterns, James set a record with 518.15 points. Then, at states, she eclipsed her previous record with a score of 541.10.

James is also a standout in the classroom and will attend and compete for the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts next year.

Plenty of greatness awaits at the next level, but it’s what she did in high school that guaranteed that Jillian James, Falmouth’s Winter Athlete of the Year, will live on in diving immortality.

Coach Patrick McArdle’s comment: “Jillian is a vital part of the team and her extraordinary diving skills are above all the others in the state. Beating her own state record is unbelievable. Jillian has meant the world to the Falmouth swim team. The team knew that Jillian would give it her all in every dive meet she attended.”

Coach Mike Bartley’s comment: “I’ve been coaching Jillian for the past six years. She is, by every measure of the word, an exceptional young lady and athlete. Her rise in the sport is due to to several things, not the least of which was her insistent personal drive and motivation to improve every time she trained on the diving board, in the weight room or with her cross-training roadwork. Her twitch muscles work very well and she handles challenges well. In short, she’s one of those individuals who might well be referred to as a natural. All of that showed through when she broke a 25-year high school record her junior season at Falmouth High School. The old record had been easing up little by little over the past 50-plus years, so when she broke it by 46 points it was notable. Then, this year, she broke her own record by another 20 points with yet another exceptional performance. It’s one of those records that will likely grace pool record boards around the state for a long, long time and it is well deserved. Jillian is one of those youngsters I expect will go out in the world and do great things in the future. It’s just the way she’s made up.”

Previous winners:

* 2023-24 Jillian James (diving)
* 2022-23 Anna Turgeon (basketball)
* 2021-22 Kate Kinley (hockey)
* 2020-21 Sloane Ginevan (basketball)
•2019-20 Anunthaya MacDonell (wrestling)
•2018-19 Kayla Sarazin (hockey)
•2017-18 Eva Clement (skiing)
•2016-17 Evie Clement (hockey)
•2015-16 Charlotte Janelle (diving)
•2014-15 Ally Hickey (basketball)
•2013-14 Anna Morin (skiing)
•2012-13 Charlotte Janelle (diving)
•2011-12 Megan Fortier (hockey)
•2010-11 Nicola Mancini (diving)
•2009-10 Sarah Abramson (skiing)
•2008-09 Kristin Jackson (swimming)
•2007-08 Kristin Jackson (swimming)
•2006-07 Alicia Hahn (swimming)
•2005-06 Gina Mancini (swimming)
•2004-05 Emily Sheldon (swimming)
•2003-04 Alison Tozier (swimming)
•2002-03 Gina Mancini (swimming)
•2001-02 Megan White (diving)

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