Spring sports season was a sensational one

The best weather might have come at the beginning, not the end, but Mother Nature was just a small part of the story this spring.

Of far greater importance, the story on the diamond, lacrosse field, track and tennis court was one of excellence.

Yet again.

And before we move on to bask in the summer sun (hopefully, at some point), here’s one last look at the most magical moments of a spring sports season worth hailing:

It was trophy time again for South Portland’s baseball team this spring. File photos.

Baseball produced one local state champion and a second team fell one run short, as South Portland won Class A for the second time in three seasons, blanking Edward Little in the final, 5-0. Cheverus, Falmouth and Scarborough were all in the Class A hunt this spring, but couldn’t get it done in the playoffs. In Class B, Yarmouth got past rivals Greely and Cape Elizabeth to reach the state game, but there, couldn’t solve Old Town ace Gabe Gifford and despite a superb effort from senior pitcher Liam Hickey, lost, 1-0, on a late unearned run. Freeport saw its reign as Class B South champion end with a preliminary round loss to Leavitt. In Class C South, the Waynflete/North Yarmouth Academy co-op team won a quarterfinal for the first time, then nearly sprung the upset of the tournament against undefeated Sacopee Valley in the semifinals before losing in eight-innings.

For the first time in program history, NYA won a softball championship.

Turning to softball, NYA, which didn’t even field a varsity team in 2022, fielded a team for the ages this spring, winning all but one regular season game, rolling into the regional final, then surviving Searsport, 2-1, thanks to some daring baserunning, before downing Machias, 7-1, in a weather-delayed Class D Final, to capture the first championship in program history. In Class A South, the up-and-coming Cheverus Stags upset Marshwood in the preliminary round, then lost to top-ranked Biddeford in the quarterfinals. The first-year South Portland/Westbrook co-op lost a quarterfinal round heartbreaker at Gorham, while Scarborough gave Kennebunk a scare before falling just short in the same round. In Class B South, Greely and Yarmouth were ousted in the preliminary round.

For the third consecutive season, Cape Elizabeth was the last boys’ lacrosse team standing in Class A.

Forecaster Country has long been the center of lacrosse excellence and that was the case again in 2023.

Cape Elizabeth (Class A) and Waynflete (Class C) each managed to win a third straight boys’ title. The Capers went undefeated and extended the program’s win streak to 23 games, as they had no trouble with Noble/Sanford in the state quarterfinals, Thornton Academy in the semifinals or upstart South Portland in the state final. The Red Riots had upset Falmouth in the semifinals to advance. Deering, Portland and Scarborough also qualified for the playoffs. Waynflete’s title came with surprising ease, as the senior-laden Flyers defeated Gray-New Gloucester/Poland and Oak Hill to reach the state game, then they dominated rival NYA, 14-6. Freeport lost in the quarterfinals to Wells. In Class B, Greely was knocked off by reigning champion Brunswick in the quarterfinals, while Yarmouth edged Marshwood in a thrilling quarterfinal round game before meeting its match in the form of eventual champion York in the state semifinals.

Freeport’s girls’ lacrosse team had plenty to celebrate this spring as it won a state title for the first time.

On the girls’ side, Freeport stole the headlines, nearly going undefeated during the regular season and capping the best year in program history with its first championship, 7-5, over reigning champion NYA, which had survived Waynflete in an epic state quarterfinal, which needed double-overtime. Greely repeated in Class B in dominant fashion, rolling past Brunswick, 14-2, in the final game. In Class A, Yarmouth, which held off Cape Elizabeth in the state preliminary round, beat Gorham in the quarterfinals, then upset Falmouth, a team which had beaten the Clippers by 11 goals in the regular season, in the semifinals. Yarmouth’s quest for an improbable championship fell just short, however, as it lost to now three-time champion Kennebunk, 12-10, which extended its state-record win streak to 49 games. Cheverus, Portland and Scarborough also qualified for the postseason.

Scarborough’s Laurel Driscoll and Cheverus’ Annabelle Brooks were two of the state’s premier girls’ distance runners this spring.

On the track, while there were no team champions this season, plenty of individuals dazzled (see below). The Falmouth boys’ team came in second to Brunswick, while Scarborough’s girls were runners-up behind Bangor, Freeport’s girls came in second to York and the NYA girls were second behind Orono. Freeport’s Henry Horne, NYA’s Sarah Moore, Portland’s Samantha Moore and Yarmouth’s Abby Noble all captured multiple individual crowns.

Jeff Adey and his Waynflete boys’ tennis teammates did what they always do this time of year, win the Class C championship, in this case, the Flyers’ 15th in succession.

Tennis champions were plentiful this year. For starters, Falmouth’s Xander Barber won the boys’ state singles crown. Barber then led the Navigators to a perfect record and the Class A state title. Yarmouth’s boys won a fourth consecutive Class B championship, while Waynflete’s boys set a new state record with a 15th successive crown. On the girls’ side, Greely enjoyed a perfect season and won Class B, while in Class A, Falmouth got the final but dropped a 3-2 thriller to Brunswick.

Team state champions

Cape Elizabeth Capers boys’ lacrosse, Class A
Falmouth Navigators boys’ tennis, Class A
Freeport Falcons girls’ lacrosse, Class C
Greely Rangers girls’ lacrosse, Class B
Greely Rangers girls’ tennis, Class B
North Yarmouth Academy Panthers softball, Class D
South Portland Red Riots baseball, Class A
Waynflete Flyers, boys’ lacrosse, Class C
Waynflete Flyers, boys’ tennis, Class C
Yarmouth Clippers boys’ tennis, Class B

Team regional champions/state finalists

Falmouth Navigators girls’ tennis, Class A South
North Yarmouth Academy Panthers boys’ lacrosse, Class C
North Yarmouth Academy Panthers girls’ lacrosse, Class C
South Portland Red Riots boys’ lacrosse, Class A
Yarmouth Clippers baseball, Class B South
Yarmouth Clippers girls’ lacrosse, Class A

Individual state champions

Outdoor track

Judd Armstrong, Falmouth, boys’ high jump, Class A
Miles Gay, Falmouth, boys’ 400, Class A
Avery Baker-Schlendering, Freeport, girls’ high jump, Class B
Henry Horne, Freeport, boys’ 800, Class B
Henry Horne, Freeport, boys’ mile, Class B
Henry Horne, Freeport, boys’ two-mile, Class B
Sarah Moore, NYA, girls’ high jump, Class C
Sarah Moore, NYA, girls’ long jump, Class C
Anneliese Collin, Portland, girls’ high jump, Class A
Samantha Moore, Portland, girls’ 800, Class A
Samantha Moore, Portland, girls’ mile, Class A
Wyatt Martin, Scarborough, boys’ pole vault, Class A
Abby Noble, Yarmouth, girls’ 100, Class B
Abby Noble, Yarmouth, girls’ 200, Class B

Tennis

Xander Barber, Falmouth, boys’ state singles

Michael’s top five stories

5 Local tennis players and teams steal headlines

Nobody could beat the Falmouth or Yarmouth boys’ tennis teams this season, as they rolled to the Class A and B state titles, respectively. Navigators senior standout Xander Barber captured the state singles crown. Waynflete’s boys lost only to Yarmouth during a campaign which culminated with the program’s 15th straight Class C crown. Greely’s girls were also perfect en route to the Class B championship. Falmouth didn’t lose a single match until dropping a 3-2 decision to Brunswick in the Class A state final. To say it was close to a perfect year locally on the court would not be a stretch.

4 Waynflete wows ’em once more

No program has benefited more from the sport of lacrosse going to three classes than Waynflete, which won the first Class C boys’ title back in 2018 and after falling short in 2019 and, along with everyone else, missing out on the 2020 season due to COVID, it returned to the pinnacle in 2021, 2022 (in a double-overtime thriller over rival NYA) and won it all again this spring. The Flyers lost just twice, a close game at eventual Class B champion York and a one-goal home decision to South Portland, an eventual finalist in Class A. When the games mattered most, Waynflete dispatched its three playoff foes by a composite 40-12 margin, capped by a shockingly emphatic 14-6 victory over NYA on the big stage. The Flyers welcomed the bulls-eye, wore it well and will look to keep the good times rolling in 2024. Don’t bet against them.

3 Freeport and Greely win girls’ lax crowns

Freeport and Greely’s girls’ lacrosse teams entered 2023 on a mission. For the Rangers, they sought a repeat championship. The Falcons, meanwhile, eagerly sought their first crown. For both squads, it wound up being a story of the mission being accomplished. Greely excelled from start to finish, losing only at unbeatable Kennebunk and by a goal against Class A power Falmouth before steamrolling the Class B field en route to its second title in as many years. Freeport, which had lost in agonizing fashion to Waynflete in the 2021 Class C state final and to eventual champion NYA in the 2022 state semifinals, only a one-goal regular season loss to Greely stood in the way of a perfect season and when the Falcons got another shot at the Panthers, on the big stage, they took care of business, 7-5, to make history.

2 South Portland seniors bow out with another title

South Portland baseball standouts Richie Gilboy, Andrew Heffernan, Nolan Hobbs and Johnny Poole have been playing together since Little League and big things were expected of them when they entered high school. To say they delivered would be an understatement. After helping the Red Riots snap a nearly seven-decade drought and win Class A as sophomores, the senior stars wanted nothing more than to bow out as champions this spring. South Portland was mortal during the regular season, losing three games, but behind the arms (and bats) of Heffernan and Hobbs and key contributions at the plate and in the field from Gilboy and Poole, the Red Riots dispatched Kennebunk, Marshwood, Thornton Academy and finally Edward Little, a championship celebration was the end result.

1 NYA softball makes history

The most improbable story of the spring came from Yarmouth, where NYA’s softball team, not exactly a known quantity or a program with a rich history, put together an unforgettable campaign. The Panthers didn’t have enough players for a varsity team in 2022, but this season, they patched together a collection of standout athletes from other sports and with junior ace Lily Rawnsley getting the job done on the mound, they won every regular season game but one. As the top seed in Class D South, NYA earned a bye into the semifinals, then it mercy ruled Richmond to move on to the regional final for just the second time. There, the Panthers trailed late, but thanks to some daring baserunning, edged Searsport, 2-1. In the state final in Brewer, NYA built a 5-1 lead over Machias in the fifth inning, then had to endure a long rain delay, but the wait was worth it, as the Panthers finished off a 7-1 victory, which brought with it the program’s first shiny, championship trophy.

Final super-six polls

Baseball

1 South Portland
2 Falmouth
3 Yarmouth
4 Cape Elizabeth
5 Scarborough
6 Waynflete/NYA

Softball

1 NYA
2 South Portland/Westbrook
3 Scarborough
4 Cheverus
5 Yarmouth
6 Greely

Boys’ lacrosse

1 Cape Elizabeth
2 South Portland
3 Falmouth
4 Waynflete
5 Yarmouth
6 NYA

Girls’ lacrosse

1 Greely
2 Freeport
3 Yarmouth
4 Falmouth
5 NYA
6 Waynflete