Waynflete wraps up a stellar winter sports season

It was another successful winter for Flyer teams on the hardwood, on the ice, on the trails, and in the pool. The boys alpine ski co-op captured the Class A state championship, and boys basketball, boys hockey, and girls hockey had their best seasons in program history.

Under 16-year head coach Rich Henry, boys basketball finished with their best record ever at 19-2. Season highlights included wins over class A Fryeburg and class B opponents Cape, Wells, Lake Region, and Yarmouth. The #2 ranked Flyers defeated #10 Traip Academy in the Class C quarters 55-29 to advance to the semis vs #3 Boothbay. The Flyers dispatched Boothbay 53-41 to advance to the program’s third regional final, where the Flyers fell to Winthrop 39-30. Dominick Campbell ’21 led the Flyers in scoring and rebounding, averaging 20 points per game. Campbell, Solomon Levy ’20, and Diraige Dahia ’20 were selected as first team all-conference. Dahia was also selected to the WMC all-defensive team. Campbell was named City of Portland Player of the Year.

Girls basketball welcomed first-year head coach Andrew Leach to the program. Leach led the team to exciting wins over Richmond and Hebron. Margaret Ojut ’22 led the Flyers in scoring and rebounding and was named the MVP. Tri-captain Kilee Sherry ’21 earned the coaches award and Jesse Connors ’22 was named Most Improved. Sophi Aronson ’20 was chosen to the WMC second team and the all-defensive team.

Falmouth/Waynflete boys alpine skiing won the class A state championship for the third year in a row. Flyers on the team were Ben Adey ’21 (8th slalom and GS) and Scout Townsend ’21. The girls placed 5th with Emily Girard ’22 representing the Flyers. Ben Adey won the Portland Forecaster Male Athlete of the Year honor. This was the 7th consecutive state championship won by Ben Adey (soccer, alpine, tennis).

Under head coach Bob Mills, the girls ice hockey had its best season ever. Three Flyers were on the roster: Sofia Cook ’22, Lizzie Valdmanis ’23, and Maddie Whiting ’23. The Capers took undefeated Lewiston to OT before falling 1-0 in the state championship. The team finished the season 13-6-1 and state runners up.

The SoPo/Freeport/Waynflete boys ice hockey team had its best season ever. The Riots finished off the regular season with a 4-3 win over Falmouth for a regular season record of 11-6-1. In the quarterfinals the Riots had a 5-4 come-from-behind victory over Thornton Academy. In the class A semis, the Riots took on the undefeated  #1 seed Lewiston and fell 5-1, ending the season at 12-7-1.

The Nordic ski team welcomed first-year head coach Ben Lewis. Both teams had a great showing at the WMC championships where girls placing third and boys placing fifth. The boys placed fifth at the class C States. Nicholas Werner ’20 made the podium with a third-place finish. Scoring for the boys were Werner, Henry Wagg, Joe Powers, and Ethan Freeman. Girls Nordic skiing placed second at class C states. Girls scoring were Clara Sandberg, Julia Werner, Emily Wagg, and Sarah Morgan. The girls team won the MPA Good Sportsmanship award voted on by their opponents throughout the season. Clara Sandberg won the Portland Forecaster Female Athlete of the Year honor.

The swim teams were strong at the South Southwesterns. The girls were 12th while the boys placed an impressive 5th. Boys swim placed 12th out of 20 teams at the class B states at Bowdoin. Highlights of the meet were a sixth place finish by Xander Forsyth ’20 in the 100 breaststroke and a 9th place finish in the 200 free relay by Haoming Ma, Levi Lilienthal, Oscar Herrera, and Forsyth. The girls swim team placed 16th at states.  Eliza Clark, Libby Dakers, Zella Ruff, and Larkin Kern earned a 13th place in the 200-free relay.