There were plenty of memorable accomplishments achieved by athletes, coaches and teams from across Maine during 2018.
Here, we are sharing with you some of the most inspirational Maine sports stories to appear in the BDN during the last year.
Turning tragedy into triumph
The 2018 season began with tragedy for the University of Maine football team. Incoming freshman Darius Minor collapsed and died during a July 25 workout. The Black Bears rallied around their fallen teammate and dedicated the season in his memory.
External expectations were low for UMaine. In their preseason poll, Colonial Athletic Association coaches picked the Black Bears to finish eighth. Undaunted, UMaine made an unprecedented run.
Coach Joe Harasymiak’s team posted a 10-4 record and advanced to the Football Championship Subdivision national semifinals for the first time in school history. Along the way, the Black Bears knocked off seven nationally-ranked opponents and played nine road games.
UMaine opened the season by beating archrival New Hampshire, then went on the road and knocked off Football Bowl Subdivision entry Western Kentucky. The Black Bears suffered losses at Central Michigan (FBS), Yale and William & Mary along the way, but rebounded to register six straight victories.
UMaine, the No. 7 national seed, beat Jacksonville State for its first-ever home postseason win, then went to Ogden, Utah, and ousted Weber State in the quarterfinals. The best season in UMaine history ended with a disappointing loss at Eastern Washington, leaving the Black Bears one win shy of a spot in the national championship game but motivated to make another memorable run in 2019.
— Pete Warner, BDN
A celebration on the lake
A lingering aspect of any state championship run in small-town Maine, particularly in basketball, is the pride that engulfs the community. Players become local legends and, with the gold ball, are prized guests at events around town for months on end.
The Moosehead Lake region had not celebrated a state title in boys basketball since 1954, when Maine Basketball Hall of Fame guard Wayne Champeon led Greenville High School to the Class M crown.
Coach Bill Foley’s 2018 club had high expectations after reaching the state final a year earlier, with a senior-laden lineup featuring Nick Foley (the coach’s son), Devin Boone, Connor DiAngelo, Evan Bjork and Noah Pratt poised to pursue that final, championship step.
Two straight losses to open the season served as a wake-up call as cold as the harsh winter wind off the big lake, but the Lakers quickly regrouped and never lost again.
And just before their state final against Woodland, Champeon and two other members of the ’54 team shared words of wisdom with the 2018 Lakers. They worked, as the Lakers took an 11-0 lead and held on for a 47-46 victory.
“(They) gave us a talk about how it’s going to be something that we’re going to remember for the rest of our lives, and it’s just that,” Nick Foley said. “This means so much to ourselves and the community. It’s something to be proud of together.”
— Ernie Clark, BDN
Devotion to the roads
Tracy Guerrette ran all the time while growing up in northernmost Maine, but usually while playing soccer or basketball, where sprinting is the more required form of exercise.
But after leading Wisdom High School to the 1998 Class D state championship in girls basketball and going on to play at the Division I level at the University of Maine, the Saint Agatha native discovered that running itself had become a passion.
And not just sprinting, but long distances.
Now living in Bangor and working as the director of faith formation at St. Paul the Apostle Parish, Guerrette has emerged among the top distance runners in the state.
Last April she braved heavy rain, temperatures in the 30s and a constant headwind with gusts up to 30 mph to emerge as the top Maine women’s finisher and place 25th overall among 13,391 female entrants in the Boston Marathon with a personal-best time for the 26.2-mile distance of 2 hours, 54 minutes, 2 seconds.
“When I got to the finish line, I couldn’t talk,” said Guerrette, who is pursuing a berth in the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials. “My face was frozen in a smiling position — which was good.”
— Ernie Clark, BDN
Picking up the pieces
The UMaine women’s basketball team went into the 2017-2018 season looking to pick up the pieces. Coach Richard Barron had stepped down due to medical issues, leaving former Black Bear Amy Vachon in charge.
The Black Bears had experienced unexpected and significant personnel losses. In addition to the graduations of star guard Sigi Koizar and backup Sheraton Jones, five other players transferred.
That left a group consisting of only one senior non-starter, three juniors, four sophomores and five freshmen. Junior Tanesha Sutton and impactful sophomores Blanca Millan, Fanny Wadling and Julie Brosseau formed the nucleus, but there were many question marks.
Vachon brought back Parise Rossignol of Van Buren a year after she had left the program. Re-energized, she emerged as a gritty defender and 3-point threat.
Sutton exhibited enhanced confidence and productivity and Millan displayed all-conference skills.
The Black Bears received more 3-point potency from Julie Brosseau and witnessed the continued improvement of Wadling. Freshman Dor Saar capably filled the void left by Koizar and ran the offense with poise and senior Kirsten Johnson became a valuable post presence off the bench.
Vachon’s revamped team gelled and post a 23-10 record, including 12-2 at home. UMaine won the America East championship at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor and earned the program’s first trip to the NCAA tournament since 2004.
Despite attrition and inexperience, Vachon guided UMaine to a memorable season.
— Pete Warner, BDN