WHS swimmers finish strong in Class A State Swimming and Diving Championships

By Matt Pascarella

The Windham High swim team competed in the Maine Girls Class A State Swimming and Diving Championships against schools from all over Maine at Bowdoin College in Brunswick on Monday, Feb. 20 and WHS ended the season with a solid 12th place finish.

Windham junior Riley Small shows her speed through the
water at Bowdoin College in Brunswick during the Maine
Class A State Swimming and Diving Championships on
Monday, Feb. 20. PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA 
 

Windham had several swimmers who medaled by finishing in the top eight during the events.

“With this type of a meet all the work is done – this is showtime,” said Windham swim coach Peter Small. “They’ve worked so hard ... now it’s time to, for lack of a better word, celebrate, just swim – race. I think we were kind of nervous at the beginning, it took us a little bit to get into it.”

Small said that in a lot of the first swims there wasn’t that fire in the belly, but as the meet progressed the team found it and swam really well.

Windham sophomore Sarah Inman finished fifth in the 500-yard freestyle with a 5:45.14 time. She also finished eighth in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:27.67.

Inman said she wanted to do her best and prove to herself what she can do. She medaled four times and said the team did great today. They were focused and tried not to overthink the events. The day went great.

Windham senior Hannah Heanssler finished eighth in the 50 freestyle with a time of 26.99 seconds. She also finished 14th in the 100-breaststroke with a 1:18.06 time.

“I’m proud of everyone, I’m proud of myself,” said Heanssler. “We all have worked so hard this season, the way we swam and executed today was really good. We all put everything we had into it, and we all fought with grit and swam really well.”

Heanssler said some highlights of the day were continuing to get their best times, swimming well with each other and everyone racing hard.

Windham freshman Martina Jefferson finished 19th in the backstroke with a time of 1:15.22.

In the 400-freestyle relay, Windham finished fifth with a time of 4:06.46. This team was made up of Inman, sophomore Morgan Farley, Heanssler and junior Grace Theriault.

Theriault finished 18th in the 200 with a 2:18.66 time.

Theriault said team spirits were high and Windham really showed what they are capable of. She thought the team did great altogether.

In the 200-freestyle relay of Heanssler, Theriault, Inman and senior Reagan McDougall, Windham finished with a time of 1:54.09 in seventh place.

Windham’s relay team of Jefferson, Farley, McDougall and junior Riley Small finished with a time of 2:20.10 in the 200 medley-relay, in 15th place.

While no boys on the team qualified for states, during southwesterns at Cape Elizabeth on Saturday, Feb. 11, Windham sophomore CK Kennedy finished 10th in the 50-yard freestyle with a 28.46 time. In the same event, McDougall finished 13th with a time of 30.18. McDougall finished sixth in the 500 with a time of 7:00.58. <

Windham High varsity cheerleading team showcases skills

By Matt Pascarella

The Windham cheerleading squad competed in the Cheers from the Heart competition at Oxford Hills High School on Saturday, Feb. 18, coming in fourth place overall and rising 10 points from the state competition earlier this year.

Windham High varsity cheerleaders Monica Lewis, Vanessa 
Berry, Gabi Wright, Natalie Adams and Ellie Archibald
perform a routine during the Cheers from the Heart
competition on Saturday, Feb. 18 at Oxford Hills High
School in South Paris. PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA  

The charity competition featured schools and teams from a variety of skill levels from all over the state and this has been a challenging cheerleading year, from cancellations due to weather, sickness or ineligibility, Windham has continued to persevere with dedication and determination as they ended their season with an impressive routine.

“We’ve worked really hard,” said Windham senior Natalie Adams. “We’ve done several other competitions leading up to this just getting used to performing in front of people and just really connecting as a team, so we can go out there and look good as a team.”

Beginning in 1999, Cheers from the Heart was started by Wells High School cheerleaders as a way to give back to their local town communities.

The competition has donated over $300,000 to local charities and families in need. A large portion of the money raised during this competition went to Good Shepard Food Bank.

“Our goal for the competition was just to put on the best performance we could and know that we left it all out on mat and that we didn’t have any regrets,” said Windham junior Monica Lewis. “It was one of the best performances of the season. Our stunts hit like we had been doing them for years together. All jumps and tumbling looked amazing. And our dance showed all our hard work.”

Windham sophomore Talia Campobasso said the season has had its ups and downs. They pulled together, and she thought they did really well.

They had to retool their routine’s formations the night before attending Cheers from the Heart. Windham adapted quickly and effectively to the new changes, and that carried through during their routine.

Adams said it’s taken a lot of hard work and dedication to get to this point. They really came together and trusted each other more as a team to be able to come out and perform. She thought their pyramid hit really well. That’s something they’ve struggled a little bit with their beginning and stunts also went well.

“Today is more of a fun one. Our goal was to make sure everything hit, and they did just that,” said Windham varsity cheerleading coach Bari Campobasso. We still want to show that we are improving each time and that’s what we did. They performed great; I’m very proud of them.”

Coach Campobasso said even with another bump in the road, the night before Cheers from the Heart, the team’s spirits were up at practice and seemed totally unphased by this new obstacle. Windham wanted to show how far they’ve come and during Cheers from the Heart, they did.

Lewis said every time they changed the routine, Windham came back stronger than before. Windham put their minds to it and made it happen. Lewis couldn’t have asked for a better team and performance. <

Windham High School Scoreboard

Compiled by Matt Pascarella

Girls’ Basketball

No. 4 Windham worked hard in their quarterfinal game against No. 5 Hampden Academy, but while the game was razor-thin close in the second half, Hampden Academy pulled ahead late in the game to win 46-39. In the fourth quarter, Windham caught up to Hampden Academy and a point separated the teams. Hampden Academy pulled ahead, but Windham’s character really showed as they continued to battle. Sophomore Stella Jarvais and freshman Neve Ledbetter were high scorers.

Windham sophomore Ava Gerrity, junior Khalysa
Hammith, and sophomore Tayla Pelletier display
their medals during the Class A Indoor Track and
Field State Meet at the University of Southern
Maine in Gorham on Monday, Feb. 20.
PHOTO BY KRISTA GERRITY   

Boys’ Basketball

On Thursday, Feb. 16 Windham went head-to-head with Portland in the quarterfinal game where No. 7 Windham fought No. 2 Portland in an extremely close game. In the final seconds, Portland pulled ahead to win 49-46. Windham made Portland work hard and the game was tied at 38 with 5 minutes left in the game. It could have gone either way as the clock ticked down. Windham played together and showed Portland they were definitely up to the challenge. Freshman AJ Moody and senior Owen Combes were high scorers.

Unified Basketball

Windham beat South Portland 64-47 at South Portland on Tuesday, Feb. 14.

Hockey

At the University of Southern Maine in Gorham on Feb. 18, the Trail Blazers took on the combined squad representing South Portland/Freeport/Waynflete. After a great effort, the Trail Blazers lost 6-4 after three periods.

Indoor Track

The state meet was held at The University of Southern Maine on Monday, Feb. 20 against schools from all over the state. In the Boys’ competition, Windham freshman Nick Verrill came in 17th in the high jump with a height of 5-04.00 feet. In the 4x200 relay, Windham boys came in 17th with a time of 1:40.46 minutes. In the girls’ competition, Windham finished in sixth place. In the 55-meter dash, junior Khalysa Hammith finished fifth with a time of 7.53 seconds. In the triple jump, she came in sixth with a 33-09.00 feet distance. In the high jump, Ava Gerrity finished fourth with a height of 5-00.00, a new personal record. Sophomore Tayla Pelletier finished sixth in the same event with a height of 4-10.00.

Gerrity finished third in the triple jump with a distance of 34-1.00. Gerrity finished sixth in the long jump with a distance of 16-02.25. State champion Pelletier won the triple jump with a 35-06.25 distance. In the 4x800 relay Windham came in 10th with a 11.31.10 time. In the 4x200 relay they finished 14th with a time of 1:59.74.

Alpine Skiing

The state meet took place at Saddleback Mountain in Rangely on Wednesday, Feb. 15 and Thursday, Feb. 16.

In the giant slalom, Windham boys came in eighth. Senior Sam Plummer finished first for the team with a score of 1:37.34 minutes. Sophomore Preston Stretch finished second with a 1:39.14 time. In the slalom, Windham finished sixth. Plummer came in first for Windham and 13th overall with a time of 1:20.15. Senior Nolan Dries came in second for Windham and 18th overall with a 1:21.92.

Windham girls finished ninth in the giant slalom. Sophomore Lilly McLean finished first for Windham with a time of 1:36.04. Senior Grace Paiement finished second for Windham with a time of 1:45.76 In the slalom, Windham finished 17th; Paiement finished first for Windham with a 1:36.83 time. Sophomore Katelyn Cotter finished second for Windham with a 2:08.33 time.

Wrestling

In the state meet at Sanford High School on Saturday, Feb. 18, the Windham/Westbrook/Gray New-Gloucester Wolfpack finished in fifth place. Windham Sophomore Ayden Cofone won in the 120-weight class. In the 170-weight class Westbrook junior Gavin Tanner finished second. Windham senior Scott Ingalls finished third in the 182-weight class. <

WYBA crowns back-to-back champions in Southern Maine Hoops League

By Matt Pascarella

The Windham Youth Basketball Association’s (WYBA) fourth-grade boys and eighth-grade girls travel teams both made it to the Southern Maine Hoops League Championship played at The Maine Basketball Academy in Portland on Friday, Feb. 10 and didn’t go home disappointed.

Windham’s eighth-grade girls’ team came from behind to surpass Gardiner in the second half and won, 25-23, in a thriller. And once the Windham fourth-grade boys’ squad grabbed the lead from TGK Athletics Saco in their title game, they held on to win the championship, 22-13.

Windham fourth-grader Kody Freese holds onto the ball
as he turns toward the hoop in the Southern Maine Hoops
League Championship Game at The Maine Basketball
Academy in Portland on Friday, Feb. 10.
PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA

Eighth Grade

Windham began with intensity, but had a slow start and Gardiner took a big lead in the first half. Windham grabbed rebounds and fought, as they worked to gain on Gardiner. Gardiner led 13-10 midway through.

In the second half, Windham closed the gap and tied the game at 15. From then on, it was a very close game. Windham tied the game at 20. Denali Momot sunk a three-pointer to give Windham a one-point lead.

Momot said she tried not to get too excited as she knew the game wasn’t over until the buzzer. It felt great to get in the lead with so little time left.

Momot is proud of everyone on the team for not giving up; they worked hard all season, and this is well deserved. It feels great to be champions and Coach Ben played a big role in helping them get there.

With the clock winding down, Isabella Vassoler made the game-winning basket.

“I was so nervous,” said Vassoler. “I thought I was going to miss it, that was very scary for me.”

Vassoler said it was defense and team attitude that enabled them to come back and win it all. She said passing went well, fewer turnovers, less fouling. She’s excited to be champions.

WYBA eighth-grade girls’ Coach Ben Delewski said they did not have an easy path to get here, but Windham played a lot of strong teams in the playoffs and got past them all. Delewski said they were able to win because of defense, grit and rebounds.

Fourth Grade

"It was just a full team effort,” said WYBA fourth-grade boys’ coach Joe McLean. “They ran through the offense well and set good screens, good cuts – they really have gelled throughout the year. They did an amazing job on defense and held TGK to 5 points in the second half.”

Windham defense kept TGK Athletics scoreless. Windham grabbed rebounds and the game was close in the first half. Windham had great hustle. After being fouled, Kody Freese edged Windham ahead. At halftime, Windham remained ahead, 11-8.

There was no lack of intensity in the second half. TGK Athletics tightened the game, but Windham did not let up until that final buzzer. Windham continued to expand their lead. With 50 seconds left, Windham led by 6; TGK Athletics was unable to catch up.

“It feels really good,” said Joel Delewski. “It took a lot of effort and people working really hard. Our defense won us the game because our offense at times wasn’t the best. I’m really glad we got here.” <

WHS girls’ basketball ends regular season with intensity

By Matt Pascarella

It was Senior and Youth Basketball Night on Thursday, Feb. 9 when the varsity and junior varsity girls’ basketball teams played their final regular season games against Cheverus. Both teams kept it close with the Stags but lost momentum in the second half. The effort was there, but shots weren’t falling. Varsity lost 44-32 and JV fell 36-33.

Windham senior Elizabeth Levesque moves toward the
basket during the final varsity girls' basketball game of the
regular season against Cheverus on Thursday, Feb. 9 at
Windham High School. PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA   

Seniors Natalie Adams, Chloe Fitts and Hailey Jenness from the cheerleading squad and Elizabeth Levesque, Abbey Thornton, Sarah Bell, and Kylie Garrison from the varsity team were presented with a small gift as a thank you for their dedication to Windham Athletics throughout their high school careers.

Garrison received the Windham Youth Basketball Little Eyes Upon You Award presented by Maine Optometry. This award goes to a senior that demonstrates commitment to the youth in their community.

“I wasn’t expecting it, so it was kind of a nice surprise,” said Garrison. “I’ve always enjoy working with them.”

Garrison said when she helped out during camps it was fun to see the kids and remember when she was in their spot and now it’s come full circle.

Varsity

Windham started slow, but defense slowed the start for Cheverus too and the game was close going into the second quarter.

Windham fought hard for the ball and took multiple shots at the basket. Thornton sunk a three-pointer. After being fouled, Windham freshman Brianna Duarte sunk three consecutive free throws. It was 16-15, Cheverus leading at the half.

“I thought we battled pretty well the first half,” said Windham varsity girls’ basketball coach Brody Artes. “We went on a bit of a scoring drought in the third quarter, but we had a lot of determination and a lot of grit. We made a little push at the end, but it was too much to overcome against a really good team.”

Cheverus took the lead in the second half. Windham closed the gap some, but Cheverus’ lead only grew in the fourth quarter.

Artes said the team needed to rebound a little bit better and box out. They have to keep playing hard and to the best of their abilities and they’ll be fine. He’s had a great year with a great group of kids. The team has a lot of intensity and heart.

“It was really fun; team energy was great,” said Bell. “Everyone was trying their hardest – passing went well, our overall intensity was great. We’ve had a great season and I can’t wait to see what playoffs bring us.”

Garrison said communication went well and they kept their focus going into the game. Although they were unable to pull through, she said the intensity and ability to work as a team was really good. And, she’s excited for playoffs, too.

Junior Varsity

Windham grabbed rebounds, but Cheverus had several turnovers in the first half. Windham took the lead, and Cheverus tied the game at 10. Windham fought hard and kept it close midway through where the Stags led 16-15.

“We wanted to come out and set our tone in terms of good defense,” said Windham JV girls’ basketball coach Gretchen Anderson. “I’m so proud of everyone, they all contributed; that encapsulates our season; they get down and come back and everyone is cheering on the bench. It felt like a win.”

Anderson said running the offense and defensive pressure went well. Windham never backed down and had good leadership.

Freshman Jada Stewart said she was loud on the bench, hyped up teammates and was aggressive. She said the team did well passing but could have rebounded and boxed out more.

Cheverus led in the second half, but a three-pointer from freshman Nealie Morey stole that lead away. The game was really close until the fourth quarter when Cheverus pulled away a little. Morey hit another three. Windham fought until the buzzer.

“We played harder and better than before,” said freshman Chloe Delewski. “Our passing went really well and our spacing leading to that and getting open.”

Delewski said they did a good job on helping out on defense and defending their players. <

WHS boys’ basketball shows improvement against Lewiston

By Matt Pascarella

Windham’s varsity boys’ basketball stepped onto the court against Lewiston at home for the second time this season on Thursday, Feb. 2, which was Senior Night and Windham Youth Basketball Night. Windham turned in a strong effort and kept it close, but Lewiston remained a few points out of reach and won 54-47.

Windham junior Blake McPherson is aggressively first to
reach the ball during a prep basketball game against
Lewiston at Windham High on Thursday, Feb. 2.
PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA 

Windham seniors Owen Combes and Chase Wescott were presented with a small gift as a thank you for their dedication to Windham Athletics throughout their high school careers.

“I’m proud of Chase and Owen and their commitment to the program,” said Windham varsity boys’ basketball coach Chad Pulkkinen. Those are two outstanding kids who are going to be successful at the next level in life and I’m looking forward to seeing what they do in the future.”

Combes received the Windham Youth Basketball Little Eyes Upon You Award presented by Maine Optometry. This award goes to a senior that demonstrates commitment to the youth in their community.

“It meant a lot from the youth,” said Combes. “I know they appreciate me helping them out playing basketball and it was a great to see I’m a good role model on and off the court.”

Right from the start, Windham showed Lewiston they came to play when Eagle defense blocked a shot. Lewiston took a small lead, but soon the game was tied at 16. Windham defense kept the game close. Windham sunk a buzzer beater before the end of the half but trailed 27-22.

In the second half, a lot of Windham players hit three-pointers including Combes, freshman AJ Moody, juniors Blake McPherson and Erik Bowen and sophomore Creighty Dickson. Every time Lewiston pulled away, Windham was right there to remind them this was not their game to walk away with.

Windham had a two to three-point deficit for most of the second half; foul shots gave Lewiston the chance to pull ahead.

“Our effort was there,” said Wescott. “I felt like we battled hard. It all comes down to rebounding and the ball going in the hoop – some shots weren’t falling. Some calls weren’t going our way, but we stayed together through it – that’s all we could do.”

Wescott said Lewiston got too many offensive rebounds. Windham turned the ball over a lot in the first half; and if you take away those, the score might be different.

“We had great effort, great defense. We just got to focus on the bigger things like rebounding and transition defense,” said Combes. “We got their two best players out of the game early and got good shots. The ball just didn’t fall for us tonight; ball movement was there, and our help side defense went really well.”

According to Combes, if Windham stopped Lewiston from getting more offensive rebounds, getting more defensive rebounds and boxing out better, maybe they could have flipped the score.

Windham improved significantly from earlier in the season when Lewiston won 82-67.

“Our guys battled really hard tonight, they did some damage in the paint, but getting back into transition was a focus and the kids battled; rebounding-wise ... today I thought we did a good job. Windham fought hard the second half – we got a lot of really good looks. Sometimes the ball doesn't drop but the guys worked their butt offs to get wide-open shots for us to have a chance.”

Pulkkinen said when you’re down one possession with just 3 minutes left, every time you turn the ball over it’s hard. Lewiston’s a good team and Windham hung in there with them.

He said he was proud of how his guys played their hearts out for Chase and Owen. <

Wolfpack wrestling team racks up wins at Duals meet

By Matt Pascarella

The Windham/Gray-New Gloucester/Westbrook Wolfpack wrestling team headed into the Maine Principals’ Association’s Duals Tournament Team Championship at Cony High School in Augusta on Saturday, Feb. 4 ready to show they could compete with a variety of teams from all over Maine. Each team was guaranteed at least two matches; with a winner’s bracket and consolation bracket.

Wolfpack wrestler Owen Pilsbury works to pin his opponent
on Saturday, Feb. 4 during the Maine Principal's Association
Duals Team Championship at Cony High School in Augusta.
PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA

In the Wolfpack’s first match against Sanford, they fought hard, but lost 51-26. During the consolation match against Mount Blue, the Wolfpack showed their strength and defeated this higher-seeded team, 54-30.

Windham senior Scott Ingalls earned his 100th win in defeating a Sanford opponent. Ingalls was in recovery from a stress fracture in his back, which he was told might not heal and there had been some question if he could get back to wrestling, so the fact that he was able to, made this victory even sweeter.

“It feels really good,” said Ingalls. “It shows I still got it. I can still compete without pain. 100 is another thing to check off.”

Sanford

Westbrook junior Gavin Tanner pinned his opponent in the first round of the 170-weight class.

Ingalls wanted to wrestle smart in the 182-weight class match. He said he got caught early in the beginning but was able to fight out of it and from there he worked the mats and racked up points any way he could. He held his Sanford opponent down, worked the back with late takedowns and secured the 11-5 win.

Ingalls has worked with Wolfpack assistant Coach Nick Buckley since peewee wrestling. Head Wolfpack coach John Nicholas and assistant coach Nick Vogel have been big helps in preparing Ingalls for such an achievement.

“Scott is an amazing hard worker and a great leader,” said Buckley. “He’s a conservative wrestler never putting himself in bad positions. His defense is superb making it hard to score on him; mix in his willingness to always keep learning makes him a powerhouse wrestler.”

Ingalls said he would like to thank his family; to look up in the stands and see someone rooting for him means a lot.

Gray-New Gloucester teammate senior Brody Simpson was not surprised by Ingalls’ 100th win. He said Ingalls is a great teammate, captain and someone who leads by example.

In the 285-weight class, Windham junior Griffin Moreau pinned his opponent in the first round.

“We knew Sanford was going to be tough. We battled them hard right till the end. We needed a couple of things to fall our way and unfortunately, they didn’t, but the kids wrestled really hard,” said Nicholas.

Mount Blue

Windham junior Chris Harvey pinned his opponent in the 160-weight class.

Ingalls picked up win 101 in the 195-weight class when he pinned Mount Blue in the second round.

Windham freshman Junius Pope won in the 220-weight class in the first round.

In the 120-weight class Windham sophomore Ayden Cofone got the pin and win with less than a second left in the first round.

“The team did really great,” said Cofone. “I think we started off a little slow against Sanford but picked it up against Mount Blue; we started to hype each other up more.”

In the 132-weight class, Westbrook junior Owen Pilsbury pinned his opponent.

Windham sophomore Addison Leger said the team worked really hard and put everything they had into the meet. She’s hoping they can learn from the day and get better for regionals.

“Mount Blue is the No. 2 seed in our region, and we took it to them pretty good,” said Nicholas. “It shows that our team is better than what our seed was; we wanted to show that today and we did.”

Nicholas said they did a nice job fighting off their backs, were aggressive and did a lot of the things they worked on in practice, showing their learning and willing to try new things. <

WMS boys’ basketball splits games against St. Brigid

By Matt Pascarella

In the final games of the season, Windham eighth and seventh-grade boys’ basketball played St. Brigid Catholic School in Portland and split two high-intensity games on Thursday, Jan. 26.

Windham seventh grader Roni Anthony blows by an
opponent while keeping his eyes on the hoop during a
game against  St. Brigid School on Thursday, Jan. 26.
PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA

Windham’s eighth-grade team came out strong but let up and St. Brigid took the lead. Windham battled back the entire game, but St. Brigid got the 60-39 win.

Windham’s seventh-grade team played a close game separated by only a few points as the clock was close to running out. The Eagles held onto their lead and won 47-46.

Eighth Grade

Windham grabbed rebounds early to drive their score up quickly. Windham’s Boston Krainis hit a three-pointer.

Despite Windham’s strong abilities, St. Brigid jumped out ahead. Windham fought hard to catch their opponent.

St. Brigid grabbed several turnovers. Windham continued to snag rebounds and shooting shots at basket, but they weren’t falling. At the half, Windham trailed 36-23.

“We came out flat and they were ready to go,” said Krainis.

Krainis said if Windham rushed offensively, if they calmed down, they may have been able to turn the score around. Krainis said the season went pretty well.

In the second half, Windham had quick hands and moved the ball. Windham had closed the gap between the teams some, but St. Brigid still had a commanding lead.

Windham worked hard and did their best but wasn’t able to get ahead.

“We got off to a good start, the first four minutes,” said Windham Middle School eighth-grade boys’ coach Adam Manzo. “Then we went through a dry patch where we couldn’t put the ball in the hoop. The other hard part is the second half of the season we haven’t played a lot ... so I think it’s tough playing against competition, we had to knock a little bit of the rust off early.”

Manzo said the team competed from start to finish and he never questioned their effort, which was something they discussed in the beginning. They are a highly coachable group of kids that he enjoyed coaching all season.

Seventh Grade

Windham was aggressive with great offense and defense from the start and grabbed rebounds. Windham held St. Brigid to three baskets in the first quarter.

St. Brigid tied the game at 14 in the second quarter.

Windham continued to move the ball and inched out ahead 18-17 midway through.

“That’s probably the most exciting game we’ve had all season,” said Windham Middle School seventh-grade boys’ coach Craig Dickson. “To have it so close ... I thought we’d have an easier time, but St. Brigid played really tough defense and were double teaming; luckily, we played the eighth-graders two practices in a row; they played full-court press on us the whole time and that was helpful.”

Dickson said Windham did a good job with their full-court run and jump and created chaos on the court that resulted in a bunch of turnovers. Dickson is disappointed the season is over; he wished he had a couple years with the kids. It was a good year though.

The second half was a nail-biter. Windham’s Roni Anthony sank a three and Windham regained the lead. Their solid passing resulted in several baskets.

Intensity remained as the clock wound down and the scores were very close. The game was tied at 41 with two minutes left.

St. Brigid was not able to get by and Windham ended the season with a victory.

“I think we did really good,” said Anthony. “We played as a team, we had good passing, good shooting, good overall.”

Anthony said they played well on defense; on offense they were passing and getting assists. They were excited for this game and pleased with how the season went. <

Windham’s alpine ski team looks sharp gearing up for SMAAs and states

By Matt Pascarella

As Windham’s alpine ski team looks to the end of the season, with the Southern Maine Activities Association (SMAAs) competition and the state competition on the horizon, both Windham boys’ and girls’ teams brought their all in a meet against Falmouth, Gorham, Marshwood, Traip, York, Scarborough, Westbrook, Cheverus and Kennebunk on the giant slalom course on Monday, Jan. 30 at Pleasant Mountain in Bridgton.

Windham senior Cody Taylor finishes his second run on the
Giant Slalom course in a ski meet against Falmouth, Traip,
Gorham, Marshwood, York, Scarborough, Cheverus,and
Kennebunk at Pleasant Mountain on Monday, Jan. 30. 
PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA

A light snow, which proved to be a benefit to the team, fell for most of the race. The Windham boys’ team finished second with a score of 40. The Windham girls’ team finished third with a score of 80.

“The mood with the light snow and packed conditions changed the mood of everybody and they are looser and able to push it a little further,” said Windham alpine ski coach Mark Politano. “They did awesome; they were a lot more comfortable with the conditions today than on Friday [during the slalom race]. Watching them come down and seeing them have a blast, I think the season is going in the right direction.”

Girls

Sophomore Lilly McLean finished first for Windham and seventh overall with a two-run combined time of 1:10.13 minutes.

Senior Grace Paiement finished second for Windham and 14th overall with a combined time of 1:12.76.

Senior Annie Jackson finished third for Windham and 23rd overall with a combined time of 1:16.49.

Coming off an injury, sophomore Katelyn Cotter finished fourth for Windham with a combined time of 1:36.59. She said she took it slower to avoid further injury before states.

Her first run was nice and smooth, but the second run got a little more rutted up and harder.

Cotter said they are all very good at supporting each other. They’re cheering each other on and giving each other feedback. She loves the team and feels good about the SMAAs and states. She thinks Windham will do well.

Boys

Senior Nolan Dries finished first for Windham and eighth overall with a two-run combined total of 1:06.34.

Senior Sam Plummer finished second for Windham and ninth overall with a combined total of 1:07.60.

Senior Cody Taylor finished third for Windham and 12th overall with a combined time of 1:08.99.

“I think we all did really good, the course held up really nice,” said Taylor. “At first it was really nice and firm, there was a nice top coating on it. The headwall got pretty icy pretty quick, but that’s how it goes.”

Taylor said conditions were good, which is not always the case. The team kept it positive which was good for morale; it was a good day.

As he looks to SMMAs and states he thinks they are a solid well-rounded group who could take it all.

Sophomore Preston Stretch came in fourth for Windham and 13th overall with a 1:09.30 time.

Politano said the team is getting their footing down. While they haven’t had time to train giant slalom as much as slalom, for some of the kids, it’s their second or third time on a giant slalom course and they are killing it. <