MHS Winter Sports Preview
Logic would suggest that the Messalonskee girls’ basketball team could not possibly be a top contender for the Class A state title this season. After all, this is a squad that lost two outstanding starters to graduation, including KVAC Player of the Year Sophie Holmes.
But throw logic out the window in regard to the defending Class A Champion Eagles. Yes, Holmes is gone, and so, too, is center McKenna Brodeur, a force under the basket both offensively and defensively. Still, this remains a team well equipped to compete for postseason honor – even a return to the state title game is not out of the question.
“I think they should at least be a contender for the finals of the (Class A) North,” Messalonskee athletic director Tommy Hill said. “I think at the very least they have that potential.”
Messalonskee coach Keith Derosby is a bit more cautious about expectations, emphasizing that his team must establish its identity and learn to compete at a high level without Holmes and Brodeur.
And yet Derosby acknowledges that his current squad has its strengths. “We have quite a bit of athleticism, quite a bit of length and speed,” he said. “We can still play at the same speed we did a year ago. So we have that. We have kids who have played a lot of basketball.”
The Eagles bring back two full-time starters in senior Ally Turner and sophomore Gabrielle Wener. Senior Makayla Wilson, who started about half the games last year, returns as well. Junior Katie Seekins is another player with plenty of varsity experience.
For now, though, Derosby’s philosophy is to keep goals manageable. So there is no talk about repeating last year’s unbeaten 22-0 record or earning another Class A championship. “Our goal right now is to go into game 1 and win game 1,” he said. “And that is really how we approached last year.”
The Eagles open the regular season at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8 when they host Hampden Academy.
The Messalonskee boys’ basketball team also opens its season Dec. 8, traveling to Hampden Academy for a 7 p.m. contest against the Broncos.
At the Alfond Youth Center in Waterville, meanwhile, the Messalonskee boys’ and girls’ swim teams host their first meet of the season the same day. Starting time is 6:15 p.m.
The Messalonskee ice hockey team makes its season debut a day later (Saturday, Dec. 9) at the University of Maine at Orono. The Eagles face Old Town/Orono in a game slated for 10 a.m.
Indoor track, both girls and boys, opens on the road at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 15 with a meet at Bowdoin College in Brunswick.
Athletic director Hill sees Messalonskee being competitive in most of the winter sports but has concerns about the lack of turnout for the hockey team – this season’s team has just 12 students on the roster. “We are keeping our fingers crossed that we’ll have enough numbers to get through the season,” he said.
Both the swim and indoor track teams, in contrast, have healthy numbers and feature several athletes who should be highly competitive, according to Hill.
As for the boys’ basketball team, Hill said the squad – Class A North champions a year ago – has talent but lost several key players to graduation and thus is short on varsity experience. “So I think it is going to take the team time to adjust to the skill and pace at the varsity level,” he said.
Messalonskee cheerleaders, about a dozen strong, start their competition season in January.
As for wrestling, Messalonskee does not have a team but five students from the school compete in the sport on an individual basis, including senior Austin Pelletier, a seasoned grappler whom Hill said should once again be one of the strongest wrestlers in the state in his weight category.