Messalonskee teams open winter sports season
It all begins this weekend, starting with tonight as the Messalonskee boys’ and girls’ basketball teams take to the court while Messalonskee swimmers hope to make a splash as they host Lewiston in their home pool.
Tomorrow the hockey and indoor track teams make their season debut with the Eagle skaters taking on Waterville and the runners, throwers, and jumpers traveling to Orono for a multi-school competition.
Here are the specifics for each sporting event:
- Messalonskee girls’ basketball versus Mt. Blue at 6:30 p.m. at Messalonskee
- Messalonskee boys’ basketball versus Mt. Blue at 7 p.m. at Mt. Blue High School in Farmington
- Messalonskee swim team versus Lewiston at 7 p.m. at Alfond Youth Center in Waterville
- Messalonskee hockey team versus Waterville-Winslow at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Colby College’s Alfond Arena.
- Messalonskee indoor track at multi-team meet at 4 p.m. on Saturday at the University of Maine at Orono
For the girls’ basketball team, tonight starts the quest to once again make the postseason. Three years removed from winning the state title, the Eagles are a veteran bunch, led by 6-foot-2-inch senior Gabrielle Wener, that reached the semifinals of the Class A North playoffs last winter.
For the boys’ basketball team, tonight is the start of a new era of sorts. Long-time head coach Peter McLaughlin stepped down, and former junior varsity coach Jay Dangler now is in charge. Like the girls’ team, Dangler’s squad has a wealth of experience given the Eagles didn’t lose a single player to graduation last spring.
The girls’ swim team is coming off a successful season a year ago in which it placed third at the KVAC championships, while the boys’ team is led by Martin Guarnieri, who took first in at the KVAC meet last winter in the individual medley.
In indoor track, the Messalonskee girls are the defending KVAC Class A champs and bring back Charlotte Wentworth, who took first in the 400 at that meet. The boys’ team should also be competitive.
As for the hockey team, the Eagles look to improve after a winless season a year ago.