Zoe Maguire competes in the relay at the Western Maine Conference championships held at Lake Region. (Rivet Photos)

TRACK & FIELD

The Raiders traveled to Lake Region for the Western Maine Conference Championships this past Saturday, where 17 teams comprising the league squared off in what was the biggest meet of the year.

The FA girls finished fifth in Division 1 while the boys came home in seventh place.

The conditions were tough to say the least with temperatures in the high 80s after a cool and damp Spring.

“However, they were the same for all. The meet organization, preparation and execution were flawless. I would like to thank all those involved. Every detail was addressed and this made for an exceptional experience for all the athletes,” FA Coach Kevin McDonald said. “(LR Coach) Mark Snow and Athletic Director Paul True deserve a tip of the hat by every coach that was in attendance.”

Boys: Brian Ward/Sims broke the school record in the 1600m race walk, cracking the eight-minute barrier for the first time. Brian came home in 7:57.26, good for second overall.

“This young man has worked tirelessly on the proper form and methods used in this event. We spent time on the treadmill to perfect Brian’s form and it is paying off,” Coach McDonald said. “This is a very difficult event. You want to bust out and run, but you are trapped in the walk.”

Brian has qualified for the Nationals, to be held in North Carolina, in three weeks.

“We are so proud to see the success Brian has achieved after the incredible amount of work he has done to master this event,” the coach added.

Patrick Carty was away on Project Graduation yet got back in time to take a short nap and compete in the two-mile. Not a good way to prepare on a blistering hot day, but Patrick was determined to give his best in what would be his final WMC Championships. Give his best he did. Patrick ran to second place in the two-mile with a time of 10:30.13.

“One of our captains, Patrick has been all a coach could ask for and we are so pleased that somehow this athlete can juggle all that is on his plate and still find time for Track & Field,” Coach McDonald pointed out.

Christian Bedell ran a fine 800m coming home in 2:05.98 for fourth place.

“Christian is another athlete that has done the work and experienced the success. It is our hope that the best is yet to come for Christian,” the coach said.

ALFIE WALKER competes in the triple jump.

Evan Wadsworth is sprinting very well at just the right time. Evan took third in the 400m in 54.87 and fifth in the 200m in 24.36. The podium, at states, is not out of the question for Evan.

In other action:

28. Seth Johnston, 400m, 1:03.12
29. Max Kummer, 800m, 2:18.88
30. Tony Santarelli, 800m, 2:39.27
31. Alfie Walker, 1600m, 5:15.61
32. Osage Crie, 1600m, 5:40.29
33. Reed Wales, 1600m, 5:58.43
34. FA 4X100 relay, 48.22
35. FA 4X400 relay, 3:47.29
36. FA 4X800 relay, 9:10.26
37. Alfie Walker, long jump, 13-11.50
38. Alfie Walker, triple jump, 31-8.50
39. Seth Johnston, javelin, 63-9
40. Tony Santarelli, javelin, 58-4

Girls: Skye Collins continues to race very well taking third in both the 100m and the 200m with times of 13.36 and 28.07. Skye will be looking to podium in both events this Saturday at States.

Jessica Frum had a fantastic day in the race walk. Only a freshman, she raced to the provisional standard for States (10:08.17).

“I will not know until Wednesday if she makes it, but right now it looks like Jessica is on the bus to States. An incredible accomplishment by a freshman. She covered the 1600m in 10:08.17, the standard is 10:10.00. I am so happy for this young lady. Yahoo Jessica,” Coach McDonald said.

Anna Lastra (5:24.65) and Emily Carty (5:29.97) came home second and third in the 1600m run. Emily came back and ran the 400m to finish fifth (1:04.20) and Anna came back in the 800m to finish second (2:28.09). Both girls also ran legs on the 4x800 and the 4x400 relays. A busy day in the heat did not slow these two down.

The 4x800 relay came home in third place in 10:09.90 and is ranked third in Class B heading into States. Irina Norkin and Zoe McGuire ran very well for the team and it will be interesting to see what the future holds for this quartet.

Casey Kneissler, only a freshman, picked up two sixth place finishes in the shot put (30-6.25) and the discus (80-2).

“This young lady is ready to explode in both the discus and the shot put and there is no better place than States for that to happen,” Coach McDonald said.

The 4x400 relay is rounding into form, picking up a fifth place finish (4:30.24), and would like to do the same at States. That relay is made up of Lastra, Carty, Olivia Pelkie and Emily McDemith.

“This week will be very exciting as we fine tune and get the athletes focused. A great time of the year to be a coach,” Coach McDonald added.

In other action:

9. Jessica Jensen, 1600 race walk, 10:58.31
10. Camelia Ghadfa, 100m, 15.02
11. Jessica Jensen, 100m, 15.59
12. Emily McDermith, 200m, 29.87
13. Camelia Ghadfa, 200m, 30.49
14. Emily McDermith, 400m, 1:09.59
15. Erika Dennery, 400m, 1:14.24
16. Irina Norkin, 800m, 2:44.41
17. Zoe Maguire, 800m, 2:45.56
18. Jessica Frum, 800m, 3:12.81
19. Maddie Choyce, 1600m, 6:53.59
20. Maddie Choyce, 300 hurdles, 1:08.17
21. Jessica Jensen, long jump, 11-9.50
22. Irina Norkin, discus, 65-0
23. Kyleigh Rose, discus, 56-2
24. Olivia Pelkie, javelin, 73-3
25. Casey Kneissler, javelin, 66-6
26. Kyleigh Rose, javelin, 51-0
27. Colleen Bullard, shot put, 27-3.50
28. Kyleigh Rose, shot put, 22-10.50

BOYS’ ULTIMATE

The Raider boys’ Ultimate team competed in the state tournament on Saturday, entering the event as the fifth seed in the state after a 3-3 Maine Ultimate league record for the season.

The first matchup of three for the day was against Cumberland, the four seed. Having lost to Cumberland by one earlier in the season, FA was fired up. The Raiders came out hot, earning a defensive break on the first possession. Senior Ben Darling had his right hand back in action after an early season break. Now being able to throw beautiful continuous passes to his teammates, he made a huge impact on the field. Greg Wesley-Watson started for the first time this season and stepped up to fill the role nicely. He scored five times during the game, using his height to his advantage and making incredibly well-timed cuts.

The handling trio of Will Davis, Dominic Orlando and Addison Schwarz was a force to be reckoned with.

“Their patience with the disc was amazing, only putting it deep when they knew there was a great chance it would be caught,” Coach Chris Strahler said. “Everyone on the team was involved in the game, even in the sidelines. Our energy was way up as we lead 7-2 at halftime.”

During the second half, FA was able to rest some starters in the 90-degree heat due to the substantial lead. This left the final score at 10-7 when the time cap hit.

“Everyone was very excited about the level of play we had shown and I personally think it was the best we played all season,” Coach Strahler said.

The second matchup was against the one seed, Falmouth. They were seeded first for a reason.

“They are an incredibly talented team. I haven’t seen high school players with their level of athleticism and patience with the disc in a long time. Most teams have one or the other, but the combination of the two seemed unstoppable,” Coach Strahler said. “Falmouth’s offense seemed unstoppable for our defense. Throughout the entire game, we earned six D’s and they had three unforced errors — one drop and two turfed throws. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to convert on our offensive possessions and the game ended with a very lopsided score of 13-1.”

Falmouth deservedly headed to the finals, where they defeated Cape Elizabeth in a similar fashion by a final score of 13-4. “Falmouth was definitely the best team in the fields in Maine this year and they deserve much praise for such a strong performance all season,” the coach said.

The Raiders did want to play the third/fourth place game against South Portland, but they also wanted a chance to watch the FA girls in the finals. SoPo agreed to play a game to seven, but unfortunately both teams were tired, there were lots of mistakes, and the game ended up 7-6 in FA’s favor. “We ended third, but the close game meant that we were only able to watch the girls play one point. It was great to watch them throw the game-winning score and rush the field, winning the state title for a third year in a row,” Coach Strahler added.

The Raiders will lose some big players next year in Ben Darling and Ben LeConey, but the underclassmen will undoubtedly step up under the leadership of captain Will Davis and others.

Head Coach Chris Strahler will be departing FA at the end of the year and he and the players hope that assistant coach Gregg Downing will have the opportunity to become head coach for the 2017 season.

“The boys’ program has great players and great talent, but they strive to be better all the time,” Coach Strahler said. “(Gregg) Downing’s knowledge of the game and strong connection with the players is sure to push them in the right direction.”

GIRLS’ ULTIMATE

The Raiders earned their third consecutive state title last Saturday, knocking out Falmouth and Cumberland and marching easily to victory.

Entering the state championship tournament, the Fryeburg Academy girls had a 14-2 record for the season and had outscored their opponents by a staggering 174 to 60.  Eight seniors on the team were undefeated since early in 2014 against Maine teams.

The heavy favorite to win, Fryeburg was seeded first in the tournament and earned a first round bye. In the semifinal matchup against Falmouth, the FA girls came out strong. Bridget Bailey, in typical good form, threw for eight assists with Esmeralda Hernandez catching five. Fryeburg easily took the first half and used the second half to rest their seniors. Junior captain Emmajo Armington lead in the second half with new players Mae Milo and Elise and Erin Richardson were big on defense. Ella Forbes had a great catch in the end zone before leaving the game with a head injury. Anna Mahanor also contributed on both sides of the field. Falmouth girls were unable to keep up and Fryeburg won easily 13-3.

On the other side of the bracket, Cumberland had a surprise upset over the second-seeded Cape Elizabeth, setting up a rematch of the 2015 final game.

Cumberland is known for their aggressive and intense play but had not been able to score on Fryeburg in the regular season. The eight seniors played nearly the entire game with only a few points played by juniors Kaylin Delaney and Emmajo Armington. Bailey was again the star with nine assists. Emery O’Connell caught three scores and another five went to Hernandez. Abby Davis was also key in the offensive strategy, throwing one assist and helping move the disc down the field.

Four-year player Kaylee Barboza, standing just under five feet tall, watched a huck from Bailey soar over the defenders and was perfectly positioned to catch the game winner, capping off a memorable 18th birthday. Fryeburg won the game 13-2.

“It was an incredible season. With so many returning players, great chemistry and powerful leadership from Bridget Bailey, Abby Davis and Emmajo Armington, the girls seemed destined for victory. But hard work, commitment to the team and sportsmanship were also key ingredients to success,” Coach Emily Strahler said. “Though the loss of many seniors will certainly impact the team, the underclassmen, under new leadership, will still be a team to watch looking forward to the 2016-17 season.”

BOYS’ LACROSSE

In a closely contested game played in Freeport last Thursday, the Raiders defeated the Falcons 8-7. The game was close throughout. Jared Chisari’s goal with 3:55 to play in the game ended up as the game winner. The Raiders improved to 6-5 on the year and Freeport dropped to 3-8.

With the win, Fryeburg continues to hold down the fifth seed in the Heal Point standings.

Brady LaFrance scored all of Freeport’s goals during the first 12 minutes of action to help Freeport take a 3-2 lead after one quarter. Chisari and Evan Caracciolo scored for Fryeburg Academy.

In the second frame LaFrance gave Freeport a 4-2 lead. Evan Caracciolo answered this goal on an assist from Markus Schneider with 1:10 remaining to cut Freeport’s lead to 4-3 at the half.

The Raiders scored quickly out of the half when Schneider found the net just 15 seconds into the quarter to tie the score at 4. Caleb Eklund scored a man-up goal at 8:09 to give Fryeburg a 5-4 lead. Connor Dostie tied the contest up at 4:59 at five apiece.

In the fourth quarter, Jeremiah Schrader and Chisari scored the first to goals to give Fryeburg Academy a 7-5 lead. Freeport’s Connor Dostie cut the lead in half at 4:28. Chisari for Fryeburg Academy scored the game winner at 3:55. Freeport wasn’t done yet thought. They scored at 1:29. Both teams would have a few more chances to score but both goalies made huge stops to keep the game at 8-7.

FA held a 29-28 shot advantage. Goalie Yukon King made 18 saves.

Fryeburg Academy was in action on Wednesday, June 1 when they hosted the Lakers from Lake Region High School for their senior’s final home game.