Winter Previews: Westbrook

Boys Basketball
Coach: Bryan Hoy (first year)
Last year’s record: 2-16
Key returners: Mike Connolly (sr., F); Kyle McKone (jr., F)
Key newcomers: Braiden Pierce (so., G); Tyler Hethcoat (so., G); Connor Doolittle (so., G)
Key matchups: Morse, Marshwood, Biddeford, Kennebunk
Outlook: “As a group, we have a lot of talent,” Hoy says, “so getting all that talent on the same page will be important. Our guards are young, but ready to compete. Mike Connolly is one of the top players in the conference, so we can lean on him a lot, but we’ll need other players to step into roles and contribute to be successful. Our trio of sophomore guards, Hethcoat, Pierce and Doolittle, are all athletic and tough players. Kyle McKone and senior forward Ethan Richardson are both streaky shooters than can get red hot.” This looks to be a building year for the Blazes – but they’ve got enough new pieces on the board to perhaps surprise some teams.

Girls Basketball
Coach: Diana Manduca (third year)
Last year’s record: 4-14
Key players lost: Mikayla Van Zandt, Abby Symbol, Avery Tucker, Michaela Russell
Key returners: Quincey Lyden, Libby Cole, Ariana Alcide, Sarah Muka, Jordan Fuller, Jodi Sinnett, Sydney Mullet
Key newcomers: Natalie LaBrie
Key matchups: Falmouth, Biddeford, Morse, Mt. Ararat, Leavitt
Outlook: “This season, we’re looking to stay competitive in games and continue to develop our program,” Manduca says. “We’ll look to control pace and limit our turnovers as well as hold the opposing team to limited open shots and fewer extra possessions. We want to use a united team effort in order to be competitive within our conference.” Westbrook is one of those teams wrapped up in the long, slow process of building; with Manduca at the helm, no doubt they’ll play respectable ball and maintain focused, positive attitudes – win or lose.

Boys Hockey (a co-op with Windham and, for the first time, Bonny Eagle)
Coach: Greg Leclair
Last year’s record: 3-14-1
Key players lost: Derek Corbett (F), Sean White (G), Tommy Lekousi (F)
Key returners: Holden Anderson (jr., F, Windham); Travis Brown (jr., F, Windham); Austin White (jr., F, Westbrook); Aiden Hartwell (so., D, Windham)
Key newcomers: Christ Westgate (jr., F/D, Bonny Eagle); Tommy DuPont (sr., F/D, a transfer from North Yarmouth Academy); Logan Caron (so., D, Bonny Eagle); Grayson Krause (jr., F, Bonny Eagle); Isaac White (fr., G, Westbrook); Porter Krause (fr., G, Bonny Eagle)
Key matchups: Marshwood/Noble/Traip/Sanford, Gorham, Biddeford/Old Orchard Beach/Massabesic, South Portland/Freeport/Waynflete, Lake Region/Fryeburg/Oxford Hills, Cheverus
Outlook: “Windham/Westbrook has added Bonny Eagle to their co-op team and will compete as the Windham/Westbrook/Bonny Eagle Trail Blazers for the upcoming season,” Leclair says. “The Trail Blazers will rely on a large contingent of juniors along with a handful of seniors, all of whom bring a couple of years of varsity experience to the roster. We’ll need a couple of players to develop into consistent scorers in order to compete with the top teams in Class A. We’ll also need to be disciplined in the defensive zone as the Trail Blazers will be young in net. Freshmen Isaac White and Porter Krause will compete for time between the pipes. Their ability to acclimate themselves to the faster-paced high school game will be key to the team’s success.”

Girls Hockey (a co-op with Bonny Eagle, Massabesic and Gorham)
Coach: Nat Germond
Last year’s record: 3-14-1
Key players lost: Isis Adams, C. C. Cochran, Anna Rathbun
Key returners: Izzie Wareham, Anna Nault, Phoebe Richards, Brooke Guimond
Key newcomers: Cadence Howard
Key matchups: Biddeford/Thornton Academy/Wells/Sanford, Mt. Ararat/Morse/Lisbon, York/Traip/Marshwood
Outlook: “With seven returning seniors, we’re hoping to improve on last season’s record and achieve a postseason berth,” Germond says. “The schedule is front-loaded with top-ranked teams. If we can show steady improvement and maintain a positive attitude through the early season, we have a legitimate shot at returning to the playoffs.”

Boys Indoor Track
Coach: Claton Conrad
Last year’s record: Seventh at States
Key athletes lost: Cam Halloway
Key returners: Mahamed Sharif (sr.), Dante Lingley (sr.), Liam Cooledge (sr.), Jack Pecoraro (sr.), Jaylen White (jr.), Sabri Lomomi (jr.), Chris Hatch (jr.)
Key newcomers: Aidan Pecoraro (fr.), Salim Bakar (fr.), Ilios Millet (fr.)
Key matchups: Gorham, Bonny Eagle, Cheverus
Outlook: “With an even larger team than we have had in the past couple years,” Conrad says, “we are looking to get more boys in the State Championship.”

Girls Indoor Track
Coach: Beth Murphy
Key athletes lost: Nyagoa Bayak, Hope Higgins
Key returners: Meghan Horner (sr., Captain); Eliza Bureau (sr., middle distance); Carolyn DiBiase (jr., jumps/sprints); Alexis Karantza (so., hurdles); Isabell Griffith (so., middle distance)
Key newcomers: Maddison Boucher (fr., sprints/jumps)
Outlook: “With the losses of Nyagoa, now at Louisiana State, and Hope, now at Colby-Sawyer, the program is looking to a rebuilding year,” Murphy says. “Numbers are low, but we sould have some freshmen who will help us.”

Wrestling (the Westbrook squad is joined by wrestlers from Gorham)
Coach: Peter Grant
Key wrestlers lost: Nicco Pappalardo
Outlook: “This year, we picked up some talented hopefuls from both schools,” Grant says. “I’ve got high expectations for two from Westbrook, Zach Davis at 120 and Shane Lowell at 152, and two from Gorham, Matthew Reno at heavyweight and Henri Kuntz at 170. Henri took third at States last year and is striving for first this year. I have high hopes for a few more – but it’s only their second year and they’re in tough brackets, so I don’t need to add pressure to them. We’ll take what we can get for now.”