Field hockey: Lily Posternak, York

The sophomore, also a member of the U-17 national team, helped the Wildcats win the Class B title.

Press Herald file photo

Growing up, Lily Posternak loved playing soccer. Then she discovered field hockey.

“My older sister (Cari) played and I grew up watching her play and kind of got sucked into it,’’ said Lily Posternak. “Then I picked up a field hockey stick and really liked it. So I stuck with it.’’

Good thing. Posternak may only be a sophomore at York High, but she plays with a maturity and skill level that belies her youth. She is a member of the U.S. Under-17 national team and will compete in Holland next spring.

She is also the Maine Sunday Telegram field hockey Player of the Year for her efforts in helping the Wildcats win the Class B state championship this fall. Posternak scored 16 goals and 15 assists for York, but Coach Barb Marois, a former U.S. Olympian field hockey player, said those statistics didn’t tell the whole story.

“She shows what hard work can develop into,’’ said Marois. “She has worked very hard at the sport and because of that she is the player she is, but she is very humble about it and is very encouraging of her teammates. She challenges them at practice and works to make everyone around her better.

“She is a leader on the field, taking charge in key situations, and is the type of player that works all over the field.’’

Marois added that Posternak has “the highest level of stick skills that I have ever seen in my coaching career for a high school player.’’

That was evident throughout the season when she would “air dribble’’ – balancing the ball on the hook of the stick at knee level while moving through the defense. It is not an easy skill to perfect, but it is nearly impossible to defend without fouling.

Beth Murphy, the veteran Westbrook coach, called Posternak “the best player, the most talented player, I have seen in my coaching career. I can’t wait to see what she does in the next two years.’’

Krista Chase, the coach at Mt. Ararat in Topsham, said Posternak has brought an excitement to the sport. “When I saw her reverse chip goal on the news one night, I thought to myself, ‘That just doesn’t happen all that often in Maine field hockey,’ ” said Chase.

Posternak, who also plays basketball for the Wildcats, said she just took to the sport naturally. She hopes to play at the Division I level in college and continue on her national team path.

“It’s a fun sport in that it is different from other sports,’’ she said. “It focuses on your skills instead of the physicality of the sport.’’

She also feels fortunate to be learning the sport from Marois.

“She is such a huge role model for me,’’ said Posternak. “She has given me great advice. She knows where I want to go with field hockey in the future. And she’s passionate about helping me grow my game.’’

Maine Sunday Telegram 2014 field hockey All-State team

Football: Brent Gerry, Marshwood

The senior running back scored 32 touchdowns in leading the Hawks to a 12-0 season and a state title.

Press Herald file photo

Brett Gerry learned early that if you want to attain something, you have to work for it.

Two individual state wrestling titles and now a Class B state football championship can attest to that fact.

Gerry, a senior, has worked hard in the weight room and at practices, as have his teammates, and the rewards have come.

“I think being in wrestling, I learned you really have to work hard,” he said. “From my freshman to my sophomore years, I got a better understanding of what it takes to be successful in football. It’s about improving as an individual and everyone doing their jobs. This is what I want and this is how I’m going to go about achieving it.”

This season, Marshwood football got a taste of the real Gerry.

After a high ankle sprained limited his effectiveness as a junior, Gerry was healthy this fall and rushed for a school-record 2,225 yards.

He scored 32 touchdowns as Marshwood (12-0) won the state championship Nov. 22 with a 44-18 victory against Brunswick.

Because the Hawks had blowouts in 11 of their 12 games, Gerry carried the ball very little, if at all, in the second half of games but averaged an amazing 12.3 yards per carry.

As a linebacker, he finished third on the team in tackles and had an interception. For his performance, Gerry was selected as Maine Sunday Telegram Player of the Year.

“I have never had a player play or practice harder than Brett,” said Coach Alex Rotsko.

“Brett Gerry might be the best all-around football player I’ve coached in 35 years.

“He has, without a doubt, been the leader of our football team. His teammates elected him captain of the team his junior and senior years.”

Rotsko said nobody works harder than Gerry in the offseason, describing him as an avid weight lifter and fitness fanatic.

Gerry and a few of his teammates hit the weight room and got bigger and stronger. “Going into my sophomore year, I weighed 160 pounds,” said Gerry. “This year I was 200-plus and retained the same speed. Getting bigger has helped my football.”

After going undefeated in eighth-grade football, Gerry and his teammates knew they had the potential to do something special in high school. Playing on the varsity as a freshman, Gerry was part of a team that went 2-6.

Rotsko arrived from Longmeadow High in Massachusetts the next season and the Hawks won Western Class B, then fell to Mt. Blue 44-42 in a wild state final.

Marshwood lost to Kennebunk last season in the regional final but was dominant this fall.

“Ever since the eighth grade, we knew what our class was capable of,” said Gerry.

Gerry carries a 91 grade-point average and wants to continue his football career in college.

Maine Sunday Telegram 2014 football All-State team

Girls' soccer: Cassie Symonds, Windham

The senior center midfielder helped the Eagles to the Class A state title and repeated as Telegram Player of the Year.

Press Herald file photo

On a team of stars, Cassie Symonds was the sun for Windham High’s repeat Class A champion girls’ soccer team.

The action orbited around Symonds, the Eagles’ Holy Cross-bound center midfielder. Her ability to dominate both on the ground and in the air – despite being a tick under 5-foot-4 – provided Windham (17-0-1) with a near-constant flow of attack.

For that reason, Symonds edges her prolific goal-scoring teammate Jenna Soucy and Thornton Academy’s dangerous senior striker Tori Daigle as the 2014 Maine Sunday Telegram girls’ soccer Player of the Year.

Symonds was also the 2013 Telegram and Gatorade Player of the Year.

“It’s such an honor to get these accolades,” Symonds said. “I see so many skilled players, I’m not really sure why I get them. But it does feel good that the hard work I’ve put in does pay off.”

After outscoring foes 98-5 in a 13-0-1 regular season, Windham had to come back in each of its four playoff wins. Coach Deb Lebel said their run could easily have ended in a regional quarterfinal loss to Portland.

“Without Cassie, I tell you, those outcomes might have been a lot different,” Lebel said.

Symonds said she found another gear because she felt “it would be a shame if our season was cut short.”

In the regional semifinal, it was again Symonds’ ability to dominate the midfield that fueled a 3-2 victory in overtime.

Over and over she won contested balls, expertly reading goal kicks, stepping in front of attempted clearing passes and making solid one-on-one tackles.

“It was just keeping my composure,” Symonds said. “I didn’t want to freak out. I wanted to keep playing the technical balls that our forwards were so good at finishing.”

Windham beat Scarborough 2-1 to win the West and blitzed Edward Little 5-1 with five second-half goals, in the state title game.

Symonds said she hopes to continue to play the midfield in college and will continue to train through the winter and spring.

“It doesn’t really feel like work to me,” Symonds said. “Obviously I put a lot of work into it but I’m doing it with my best friends and it’s what I enjoy doing.”

Maine Sunday Telegram 2014 girls' soccer All-State team

Boys' soccer: Adam LaBrie, Yarmouth

The junior helped the Clippers overcome 2013 disappointment and reach their goal of a state title. .

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As a junior, Adam LaBrie of Yarmouth was a good forward on a team that fell short of its goal.

This season LaBrie was the Clippers’ best player, more than doubled his goal production, and Yarmouth won its first Class B boys’ soccer championship since 2010.

“Adam was the No. 1 reason why we won the title but he never acted like it,” Coach Mike Hagerty said.

Based on his improvement and team accomplishment, and emphasized by his three-goal game against Greely in the Western B final, LaBrie is the Maine Sunday Telegram boys’ soccer Player of the Year.

The other player most highly considered for the honor was Deering’s standout midfielder, Stephen Ochan.

LaBrie, Ochan and Hampden Academy striker Tristan Granger were Maine’s three choices for the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) all-region team.

LaBrie also had a hat trick in the regular-season finale at Falmouth. Hagerty said LaBrie is the first Yarmouth player in his 18 years coaching at the school to score three goals in a game against Falmouth or Greely.

As a junior, LaBrie had a solid season, scoring 11 goals, but Yarmouth suffered its first loss of the season in the regional final against Greely.

“From day one of preseason this year we kind of had a chip on our shoulder and the seniors, especially, had that feeling we could get it done,” LaBrie said.

LaBrie was quick to credit teammates and coaches for his scoring spike. He noted that he worked well in a two-striker format, first with Henry Coolidge and during the stretch run with junior Patrick Grant.

Assistant coach Eoin Lynch, a former standout at Yarmouth and Providence College, focused LaBrie’s training on one-on-one situations with the goalie.

“My teammates, they moved the ball around and all I had to do was finish it,” LaBrie said.

Hagerty said LaBrie also became a stronger player this season, which allowed him to fight through contact more consistently, thus creating more chances.

LaBrie plans to continue his soccer career at Thomas College.

“All I really wanted to do was to go to college, play soccer, have fun and be on a team,” said LaBrie, who is also a four-year varsity basketball player at Yarmouth.

“When I went up there (to Thomas), it just felt right.”

Maine Sunday Telegram 2014 boys' soccer All-State team

Volleyball: Tess Haller, Cape Elizabeth

The junior remained dominant after moving from outside to middle hitter, and the Capers won a title.

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Tess Haller is an unlikely Maine Sunday Telegram volleyball Player of the Year, considering the junior middle hitter has spent her high school years working toward a future with a Division I softball program.

But Haller was a dominant player who helped lead Cape Elizabeth to its first state title during a Cinderella season, Capers Coach Sarah Boeckel said.

The Capers captured the Class A title this year after eight years of fielding a varsity team. There wasn’t a winning tradition at Cape Elizabeth, and no volleyball championship flags on the gym wall.

Boeckel said it didn’t matter to Haller.

“Tess is that player who, if we want a point, I want the ball to go to her. She’s athletic, she’s aggressive, and she’s not afraid to make a mistake. She wants to win,” Boeckel said. “She doesn’t get tight. She doesn’t get scared or nervous or start flailing at the ball. She’ll go up and take a big swing. And she’s a smart player. She knows how to make an adjustment.”

With 106 kills, 33 aces, 49 digs and 29 blocks this season, Haller is a complete player, and so smart she makes decisions on where to place the ball without her coach’s input.

In the state final, Haller looked to her friends in the stands for information on where those gaps were on the court.

And yet, this past season was as much a game-changer for Haller as it was for Cape Elizabeth. First Haller needed to decide whether to switch positions from outside hitter to middle hitter to give the Capers the edge their coach said they needed after making the playoffs for the first time just two years ago.

Haller, who only started playing volleyball in eighth grade, fought it. She ultimately decided to play middle to give her team more options on the court.

Boeckel said the switch was the difference that not only sent the Capers into the state tournament seeded fifth, but allowed them to upend the No. 1 and No. 3 seeds to claim the title.

“When I asked her to move from outside to middle hitter, I knew she was our best option. We are not a huge team. We’re not a big team. I knew Tess at middle would give us an advantage,” Boeckel said.

Not only did the Capers beat two of the top three seeds in the state tournament, they stormed back from a two-game deficit in each match.

Now, a month after the state championship match, Haller is trying to decide whether to stay with softball in college or maybe play volleyball.

“I was really on the Division I softball track. Now I’m not sure. I really like volleyball. This season was a lot of fun,” said the 5-foot-10 junior after returning from a softball tournament in California on Nov. 25.

Maine Sunday Telegram 2014 volleyball All-State team

Boys' golf: Gavin Dugas, Maine Central Institute

The senior played his first tournament at age 7 and this year won the Class B state title.

Morning Sentinel file photo

Gavin Dugas can’t remember a time when he didn’t have some kind of golf club in his hands.

It started with plastic clubs with the oversized head and graduated to sawed off regular clubs and then to the full-length version.

Dugas played in his first tournament, a U. S. Kids Junior qualifer, when he was seven. He was a regular on the Maine State Golf Association’s Junior Tour starting at 12. That happens when your family owns a golf course and your father is a golf pro.

Fast forward to this November and there’s Dugas winning the Class B state championship.

Dugas’ round of 71 at Natanis was also the lowest in the other two classes for boys. Dugas didn’t lose a match during the regular season. He also signed a letter of intent to play golf at Division II Southern New Hampshire University.

Dugas, a senior at Maine Central Institute, is the Maine Sunday Telegram’s Player of the Year. Of his strong senior season, Dugas said: “I think all the work I did in the summer paid off. I played in a lot of tournaments, and played well. I was playing my best at the beginning of the school year.”

Dugas got hot again at the right time.

“I shot a 33 in my second to last match at the Waterville Country Club,” he said.

In the state individual championship, Dugas got off to a fast start.

“I shot a 36 on the front side which got me going,” he said.

Paul Greco, his golf coach, said Dugas always had the potential to win the states.

“I always knew Gavin could do it. It was just a question of staying relaxed and focused,” he said.

Since he started playing as a freshman, Dugas has pointed to the state individual and team championships. He’s been close before in the individual championship. Everything clicked for him in his last chance.

“It meant a lot to win it. It was a good way to end my high school career. It’s what I’ve worked for ever since entering high school,” said Dugas.

Dugas said his dad, Mike, has been a big influence on his game.

“It’s good to have your father as a golf pro. If I need something fixed, I know I can go to him.”

While Dugas gets away on occasion to play golf with his dad and younger brother Eric (also a fine golfer) during the winter, Dugas looks forward to taking a break from the game to enjoy the winter season.

“I like to ski and ice fish,” he said.

“I feel taking a break from golf helps. I feel I would get stale if I played all year round.”

Dugas also reunited with a sport he hasn’t played since the eighth grade. He’s playing basketball for MCI this winter.

“I’m a little rusty, but it’s coming around,” he said.

Maine Sunday Telegram 2014 golf All-State team

Girls' golf: Hashilla Rivai, Thornton Academy

The junior had a sizzling season to win the state schoolgirl championship.

Press Herald file photo

The biggest adjustment for golfer Hashilla Rivai of Thornton Academy, a student from Jakarta, Indonesia, was getting accustomed to Maine’s chilly falls. Her golf game didn’t waver. She was on par and sometimes under it.

Rivai, in her first year at the Saco school, opened eyes with her sterling play this season.

She won the state schoolgirl championship with a 2-under 70 on Natanis GC’s Arrowhead course. She had four birdies and two bogeys. Soon after her arrival, she become Thornton’s No. 1 player. Rivai had a 35.2 stroke average and an overall record of 10-0 in team matches. She won 191/2 out of a possible 20 points in matches. She shot a 69 in a practice round before the state tournament.

Rivai is the Maine Sunday Telegram’s Player of the Year for girls’ golf.

“Hashilla has a great approach to her game,” said Thornton Coach Jeff Camire.

“She brought a strong mental game to complement her physical talents. I feel her teammates learned a lot by just watching her play. Hashilla plays one shot at a time and doesn’t dwell on bad shots. She focuses on the next shot,” he said.

In the team championship the week before the individual championship, Rivai shot a 74 to pace the Golden Trojans to a third-place finish in Class A. With the entire team returning for next year, Thornton will be in good position to win it all in 2015.

Rivai said she plans on returning for her senior year, chilly weather and all.

“It was really a good experience this season,” she said.

“I had never been on a team before and that really meant something. You want to help the team win. I played some amazing courses. I didn’t really like the cold and the wind. You had to consider where the ball was going. The team states were really cold. The individuals were a bit warmer. I was thankful for that,” she said.

Even after the state tournaments, Rivai said she continued to play at Biddeford-Saco Country Club, Thornton’s home course. The last time she played was two weeks ago.

“I guess if I want to play this winter it will be indoor golf,” she said.

Rivai said she will visit cousins in Los Angeles over the Christmas vacation break, but wasn’t sure if she would bring her golf clubs. Her cousins don’t play golf.

Boys' cross country: Aaron Willingham, Mt. Blue

The senior who gave up his football cleats for running shoes is now a state champion on the trails.

Kennebec Journal file photo

Aaron Willingham started running in seventh grade in order to get in shape for football in his native Texas.

“I was a little pudgy,” he said.

Now a senior at Mt. Blue High School in Farmington, Willingham has long since traded in cleats for spikes. He followed up the Eastern Maine Cross Country title with the Class A state championship last month, running a best-of-the-day time of 16:00 minutes over 5 kilometers at Troy Howard Middle School in Belfast.

He is our Maine Sunday Telegram Runner of the Year for boys cross country.

“He’s one of the toughest kids I’ve ever coached,” said Mt. Blue coach Kelley Cullenberg. “He learned the hard way that he has to listen to his body. He’s just a really hard worker.”

After moving to Maine the summer before his junior year, Willingham made an immediate impression by finishing second in the Festival of Champions with a time (15:42) that broke the school record set by Cullenberg’s son Kelton.

“Right after that is when I started to deteriorate,” Willingham said. “I stupidly (ran) 80 miles in one week and it created a stress fracture in my right shin.”

Willingham muddled through the rest of the season and started – but couldn’t finish – the state meet. This fall, he cut back on mileage, focused more on speed than endurance and avoided injury. He won the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference meet and set a course record at Cony High School.

His biggest problem, as it turned out, was staying upright.

In Belfast, he fell in the Festival of Champions as well as the Eastern Regional, both times near the first mile mark. He wound up winning the latter and placing sixth in the former. At the state meet, on the same course in even more treacherous conditions, he managed to keep his footing and wound up winning a kick to the finish line against Falmouth senior Bryce Murdick and Deering senior Iid Sheikh-Yusuf.

All three finished within about a second of each other.

At the New England meet, Murdick edged Willingham by a second to become the first Maine finisher. They were 19th and 22nd, respectively.

Willingham is president of Mt. Blue’s chapter of the National Honor Society. He’s also a member of an improvisational comedy troupe called the Curtain Raisers.

He plans to continue running competitively in college and is considering the University of Maine and the University of New Hampshire. His potential major? Physical therapy.

“I’ve had my fair share of time in the physical therapy office,” he said, “and it’s just fascinating to me.”

Maine Sunday Telegram 2014 boys' cross country All-State team

Girls' cross country: Katherine Leggat-Barr, Greely

The hard-working sophomore switched from soccer to running and ended up winning a state title.

Press Herald file photo

Greely High cross country coach David Dowling first heard about sophomore Katherine Leggat-Barr last spring, when one of his runners told him about a freshman soccer player who had broken 20 minutes in a local 5-kilometer road race.

Further investigation revealed that Leggat-Barr not only played soccer, but basketball and lacrosse as well. What’s more, she would often run for fun after team practices.

“Some people would say, ‘You’re going for a run? You’re weird,’ ” Leggat-Barr said. “But I just love to run. Being outside, that’s where I’m happiest.”

Leggat-Barr opted for cross country this fall instead of soccer, and the result was both individual and team state titles in Class B and a best-from-Maine performance at the New England meet in Connecticut.

“She’s very determined,” Dowling said. “The hardest thing is to make her take an easy day. She doesn’t know what it means to run easily.”

Leggat-Barr is our Maine Sunday Telegram Runner of the Year for girls cross country. In the Western Maine meet, she was the only girl to break 20 minutes – finishing in 19:46 over the demanding Twin Brook course to win by more than half a minute. At the state meet in Belfast, in the last of six races over a course muddied from cold rain and continued use, Leggat-Barr led a 1-2 finish with freshman teammate Izzy Evans. They were 16 seconds apart, with a winning time of 19:17.

And that was after Leggat-Barr had slipped at the start of the race and then worked her way to the front of the pack.

“That course got bad fast,” Dowling said. “I think she could have run under 19 under better conditions.”

More important than time, however, was Greely turning the tables on Western Maine champion Yarmouth. The Rangers turned a six-point regional deficit into a five-point state title victory with help from senior Emily Mason, junior Sophia Stickney and freshman Kate Curran.

“The team title was what we were all aiming for,” Leggat-Barr said. “To come out on top together was really special.”

It marked the 12th state title for the Greely girls’ cross country program and first since 2001. “She was really excited about the team doing as well as we did,” Dowling said. “She was always about the team.”

At the New England meet, Leggat-Barr placed 32nd in a time that was 13 seconds and eight places ahead of Maine’s next runner, Class C state champ Hannah Steelman of Orono.

“I had done fairly well in middle school, so I knew I was going to be able to compete pretty well,” Leggat-Barr said. “But I had no (idea) that I was going to win the states.

Maine Sunday Telegram 2014 girls' cross country All-State team