The short and sweet 2020 fall sports season produced its first champions last weekend, part of a week that saw local athletes turn heads.

Here’s a glimpse:

Golf

Local teams and players stole the show at last weekend’s golf state championships at Natanis Golf Course in Vassaboro.

Last Friday, Greely won Class A for the first time in 30 years and captured its first title at any level since winning Class B in 1995. The Rangers had a team score of 322, which was 14 strokes better than runner-up Scarborough.

Andrew Klein didn’t just lead Greely was an 18-hole score of 77, which was 5-over par, but that score was good enough for Klein to win the Class A individual crown as well.

“I’ve been waiting for years for this moment,” said Klein. “It’s my senior year, I came out here knowing this was my last round in these four years and I wanted it to count. I played really well, for how the wind was. I just had a couple shots I hit super awful. If I hadn’t hit those shots so poorly, I feel like I would’ve been even lower today, but the score I had, I can’t be mad about anything.”

DJ Kenney tied for fourth place with a round of 80, Connor Albert placed ninth with an 82 and Nick Montminy tied for 10th at 83.

Falmouth (337) edged Gorham by a stroke for third place. Jack Stowell (80) led the Yachtsmen by tying Greely’s Kenney for fourth place. Also scoring were Henry Stowell and Dominic Tracy, who each shot an 85, tying for 17th, and Jonny Hwang (87, tied for 26th).

Saturday, it was Freeport, North Yarmouth Academy and Yarmouth’s turf as the Class B/C titles were contested.

The Falcons shot a team score of 324 to beat Yarmouth and Waterville by 12 strokes to make history and win a championship for the first time in program history.

Matt Kempf led the way for Freeport, shooting a 77 to win the individual crown.

“I put (my first shot) on the green and I felt confident after that,” Kempf said. “Everything fell into place. I don’t really know how to feel right now. It’s really overwhelming.”

T.J. Whelan (79) tied for second individually. Also scoring were freshman Eli Spaulding (81, tied for fifth) and Finn Sharpe (87, tied for 17th).

“I think our top four is probably one of the strongest in the state,” said Kempf. “It’s pretty hard to beat us. We’ve grown as a team. We’ve come very far.”

“Even though we didn’t play our ‘A’ games, I guess our ‘B’ or ‘C’ games were good enough,” Whelan said. “Going into the season, we had nothing on our mind other than this day. We knew this was the strongest team we’ve had so far. We knew we may not have this strong of a team for the next five or six years. It either happened or it didn’t today.”

“We enjoyed finishing second last year, but with the team we had coming in, we really focused on winning a state championship (this year),” added Freeport coach Jason Ouellette. “We weren’t afraid to talk about it, which I think helped us fulfill our goal.

“This has been four years in the making. When our seniors were freshmen, they were lucky to have great mentors on the team at the time. That sparked what we were able to accomplish on Saturday. All of the golfers have put in a ton of work to get to this point, and I’m so happy they can be rewarded with a state championship.

“Hopefully, this puts us on the map a little bit and we can continue to build on the tradition our seniors have helped create.”

Yarmouth (336) finished tied with Waterville, but wound up second thanks to the fifth-place tiebreaker. The Clippers were paced by Andrew Cheever, Sebastien Martinez and Quinn Federle, who all shot rounds of 83 to tie for ninth. Miles Hagedorn tied for 17th with a score of 87 and Nate Hagedorn’s 91 (which tied for 23rd) was three strokes better than his Waterville counterpart, which gave Yarmouth second-place honors.

In the Class C match, won by Orono with a team score of 345, NYA (357) placed third. The Panthers were led by Carson Gall (80, good for fourth place individually). Also scoring were Cal Davies (86, tied for 13th), Bryce Poulin (94, tied for 25th) and Derek Wolverton (97, tied for 28th).

In the girls’ competition, Greely’s Ruth Weeks was runner-up in Class A with a round of 89, which was one stroke shy of Bonny Eagle’s Remy Levin. In Class C, NYA’s Maddy Prokopius shot a 99 and tied for fourth.

Boys’ soccer

On the pitch, defending Class A champion Falmouth stayed undefeated last week by tying host Greely (2-2) and downing visiting Cape Elizabeth (2-1). Gus Ford had both Yachtsmen goals in the tie, as Falmouth couldn’t hold a 2-0 advantage. Against the Capers, Ford and Charlie Adams each scored a goal and goalkeeper Tanner Daniels made eight saves. The Yachtsmen travel to Brunswick for a first-ever countable meeting Thursday. They go to defending Class B champion Yarmouth Tuesday of next week.

Yarmouth improved to 3-1 after 4-0 victories last week at Cape Elizabeth and at home over Greely. Against the Capers, freshman Will Caruso, Will Hunter (on a penalty kick), Aidan Kamm and Ian LaBrie scored the goals. LaBrie then scored three goals (all after halftime) and assisted on Baden McLaughlin’s goal in the victory over the Rangers, in a regional final rematch.

“At halftime, we talked about moving the ball more and getting diagonal balls going and playing more calm,” said LaBrie. “Greely played three in the back, so it was easier to play diagonal balls through and get chances.”

“These guys have been so good in practice every day,” said longtime Yarmouth coach Mike Hagerty. “Their focus is great. The seniors are so happy to play. They’re having fun. We have a very welcoming group of captains, which is key, especially in a year like this one.”

The Clippers go to Freeport for a playoff rematch Thursday (see pressherald.com/forecaster-sports/ for game story) and host Falmouth Tuesday of next week.

Greely was 1-2-1 after rallying to tie host Falmouth, 2-2, then losing at Yarmouth, 4-0. Chase Cornwall and Jonathon Pieseik had the goals in the draw. The Rangers couldn’t generate any offense against the Clippers.

“We got down against Falmouth the other night and kept competing, but tonight, it just wasn’t the same,” said Greely coach Mike Andreasen. “(The Clippers) have hardworking kids who know their roles and they keep you away from their goalies.”

The Rangers welcome Cape Elizabeth Thursday.

Freeport evened its record at 1-1 with a 4-1 home victory over Mt. Ararat last Tuesday. After hosting Yarmouth Thursday, the Falcons play at Brunswick Saturday and visit Mt. Ararat Tuesday of next week.

NYA, the two-time reigning Class D South champion, improved to 4-1 last week with shutout wins over visiting Gray-New Gloucester (1-0) and host Morse (2-0). Against the Patriots, Nat Peretz had the only goal. In the win over the Shipdbuilders, Peretz and Rogers Crowley each scored once. The Panthers welcome Richmond Thursday.

Girls’ soccer

On the girls’ side, two-time Class D champion NYA improved to 3-1 after beating visiting Morse, 3-1, last Friday. Natalie Farrell, Jazzy Huntsman and Naomi Reischman each scored once. The Panthers host Richmond Wednesday.

Falmouth downed visiting Greely, 5-1, last Tuesday, then fell to 2-1 Friday with a 4-0 loss at two-time Class B champion Cape Elizabeth. In the victory, Elise Gearan scored two goals and Lexie Bugbee, Maria Neuhauser and Abbi Ford added one apiece. The Yachtsmen welcome Brunswick Thursday and play host to Yarmouth Saturday.

Yarmouth fell to 1-2 Saturday with a 3-2 double-overtime loss at Greely. The Clippers host Freeport Thursday and go to Falmouth Saturday.

Greely dropped a 5-1 decision at Falmouth, then improved to 1-2 Saturday with its 3-2 double-OT home win over Yarmouth. Hannah Cornish scored the lone goal against the Yachtsmen. In the victory, Kaci O’Grady scored the decisive goal, her second of the game. The Rangers visit Cape Elizabeth Saturday.

Freeport evened its record at 1-1 last Tuesday with a 5-3 win at Mt. Ararat. The Falcons go to Yarmouth Thursday, host Brunswick Saturday, then visit Mt. Ararat Tuesday of next week.

Field hockey

Freeport’s field hockey team is hitting its stride. Saturday, the Falcons eked out a dramatic, last-second 2-1 win at Yarmouth and Monday, they improved to 3-1 after a 5-0 home victory over Cape Elizabeth. Against the Clippers, Sydney Silva scored in the first half and Ally Randall scored off a penalty corner with just 3.2 seconds remaining to win it.

“We didn’t want to go into overtime,” said Randall. “We wanted to finish it. Our whole starting lineup is seniors. We’re very close and wanted to play with each other this year. It would have been heartbreaking if we couldn’t play. We want to win as much as we can. That’s a big thing for us.”

“Corners are what we spent the rest of practice working on yesterday,” Freeport coach Marcia Wood said. “Our first two games were on grass and our approach on grass is just to get the ball up. In practice yesterday for turf, we worked on different options and switching things up. I’m glad we did that. I don’t think we could have done overtime.”

Against the Capers, Randall and Aynslie Decker scored two goals apiece and Golding also rattled the cage. The Falcons welcome Mt. Ararat Wednesday.

Yarmouth fell to 2-2 after Saturday’s 2-1 home loss to Freeport. The Clippers scored first, courtesy Anna Pires’ penalty stroke, but that was it and they lost painfully in the waning seconds.

“(Freeport) had some great corners,” said Yarmouth’s first-year coach Molly Saunders. “They have girls with great stick skills. Their corners are quick and they finished when they needed to. We had some nice runs. We played with the ball too much in the circle. We just need to shoot. I’m so lucky to have these girls. It’s a great group. Very driven and determined. They just want to improve every day, which is something a coach always looks for.”

The Clippers visit Gray-New Gloucester Wednesday and host Gray-New Gloucester Friday.

Greely was 2-0 at the start of the week. The Rangers were supposed to host Yarmouth Tuesday, but that game was postponed due to bad weather. Greely welcomes Scarborough Tuesday of next week.

Falmouth fell to 2-2 after losses last week at Cheverus (5-0) and at home to Scarborough (3-0).

“We didn’t lack for chances,” said longtime Yachtsmen coach Robin Haley, following the loss to the Red Storm. “I felt we played well. We just had a hard time finishing it off. I’m very pleased how we played tonight coming off a tough loss to Cheverus. We knew we could play better. We knew Scarborough would be tough. They’re talented and strong.”

Falmouth hopes to get back in the win column Wednesday when Gorham pays a visit in a playoff rematch. The Yachtsmen go to Portland/Deering Tuesday of next week.

Cross country

Last week’s cross country action saw Falmouth compete against Brunswick and Bonny Eagle. The girls didn’t score as a team, but Sofie Matson was first as an individual (17 minutes, 37.7 seconds). The Yachtsmen boys were a close second behind Brunswick. Ben Greene was the individual champion in 15:43.10.

Freeport hosted NYA. The Falcons won a close boys’ meet, as NYA’s Chris Hamblett was first individually (18:09.11) and Freeport’s Henry Horne placed third (18:57.45). The Falcons were first in the girls’ race, as Jillian Wight was the top individual (21:31.15). The Panthers were paced by Emma Collins (fifth, 23:45.10).

Greely swept a meet at Gray-New Gloucester, as the boys produced individual champion Sam Wilson (17:33.90) and the girls had top finisher Tori Bacall (23:16.30).

Morning Sentinel staff writer Drew Bonifant contributed to this story.

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.

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