A great winter for local sports

RIVER VALLEY -- The opportunity to compete was the name of the game for teams who represented both Mountain Valley and Dirigo with respect and dignity. The ides of March have turned and a majority of these same student-athletes are getting prepared to play on spring sports teams.

A review of some winter highlights from the respective schools.

On the ski slopes, the Falcon boys' alpine team won the Mountain Valley Conference championship, a second MVC crown went to the overall boys' team, which consists of alpine and Nordic teams. Nick Woods was the Class B Skimeister State Champ. A Skimeister is a skier who competes in both alpine (slalom and giant slalom) and Nordic (freestyle and classical) events.

“It is truly a tremendous accomplishment to win this championship," said MV Athletic Director John Bernard.

“Nathan Nicols qualified for the Eastern High School alpine championships at Cannon Mountain (NH) as a member of the Maine team.”

The MV cheering team finished second to Lisbon in the MVC championship, sixth in Western Maine Class B to qualify for the states.

“We had another incredible winter season,” said Dirigo Athletic Director Charlie Swan. “It's a long season, but rewarding. A major highlight was the girls' ski team finishing third at MVC with only three girls -- Addie Fuller, Silvia Lutick, and Krystal Blood -– it was a very accomplished season.

Both the Falcon and Cougar boys' and girls' basketball teams had solid seasons and qualified for the tournament. A trio made an early exit. However, the Dirigo boys' team's accomplishments included being the MVC North representative, first in the Heal Points in Western "C", (third straight) Western Maine champions, and the state runners up.

The success on the wrestling mats continued as Mountain Valley repeated as Class B regional champion and used the momentum to win their third state championship since 1995. The Falcons scored 168 points and had five individual state champions -- (three time) Ryan Burgess, (two time) Josh Thornton, Josh Allen, Christian Durland and Ryan Glover.

The Dirigo wrestlers had a shot at the state meet, finishing eight points behind the champion Foxcroft team.

Sophomore DJ Webber won a state title and the Cougars "kissed their sister" by winning the Sportsmanship Award.

Turning to spring, practices for pitchers and catchers for baseball and softball started Monday. All teams start their tryouts beginning next on Monday.

A hot item on the table for MV this spring is the addition of Buckfield students on the boys' and girls' lacrosse teams.

“This is an opportunity that athletes from Buckfield have never had, and I think they will enjoy the sport greatly,” said Bernard.

Dirigo has a new battery with Ryan Palmer as varsity baseball coach and Scott Underhill as the junior varsity coach.