Varsity boys basketball
Coach: Tony DiBiase
Last year: The Red Riots were 5-13 and they did not qualify for the West A tournament.
Key returners: Coleman Finley (senior center), Matt Finley (senior forward), and Will Furbush (junior guard). Also look for good play from Nick Gadder (junior guard), Rob Moreau (junior guard), Dan Smith (junior forward), and Nick Wright (junior forward).
Outlook: “Last year was a basic re-building year for us. We’d lost everybody from the year before,” said Coach DiBiase. “But we were still pretty competitive.
“In the scrimmages we’ve had (this pre-season), we’ve seen how experience and work over the summer has paid off.”
DiBiase expects a number of the younger players on the team to play quite a bit. He also believes the league will be much more competitive this year.
Varsity girls basketball
Coach: Mike Giordano begins his 11th year
Last year: The Red Riots reached the Western Maine Class A final where they fell to eventual state champion Sanford. They ended the year with a 17-4 record.
Players to watch: senior captains Libby King, Jackie Rice and Christina Aceto and fellow senior Brittney Peavey; juniors Kelsey Flaherty, Jessica Aceto, and Erin Stilphen; sophomores Annie King, Kelsie Conley, Brianna Hawkins and Chelsea East.
Outlook: The South Portland High School girls basketball team was just one win away from reaching the state championship game last year. And the Red Riots are ready to make another run at a Western Maine Class A title this season with a number of veterans returning.
The Riots have nice balance between the frontcourt and the backcourt with skilled athletes at both spots. They could very well be among the top four West A teams again this season – certainly among the top six in the region.
Varsity ice hockey
Coach: Bart Keinath
Last year: The Riots went 11-9 during the regular season. Thornton defeated South Portland in the prelim round of the West A playoffs.
Players: senior Rob Morong (goalie); juniors Bobby Basinet (defense), Nicholas Griffin (forward), Paul Cobb (forward), James Doria (forward/defense), Daniel Maietta (defense), Corey Schwartz (forward), Jake Tack (Forward); sophomores Nick Fornwalt (forward), Dustin Matthews (forward), Brandon Martin (defense), Austin Steel (forward), James Keenan (forward(,Tyler Bickford (goalie); and freshmen Aiden Boyce (forward/defense), Ashley Oldakowski (forward), Matt Morey (forward), and Chelsea Libby (forward).
Outlook: The Riots will need to replace the skills of five departed seniors from a year ago as they try to win as many games as they did last season. They’ll be competitive as they again battle Noble, Bonny Eagle, Westbrook and Portland for tournament spots.
Varsity swimming
Coach: Robert Card
Swimmers to watch: The boys will be led by seniors Alex Latendresse and Tavvet Kiidli, juniors Mike Carter and Joe McGreechan and sophomore Will York. Newcomers Nick DaHass (senior) and Nick Brown (freshman) will also help the Riots this winter.
The girls are led by seniors Ana Boussone, Rebecca Braley, and Jamie Reinhold; juniors Katherine Ambrose, Molly Bogart, Meghan Gallagher, Victoria Stiles and Meg McKinnon. Newcomers Kaitlyn Carter (freshman) and Kate Lagios (freshman) are also expected to contribute this season.
Outlook: The Riots were forced into dry land workouts while the roof of the South Portland public pool was replaced over the last few weeks. But that’s OK with Coach Card who used the opportunity to get to know his teams and for the swimmers to get to know one another.
“They’re willing to work and they’re a fun bunch to work with,” said Coach Card. “They’re great kids and they’re going to get better throughout the year.”
Varsity boys indoor track
Coach: Paul Brogan
Last year: The Riots had a 6-5 regular season mark.
Athletes to watch: Sprinters Will Cabana (senior), Ian Golder (junior), Misha Carmichael (sophomore), and John Gleason (senior); Eugene Arsenault (senior) in the shot put; Jon Cotton (junior) in the high jump; hurdlers Tanner Burgdoff (sophomore), Nick Huston (senior), Jon Benner (senior), Dave Hardison (sophomore), Jon Linscott (senior), and Adrian McQuinn (senior); and distance runners Dave Knowland, Tom Biskup, Sean Esten, Mike Welch, Brian Huynh and Nick Gray.
Outlook: “We have 50 boys out for the team and we look to be competitive in our Expo meets,” said Coach Brogan. “Hopefully, we will develop some depth in the skill events that will help us in the state meet.
“Team attitude is excellent and we are hopeful for a successful season.”
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We apologize for not having the girls indoor track preview ready for this week. We’ll try to have the preview for next week’s paper.
And the cheering preview will appear in mid-January priot to the league and regional competitions.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
