MHS Spring Sports Preview
In its first true test of the new season, the Messalonskee boys’ lacrosse team fell just a few goals short – losing 9-6 to Lewiston in a May 1 contest at Bates College. But coach Tom Sheridan kept the loss in proper perspective, seeing it as a valuable wakeup call to better prepare his players for the challenges ahead.
“The kids, I think, fought hard, and they competed hard, and I think it’s a good game for the early part of the season to kind of break a little complacency and be ready for the games coming ahead,” he said in an article that appeared in the Morning Sentinel.
Senior Austin Pelletier, one of the leaders of Messalonskee’s potent offense, is confident the Eagles, who have never won a state or regional title, have the talent and experience to go further in the playoffs this year. “Especially with the senior class being so strong,” Pelletier said, “and having Dawson [Charles] moving from goalie to attack.”
Fellow senior Colin Kinney attributes the postseason disappointment of previous years to a mental block. “I feel every year when we go into the postseason our seniors have gone off the rails and forgot why we were there,” he said.
Messalonskee athletic director Tommy Hill sees the Eagles as having the talent and offensive firepower to contend with the top teams in Class B, including perennial powerhouse Brunswick. The biggest question mark, he said, is a less experienced defense.
“I think defensively we have to come around a little bit,” he said.
But the boys’ lacrosse team is far from being the only Messalonskee team that bears watching this spring. In every sport, there is reason to be optimistic. Most Messalonskee teams come off winning seasons and feature some standout veteran performers.
While the girls’ lacrosse team is heavy with younger players, the Eagles, a Class A finalist last season, are led by two senior stars in Ally Turner and Lauren Pickett. Both players have already earned college scholarships in lacrosse – Turner at Div. I Wagner, Pickett at Div. II Assumption.
Hill said the team would have been even more formidable, but four starters from a year ago elected not to play this spring, including two all-conference players.
Watch out, too, for the Messalonskee softball team, which opened the season by winning four of five games. Seniors Sarah Labbe (third base) and Makayla Wilson (catcher) lead the Eagles, according to Hill. Sophomore Danielle Hall and senior Mackenzie Charest bring strength to the mound and the outfield respectively, Hill said.
While short on experience, the baseball team currently is 3-2. The Eagles boast a strong veteran pitcher in Tyler Noonan and experienced infielder in Tyler Lewis, both of them seniors.
Messalonskee has excelled in track in recent years, including a KVAC title for the boys last season and a near miss at a conference championship – half a point behind the winner – for the girls.
This spring the girls look to be stronger than the boys, according to Hill. He expects Libby Breznyak, Haley Lowell, and sisters Emma and Charlotte Wentworth to be the leading scorers. On the boys’ side, John-Luke D’Amico should be a force in the pole vault and high jump.
Girls’ tennis is off to a strong 2018 campaign, opening with a 3-match winning streak. Lauren Bourque, Elena Guarino, and Amanda Wiswell lead the Eagles.