MHS Spring Sports Preview
For the Messalonskee track and field team, a change of season has brought a surge in participation, making the sparse numbers of the indoor season a distant memory.
Messalonskee athletic director Chad Foye attributes the resurgence to a number of factors, but one of the leading ones is the feeling that the worst of the pandemic is over.
“That is a part of it,” Foye said. “I think people are looking to get back to normal.” Outdoor track boasts about 50 athletes between the boys’ and girls’ teams.
Overall, participation is strong in about every sport this spring. The baseball team, for example, has nearly 30 athletes on the roster, more than enough for full varsity and junior varsity line-ups.
“It is bigger than it has been in recent years,” Foye said, although he noted the program traditionally has never hurt for participants.
Along with strong participation numbers, the Messalonskee spring sports season also features a number of teams with big expectations, at least based on how teams fared last year.
Both the girls’ and boys’ lacrosse teams, for example, finished one step away from reaching the state championship game.
The Messalonskee boys entered the Class B tournament as the top seed, while the girls’ team held the No. 3 spot after going unbeaten during the regular season. Tom Sheridan, the boys’ lacrosse coach, is optimistic about the season ahead. “We are very strong,” he said, “probably stronger than last year. We pretty much returned everybody and added to the team.”
Messalonskee’s softball and baseball teams also turned in impressive regular seasons. Messalonskee softball finished as the top seed in Class A North after winning 14 of its 16 games. The baseball team, 11-5, clinched the third seed in the region. For both teams, though, the playoff run ended early, with each losing in the quarterfinals.
To view the 2022 Spring Sports schedule – please click here.