Spring 2011 Male Athlete of the Year:

HANS POPE, Senior—Lacrosse

* WMC All-Star first-team

* Senior All-Star

* Captain

Hans Pope might have unleashed the single most dominating athletic performance this spring.

And that’s not hyperbole.

On the afternoon of May 10, against eventual regional champion North Yarmouth Academy, Pope scored four goals, assisted on two others, won 16 of 18 faceoffs and grabbed 20 ground balls as he almost single-handedly rallied Freeport to victory, before the Falcons fell just short.

While that was Pope’s piece de resistance, he had several other strong showings during an all-star season, one which started with him battling injury. He capped his high school career in style and hinted at future triumph to come.

For all of that excellence, Hans Pope is The Forecaster’s choice for Freeport’s Spring 2011 Male Athlete of the Year, making him a repeat winner.

Pope played four years of soccer and even dabbled in track before starting varsity lacrosse his sophomore year, where he quickly became a force, due to his skill and his stature, which renders most opponents helpless. He scored 15 goals and won 78 ground balls as a junior and continued to barrel through the opposition this spring, even though he had to overcome a hamstring tear early on.

Despite his injury, Pope had four goals and two assists in a season-opening victory over Lake Region. He had the same stat line in a victory over Fryeburg, then, after his sensational performance against NYA (the single most dominating these eyes saw this spring) in the game he felt he was truly back physically, Pope had four goals in a loss to Greely and three versus Yarmouth. He scored in every game but one and capped his high school career with a goal and an assist in the Senior All-Star Game.

He finished with 29 goals, 11 assists, a whopping 127 ground balls and generally toyed with his counterpart on draws.

If that wasn’t enough, Pope went out of his way to make sure the team stayed on the field, working with teammates in study hall to keep them eligible. He also worked with the town’s youth program. He’s spending his summer playing pickup lacrosse with college players and will matriculate at Wheaton College (his first choice) in the fall, where he plans to play lacrosse.

He has what it takes to excel there as well. Hans Pope, Freeport’s Spring 2011 Male Athlete of the Year, doesn’t let anything or anyone slow his march his excellence.

Coach Geoff Arris’ comment: “Hans is the heart and soul of our team. He served as a co-captain and truly held up his part as a leader of our team. Off the field, he was an outstanding role model. On the field, there really isn’t enough I can say about him. He was our workhorse. If it needed to be done, Hans would do it. No questions asked. He rarely came off the field. He played about every minute every game. He took 95 percent of our faceoffs and ran our man-up and man-down. There aren’t really any true midfielders left anymore that play both ways. I could honestly go on and on. Hans is one of those people that even at such a young age, I would like my son to be like. I’m very proud to have coached him and really look forward to watching him play for Wheaton.”

2010 winner: Hans Pope (Lacrosse)

2009 winner: Greg Ordway (Lacrosse)

2008 winner: Parker Chipman (Track)

2007 winner: Luke Charest (Lacrosse)

2006 winner: Kelso Davis (Lacrosse)

2005 winner: Tim Gray (Lacrosse)

2004 winner: Kelso Davis (Lacrosse)

2003 winner: Tyler Allen (Baseball)

2002 winner: Ben Grant (Baseball)

Spring 2011 Female Athlete of the Year:

LEIGH WYMAN, Sophomore—Softball

WMC Class B All-Star, first team

Leigh Wyman has established herself as one of the best pitchers in the conference and she’s only a sophomore.

While the wins didn’t pile up as fast as she hoped, Wyman put forth an all-star performance this season and stands to only get better.

For being not only a standout hurler, but for wielding a pretty potent bat as well, Leigh Wyman is The Forecaster’s selection for Freeport’s Spring 2011 Female Athlete of the Year.

Wyman is part of an athletic family (her older brother, Jack, was Falmouth’s 2007 Fall Male Athlete of the Year) and started playing softball and pitching at a young age.

“I like pitching because there’s no standing around,” Wyman said. “It’s fun.”

She joined the Falcons varsity as a freshman (she also plays basketball in the winter) and had several strong outings in 2011.

Wyman set the bar pretty high in the opener, no-hitting York behind 11 strikeouts. She also doubled. She had three hits and an RBI versus Falmouth, threw a two-hitter in a loss to Yarmouth, fanned nine versus Greely, had a pair of hits in a win over Sacopee, struck out 11 versus Poland and capped the year with four hits and three RBI in a win over Traip.

For the season, Wyman had a dazzling 1.28 earned run average with 116 strikeouts, but only managed a 6-7 record as Freeport fell short of the playoffs. She led the Falcons with a .429 batting average.

Wyman helped coach Special Olympians in basketball and also serves as a mentor. She plays premier basketball and softball and hopes to play softball in college.

It’s a very tangible goal. Leigh Wyman, Freeport’s Spring 2011 Female Athlete of the Year, is going to continue to turn heads.

Coach Victor DiSilvestro’s comment: “Leigh is a true athlete. She pitches all year, works with a pitching coach to improve during the season and offseason. If it wasn’t for our catcher breaking her hand, Leigh probably would have won 10 or more games. She is very competitive when she’s on the mound. Her attitude spreads to other players.”

2010 winner: Lucy Whitacre (Lacrosse)

2009 winner: Kristen Poulin (Track)

2008 winner; Andrea Goodrich (Track)

2007 winner: Molly Lincoln (Lacrosse)

2006 winner: Amber Klages (Lacrosse)

2005 winner: Cassandra Dyer (Softball)

2004 winner: Logan Crane (Track)

2003 winner: Molly Charest (Lacrosse)

2002 winner: Kerry Blenk (Softball)

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