Male:
SHEA WAGNER, Senior-Baseball
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- Kovall Wentworth Award winner
- WMC all-star, Class B, first-team
- Senior all-star
- Captain
Wagner brought experience and talent to a team brimming with hunger and the end result was a stirring run to the Class B state final.
Wagner, who was also honored in the fall after leading the Freeport boys’ soccer team to its first state final appearance in four decades, grew up in a sports-loving, competitive family as the middle of three brothers (older brother Colby Wagner was last year’s winner) and along with his siblings (junior Gabe Wagner is the youngest), helped turn the Falcons into title threats in soccer, basketball and baseball.
Wagner played a limited role as a freshman on a Falcons baseball squad which shocked everyone and made it all the way to the state final for the first time. As a sophomore, Wagner was a second-team league all-star, going 3-3 on the mound with an 1.57 earned run average. He also hit .314. As a junior, he made the first-team, striking out 39 batters and posting a 1.37 ERA.
This spring, Wagner paced a dominant pitching staff, going 5-1 with a 1.55 ERA, striking out 42 in 45 innings. He also hit .272 with six extra base hits, drove in 12 runs, scored 17 and had seven stolen bases. Highlights included a triple in a win over defending regional champion Wells, three hits, including a double and a home run, as well as a victory on the mound against Traip Academy, a single, double and pitching win over Cape Elizabeth, a pair of hits and six strikeouts in a victory over Lincoln Academy, a five-inning shutout versus Fryeburg Academy, a two-run double versus Gray-New Gloucester and an eight-strikeout performance in a win over Yarmouth.
In the playoffs, Wagner had a gutsy performance in a semifinal round win at Greely, surrendering two earned runs on four hits in 6.1 innings, walking a pair and striking out seven. Wagner then allowed just two runs in the Class B state final against Ellsworth, but Freeport couldn’t score and he suffered his only loss of the season.
Wagner plans to attend San Diego State University next year.
Shea Wagner, Freeport’s Spring Male Athlete of the Year, was a leader and a winner and helped changed his school’s athletic fortunes for the better.
Coach Kyle Goodrich’s comment: “Shea is one of the hardest working kids around. He always pushes himself and his teammates to get better every time they take the diamond. He’s a fierce competitor who time after time showed up in the big games for us.”
Previous winners:
2018 Colby Wagner (baseball)
2017 Bennett Hight (baseball)
2016 Jack Davenport (baseball)
2015 Jack Davenport (baseball)
2014 Sam Wogan (lacrosse)
2013 Harrison Stivers (track)
2012 Sawyer Williams (baseball)
2011 Hans Pope (lacrosse)
2010 Hans Pope (lacrosse)
2009 Greg Ordway (lacrosse)
2008 Parker Chipman (track)
2007 Luke Charest (lacrosse)
2006 Kelso Davis (lacrosse)
2005 Tim Gray (lacrosse)
2004 Kelso Davis (lacrosse)
2003 Tyler Allen (baseball)
2002 Ben Grant (baseball)
Female:
ALEXA KOENIG, Senior-Softball
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- WMC all-star, first-team
- WMC All-Academic team
- Team MVP
- Captain
Koenig is best known for her field hockey brilliance, but she was special on the diamond as well, never more so than this spring, when her bat, glove and arm helped the Falcons nearly end a long playoff drought.
Koenig, who was also named Freeport Fall and Spring Female Athlete of the Year as a sophomore and Fall Athlete of the Year again as a senior, has been a four-year varsity contributor to the softball program, both at third base and on the mound.
Koenig made the league all-star team as a sophomore after hitting over .400. As a junior, she made the first-team. This spring, Koenig served as a captain for the third straight year and belted the ball to the tune of a .455 average. She had five doubles and a pair of triples among her 21 hits and she drove in 11 runs. On the mound, Koenig went 3-4 and struck out 37 batters. She helped the Falcons beat Greely for the first time in memory and make a run at the final playoff spot in Class B South before the squad fell just short.
“It would have been amazing to make it into the playoffs, but although our stats didn’t show it, we had some teams shaken a little bit and that in itself gave us upperclassmen a lot of pride and confidence that we’ve built up the program to get even better,” Koenig said. “Although we were a little disappointed in the end, growing the program for the future of Freeport athletics was always the main goal for us.”
Koenig will play field hockey at the University of New England, where she plans to study biology.
Alexa Koenig, Freeport’s Spring Female Athlete of the Year, left her mark as a player and a leader. She’ll long be remembered as an elite athlete who helped turn the softball program around.
Coach Jason Daniel’s comment: “Alexa is the best female athlete Freeport has produced in at least 30 years.Having Alexa playing softball for us has been huge. You just know when she takes the field, you’re going to see something special, either at third base, on the mound, or hitting. She just has a natural ability. She makes it look easy and is a leader and a huge role model for the younger players. Most of all, she is caring and so humble. She is a huge loss for us, but I know she has left her unique spirit behind and her teammates will carry that on. She will be missed greatly. As her coach, I thank her, I will miss her and look forward to see what she is going to do on the field and in life.”
Previous winners:
2018 Taylor Rinaldi (lacrosse)
2017 Alexa Koenig (softball)
2016 Courtney Broderick (lacrosse)
2015 Emily Johnson (lacrosse)
2014 Meredith Broderick (lacrosse)
2013 Jocelyn Davee (lacrosse)
2012 Alexandra Mitch (lacrosse)
2011 Leigh Wyman (softball)
2010 Lucy Whitacre (lacrosse)
2009 Kristen Poulin (track)
2008 Andrea Goodrich (track)
2007 Molly Lincoln (lacrosse)
2006 Amber Klages (lacrosse)
2005 Cassandra Dyer (softball)
2004 Logan Crane (track)
2003 Molly Charest (lacrosse)
2002 Kerry Blenk (softball)
Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports
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