The postseason dash to the finish line began, appropriately, Saturday with the outdoor track state meets.
Where South Portland’s boys stole the show, winning the Class A championship.
Now, the Red Riots, along with Cape Elizabeth, are chasing titles in baseball, softball, tennis and boys’ and girls’ lacrosse.
The best part of the spring sports season promises to continue to produce drama and memories.
Here’s an overview:
Outdoor track
South Portland’s Arnaud Sioho clears a hurdle in the 300 hurdles. Sioho won the event, as well as three others, helping the Red Riots claim the team title. Derek Davis / Portland Press Herald
After capturing the Class A indoor track state title in February, South Portland managed to win it again outdoors Saturday in Saco, but only by the slimmest of margins, as its 79.5 points barely edged out Gorham (79) for the top spot, giving the Red Riots their first championship since 2002.
Junior Arnaud Sioho stole the show, winning the triple jump by breaking South Portland’s Scott Sawyer’s 33-year-old Class A state record in the process (with a top jump of 47 feet, 2 inches, nine inches ahead of the prior benchmark), and also capturing the long jump with a record leap of 23-2.25, eclipsing Cheverus’ Frank Morong, who set the mark three years ago at 23-00.5, and winning the 110 hurdles in 14.7 seconds and the 300 hurdles in 38.67 seconds.
Sioho was coming off a four-win day at the SMAA championships, a meet where he set four school records and established the best marks in Maine this season, but tweaked his right upper leg muscles just a bit.
“I was a little nervous coming into this meet and talked to my coach about it,” Sioho said. “He said it was OK to be nervous, just to come out and embrace it. It was probably because I was seeded first in all four events that I was nervous and thinking something could go wrong.”
Patrick Heffernan placed third in the racewalk (7:58.05). Henry Risch was third in the discus (147-11). Michael Lawlor finished third in the 800 (2:01.09). Alexandy Pierre was fifth in the racewalk (7:59.13). Matt Frey tied for sixth in the pole vault (11-6). Devin Berry finished sixth in the 300 hurdles (41.42) and came in seventh in the 110 hurdles (15.82). Israel Ditanduka finished seventh in the long jump (21-2). Tyler Bryant was seventh in the high jump (5-10). Fischer Petrlik placed eighth in the mile (4:34.81).
The Red Riots’ 4×800 relay team (Max Ross, Nolan I’Aboni, Petrlik and Lawlor) came in sixth (8:39.27). South Portland’s 4×100 relay squad (Gedeao Buanza, Lamed Khelendende, Matthew Berry and Ditanduka) was seventh (44.78).
South Portland’s girls finished with 7.5 points, good for 20th (Scarborough won the title with 101 points). The Red Riots got a fourth-place finish from Makayla Edwards-Burwell in the shot put (33-6.5). Iris Young tied for sixth in the high jump (4-10). Cassandra Porter was eighth in the discus (97-1).
In the Class B girls’ meet, won by Greely with 93 points, Cape Elizabeth (20) tied Gardiner for 15th. The Capers were led by Hadley Mahoney, who was third in the mile (5:10.11) and third in the two-mile (11:34.72). Sloan Gardner came in fourth in the shot put (33-2.25). Emma Young finished seventh in the 800 (2:22.64) and was eighth in the two-mile (11:57.44).
In the Class B boys’ meet, also won by Greely with 104 points, Cape Elizabeth had 3 points and tied Waterville for 20th. The Capers’ points came from Will Fougere, who was sixth in the racewalk (8:29.5).
Tennis
Cape Elizabeth’s girls’ tennis team, ranked fifth in Class B South, got past No. 4 Medomak Valley in the quarterfinal round Tuesday and hosted No. 8 York, which upset No. 1 Cony, in the semifinals Wednesday. If the Capers (8-5) advanced to the regional final Monday in Lewiston, they would take on either No. 2 Yarmouth (10-3) or third-ranked, reigning state champion Greely (8-5). The Class B state final match is next Wednesday in Lewiston.
South Portland, the 11 seed, was beaten, 5-0, by No. 6 Kennebunk in the Class A South preliminary round to wind up 3-10.
On the boys’ side, Cape Elizabeth, ranked fourth in Class B South, dropped a narrow 3-2 decision to No. 5 Greely in Tuesday’s quarterfinals to finish the year 9-4.
South Portland, seeded seventh in Class A South, got past No. 10 Biddeford, 4-1, in the preliminary round, then was eliminated by second-ranked Kennebunk, 4-1, to wind up 8-6.
Baseball
South Portland’s Easton Healy of South Portland slides into third base with an RBI triple during Tuesday’s 6-2 home win over Deering in a Class A South prelim. Derek Davis / Portland Press Herald
On the diamond, reigning state champion South Portland, which boasts almost an entirely new team this spring after a big graduation hit, had advanced to the Class A South quarterfinals at press time. The Red Riots, seeded seventh after a 10-6 campaign, defeated No. 10 Deering, 6-2, Tuesday in the preliminary round.
South Portland fell behind, 1-0, in the top of the first and only a tremendous defensive play from freshman third baseman Jude Charltray, who came in on a dribbler with two outs and the bases loaded and threw out the batter by a step, prevented the deficit from being worse.
“I saw the ball hit the ground and I moved in and stayed down on it and threw it,” said Charltray, whose heroics were just beginning. “I wasn’t thinking about it too much. I just knew I had to make the play.”
“I got the sign and I had to put (the bunt) down and that’s what I did,” said Charltray. “In that situation, I had to score the run however I could. It worked out great in our favor.”
Freshman Brady Main relieved starter Kason Lewis and got a huge strikeout in the top of the sixth with two outs and the tying runs in scoring position. Then, in the bottom half, Easton Healy hit an RBI triple to open it up, Charltray drove in a run with an RBI single, then another run came home on a wild pitch and while Deering pushed a run across in the seventh, it wasn’t enough and South Portland advanced, 6-2.
“Sometimes you have to win ugly,” said longtime Red Riots coach Mike Owens. “It’s not easy in the playoffs. I’m really pleased with our effort.”
South Portland went to No. 2 Falmouth (13-3) for the quarterfinals Thursday. On April 25, the Red Riots lost at home to Falmouth in an error-plagued affair, 7-0. South Portland is 1-2 all-time versus the Navigators in the playoffs, but they captured the most recent encounter, 6-5, in the 2022 semifinal round.
“We’re a good little team and we’re confident,” Charltray said. “We know what we need to do to get it done.”
“We carry the same pride we did last year,” said Healy. “We’re the defending champs and we want to keep it going. Definitely, the future’s bright, but we’re very focused on Falmouth Thursday.”
“I’m really excited for this group to have a playoff run,” added Owens. “I’m excited they can extend it. It’ll be good for us in the long run. Falmouth’s very good. We have Hudson available. Hopefully he throws a good game and gives us a chance. You never know. Hopefully we can continue this.”
Cape Elizabeth, ranked fourth in Class B South after a 10-6 season, hosted No. 12 Fryeburg Academy (8-9) in the quarterfinals Wednesday. The Capers beat the visiting Raiders, 3-1, May 20, and were 3-0 all-time in the teams’ playoff series, with a 7-2 victory in last year’s semifinals the most recent.
The Class A and B South semifinals are Saturday on the fields of the higher seeds. The regional finals are Tuesday of next week, with Class A South playing at the University of Southern Maine in Gorham and Class B South playing at St. Joseph’s College in Standish. The Class A state final is Saturday, June 15 in Augusta. The Class B state game is the same day in Standish.
Softball
South Portland’s softball team earned the No. 4 seed in Class A South after a 12-4 season and earned a bye into Thursday’s quarterfinals, where it hosted No. 5 Portland (13-4). The Red Riots eked out a 6-5 home win over the Bulldogs, May 6. South Portland was just 2-4 in the playoffs all-time versus Portland, with a 2-0 setback in the 2018 preliminary round the most recent.
The Class A South semifinals are Saturday on the fields of the higher seeds. The Class A South Final is Tuesday of next week at the University of Southern Maine in Gorham. The Class A state game is Saturday, June 15 in Auburn.
Cape Elizabeth finished 4-12 and 13th in Class B South, but only 12 teams qualified for the playoffs.
Boys’ lacrosse
Cape Elizabeth’s boys’ lacrosse team, the three-time reigning state champion, finished the regular season 11-3 after a 9-8 home loss to Yarmouth last Wednesday. The Capers earned the No. 2 seed for the Class A state playoffs and will host No. 7 Bangor (11-3) in the quarterfinals Friday. The teams didn’t play this year and have no playoff history.
South Portland, ranked ninth after closing the regular season with a 16-15 loss at Deering (despite seven goals from Beckett Mehlhorn), had to go to No. 8 Hampden Academy for a preliminary round game Tuesday, but the trip was worth it, as the Red Riots prevailed, 18-7, behind Mehlhorn’s nine goals. Bryce Gordon and Ian House added three apiece. South Portland (8-7) goes to No. 1 Falmouth (13-1) for a quarterfinal Saturday at 1 p.m. The Red Riots lost the regular season meeting, 16-3, May 22 at Falmouth. South Portland won the only prior playoff encounter, an 8-4 upset victory in last year’s semifinals.
The state semifinals are Tuesday of next week at a location to be announced. The Class A state game will be held Friday, June 14 at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland.
Girls’ lacrosse
The girls’ lacrosse season has come to an end for Cape Elizabeth and South Portland.
The Capers, ranked 11th in Class A after an 11-10 loss at York in the regular season finale, lost a narrow 12-9 decision at No. 6 Cheverus in Tuesday’s preliminary round to wind up 6-9.
The Red Riots, seeded 12th in Class A after a 16-3 win at Westbrook in the regular season finale, were beaten by No. 5 Windham, 18-3, to finish 7-8. Abigail Thayer scored twice in the loss.
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