Windham High winter sports preview
Boys basketball
Coach: Kevin Millington (12th year)
Last year’s record: 9-9 in the regular season, defeated Gorham in Class A West prelims before falling to eventual state champ Cheverus in the quarterfinals
Key players: seniors Nate Dixon (C), Brandon Guerrette (F), Carlton Charles (G) and Andrew O’Neill (F); juniors Nick Taylor (F), Jackson Taylor (F), Andy Brix (F), Garrett Clemmer (G), Adam Szklany (G) and James Plummer (G)
Key games this season: Dec. 5 @ Gorham; Dec. 16 vs. Cheverus; Feb. 6 @ Westbrook
Season outlook: The Eagles are a veteran bunch. “We have high expectations,” Millington said. With 10 players back from last year’s squad, Windham has a load of experience, though the Eagles did lose some top scorers from a year ago. They’ll look to get the ball inside to their center, Dixon, who stands 6’5″. Millington described the group as unselfish and expects all the returnees to make significant contributions. The goal, the coach said, is to get back to the playoffs and see where the team can go from there. The postseason experience from a year ago should prove valuable this season.
Girls basketball
Coach: Jessie Mayol (third season)
Last year’s record: 4-14, did not make tournament
Key players: seniors Riley Graves (F), Jenna Willey (G) and Helen Libby (G); junior Kelsey McGowan (F); freshman Meghan Gribbin (G)
Key games this season: Dec. 5 @ Gorham; Dec. 17 vs. Westbrook; Feb. 3 @ Bonny Eagle
Season outlook: Graves leads a strong senior core for the Eagles. She missed much of last season with a broken hand, but averaged 13 points and 11 rebounds in the eight games she played. Willey is a three-year varsity starter who is a presence on the defensive end and averaged six rebounds a game last year. Libby, who was sidelined in the preseason with a concussion, is a defensive stopper who will attack the basket on offense. She averaged three steals a contest last year. McGowan scored nine points and pulled down six rebounds a game last season as a sophomore. Gribbin, who can pass and score, will play point guard. “She’ll be looked at to step in and run the show – a big task to ask of a freshman,” Mayol said.
The Eagles will look to create points off their full-court press. The tournament is their goal. “The seniors are anxious to make the playoffs this season,” Mayol said. “We’ll take it one game at a time with our eye on making it to the postseason. Windham could be a surprise team this year.”
Wrestling
Coach: Kurt Pelletier (back as coach after seven years as an official, also coached the Eagles from 1995-2000)
Key wrestlers: According to Pelletier, “My key wrestlers this year will include my whole team. Every wrestler on the Windham wrestling team will become part of an up-and-coming program and will all be key players. Right now, I have no standouts except for the fact I have all but maybe two weight classes filled.”
Key meets this season: Dec. 19 with Cheverus and Noble @ Sanford; Jan. 7 with Monmouth @ Westbrook
Season outlook: Pelletier is mainly concerned with establishing a competitive program. Wins and losses aren’t a worry at present. “My goal this year is to build the program and have fun doing it,” the coach said. “I have a great core group of kids. We have lots of wrestlers that have never wrestled before or who have taken a few years off, and a lot of underclassman. With a strong middle school program and club team in the Windham area, we hope to build the team and become a contender in southern Maine. All I expect from this team is to go out, work hard and give it their best. Winning will come.”
Indoor track
Coaches: Angie Lally (girls, fourth year); Paula Pock (boys, sixth year)
Last year’s record: girls – 10th at Southwestern meet, 17th at Class A state meet; boys – 11th at Southwestern meet, 14th at Class A state meet
Key athletes: girls – seniors Cerise Caiazzo (sprints, jumps) and Katie Cook (sprints, shot put, long jump); juniors Marie Delcourt (sprints), Hannah Keating-Ehlers (hurdles, sprints), Reilly Sullivan (hurdles, sprints, triple jump), Abbi Brockelbank (800, mile) and Chelsea Plante (hurdles, 400); boys – Eric O’Connor (pole vault), Patrick Ciez (hurdles, jumps), David LeClaire (shot put), Patrick Rice (hurdles, sprints), Woody Laliberte (sprints) and Tulleigh Shaunessey (shot put)
Key meets this season: Jan. 3 with Cheverus and Bonny Eagle; Jan. 31 with Gorham, Scarborough and Westbrook
Season outlook: The girls will focus on getting better individually throughout the season in hope of helping the team at the end. “My goals are to help each girl reach their goals, which range from individual best performances to scoring in meets to meeting the requirements for the state meet in February,” Lally said.
On the boys side, O’Connor, a senior, placed third in the pole vault at the state meet last year. He will be a top contender in the event again this season. Ciez qualified for the state meet in multiple events last year as a sophomore and took fourth in the high jump. He, too, should be in the running for an individual state title. Pock said the goal for the team is to have a stronger showing at the Southwestern meet than last season. “I have a solid group of underclassmen, so I hope they will be a good foundation for the program,” Pock said. Numbers are up a bit, which is a good sign. “Although we always have very strong individual performers at the state level, we have not had the depth to win many meets. Our numbers are going up, so we hope that is changing,” Pock said.
Swimming
Coach: Peter Small (third year)
Last year’s record: girls – 2-8 in the regular season, finished 12th at state meet; boys – 1-7 in the regular season, finished eighth at state meet
Key swimmers: girls – juniors Kirstin Russell (freestyle) and Chloe Mack (freestyle); boys – sophomores Lance Webster (backstroke, freestyle) and Nathan Paluso (breaststroke, IM)
Key meets this season: Dec. 5 vs. Bonny Eagle; Dec. 19 with Massabesic @ Westbrook
Season outlook: The Eagles will host meets at St. Joe’s College this year for the first time. The schedule is also different from years past. “The league has shifted from last year and our dual meet season will have us facing a new schedule,” Small said. “We could see more dual meet victories and more swimmers competing in the state meet.”
With some returning swimmers with state meet experience and a good number of newcomers, Windham is looking forward to a good season in the pool. “The program is up and coming,” Small said. “We have more swimmers than any other year and the program continues to grow. We have a large group of talented first-year swimmers, both freshmen and upper classmen.”
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