DIRIGO COUGARS
Coach: Chandler Redmond (first year)
Conference: MVC; Class: C
Last year’s results: 5-4-1
Returning athletes: Senior — Austin Adams; Juniors — Eli Lindus, John Lane.
Key loss: Wyatt Smith (third at Class C state championship in 2021).
Promising newcomers: Juniors — Hayden Beckler, Carson Redmond.
Season outlook: Redmond, a 2019 Dirigo graduate, said he didn’t know what to expect for roster numbers when he took the job, but he’s happy a few new players came out for the team. He noted that a few of the players have already improved since the start of preseason despite never playing golf before. Redmond isn’t sure of how the Cougars will do in the MVC this season, but he’s hopeful the team will do well.

EDWARD LITTLE RED EDDIES
Coach: Mat Mallett (first year)
Conference: KVAC; Class: A
Returning athletes: Seniors — Gage Ducharme, Gavin Levesque; Juniors — Connor Turcotte, Brayden Bashaw, Sophia Bourgoin, Brooks Hefty; Sophomores — TJ Kramarz, Joey Samson, Dexter Morin, Conner Dufour.
Promising newcomers: Senior — Brody Keefe; Junior — Tyler Turcotte; Freshmen — Isaac Jalbert, Cole Levesque.
Season outlook: Edward Little’s lineup is solid from top to bottom, which is going to push the team competitiveness to the next level, according to first-year coach Mat Mallett. Any one of the two-through-nine position players can go toe-to-toe with the top player, which Mallett said makes this group a ton of fun. He added, the athletes all support one another while also wanting to go out there and beat each other in practice. Mallett said the team has a really good mix of personalities and talent.

GRAY-NEW GLOUCESTER PATRIOTS
Coach: Wayne Martin (fourth year)
Conference: WMC; Class: B
Last year’s results: 8-3
Returning athletes: Seniors — Ian Libby, Jack Hardiman, Cody Roy; Juniors — Zach Stone, Zach Pelletier.
Key losses: Anthony Prescott, Aubray Lincoln, Reid Foreman.
Promising newcomers: Juniors — Jake Maschino, Marco Profenno.
Season outlook: Gray-New Gloucester has a mix of young and experienced golfers, with strong leaders who will pave the way for younger golfers to succeed, according to Martin. This year’s captains — Libby, Hardiman, and Roy — are eager to prove that Gray-New Gloucester belongs in such a competitive conference in the WMC. Every regular season match will be a test for our squad, said Martin, who added that the season goals are to play with the mindset of improving every day and to progress and give themselves a chance at the state qualifier.

LEAVITT HORNETS
Coach: Harry Haylock (19th year)
Conference: KVAC; Class: B
Last year’s results: 9-0, KVAC champions, second at Class B state championship.
Returning athletes: Seniors — Billy Visconti, Aidan Lind; Junior — AJ Davis; Sophomores — Jade Haylock, Alexis McCormick.
Key loss: Ruby Haylock (Two-time girls state champion, four-time Sun Journal Player of the Year).
Season outlook: Harry Haylock said this team will have a different heartbeat without Ruby Haylock’s leadership. The Hornets will lean on Jade Haylock, Visconti and McCormick to lead in scoring. Haylock and McCormick played in many competitive golf tournaments in the state this summer and are ready to carry the workload. Davis and Lind will be expected to step up by providing the fourth team score. The Hornets hope to enjoy another fun and competitive season.

LEWISTON BLUE DEVILS
Coach: Tom Leblond (10th year)
Conference: KVAC; Class: A
Returning athletes: Juniors — Dylan Blue, Ethan Blue, Avery Cox; Sophomores — Ben Junkins, Aiden St. George, Charlie Foster, Will Routhier.
Key loss: Sam Courtemanche.
Season outlook: The Blue Devils have all but Sam Courtemanche back from last year’s squad. Coach Tom Leblond said the players will concentrate on being more consistent and dedicated to becoming more accomplished golfers as the season progresses. All of the players have posted some good scores so far this season, but will need to follow those up with shooting lower scores in matches.

MONMOUTH MUSTANGS
Coach: Don Flanagan (sixth year)
Conference: MVC; Class: C
Last year’s results: 11-2, second in MVC, ninth in Class C state championship.
Returning athletes: Senior — Kyle Clavet; Juniors — Carter O’Connell, Riley Inch, Ryan Glidden, Reese Beaudoin; Sophomores — Dante Burlingame, McCormack Wheaton.
Key losses: Averi Beaudoin (MVC Girls Player of the Year), Mia Luce (MVC girls all-conference team).
Promising newcomers: Seniors — Isaac Fortin, Grace Levesque; Sophomore — Ava Parquette; Freshmen — Addison Beaudoin, Maeve Burgess.
Season outlook: Monmouth is looking for another strong finish in the MVC again this fall and a sixth straight run to the state team championship event. Don Flanagan said Clavet, O’Connell, Inch and Reese Beaudoin are all returning varsity players and will be looked upon to carry most of the weight. There is some heated competition for the final two varsity spots and Fortin looks like the early favorite to secure one of them, Flanagan added. Levesque, Glidden, Addison Beaudoin and Burgess all will likely see some varsity time and keep things competitive for those final two varsity spots while also adding depth to the program.

MT. ABRAM ROADRUNNERS
Coach: Scott Hoisington (first year)
Conference: MVC; Class: C
Last year’s results: 1-9-1
Returning athletes: Junior — Ethan Sniadecki; Sophomore — Laural Sleeper.
Key loss: Ben Debiase.
Promising newcomers: Juniors — Randi White, Alyssa Sniadecki; Freshmen — Elijah Sniadecki, Trevor Nichols.
Season outlook: Mt. Abram is young and inexperienced, but the athletes have an excellent attitude to learning and enjoying the game, first-year coach Scott Hoisington said. Hoisington expects as the season progresses that the team will become more competitive in its matches. Sleeper has been practicing and competing throughout the summer and has a possibility of qualifying for the state championship at the end of the season. Hoisington added that the team is full of enthusiasm and eager to take on the challenges the season will bring.

MT. BLUE COUGARS
Coach: Mark Cyr (13th year)
Conference: KVAC; Class: A
Last year’s results: 2-6
Returning athletes: Seniors — Connor Hufnagel, Zak Koban, Eli Guerette; Junior — Jack Cramer.
Key losses: John Knapp (Last year’s No. 1 player), Ryker Samson (Last year’s No. 2 player).
Promising newcomers: Senior — Andrew Sutton; Junior — Kasey Burgess; Freshman — Nick Bell.
Season outlook: Mt. Blue is looking for more victories than last year, and hopefully go even deeper into the playoffs after the Cougars advanced to the second round of last year’s KVAC shootout. This is a very nice young group of athletes and they are a pleasure to coach, Mark Cyr said. Cyr noted that each player is extremely coachable in the respect that if you give them suggestions on how they can improve their game, they listen and work very hard to implement those concepts.

MOUNTAIN VALLEY FALCONS
Coach: Adam Curato (10th year)
Conference: MVC; Class: C
Last year’s results: 1-7
Returning athletes: Juniors — River Durant, Ransom Merrill, Emmet Logsdon, Aiden Arsenault.
Key losses: Egan Roy (MVC Honorable Mention), Ian Cameron (MVC Honorable Mention), Logan Cote, Xavier Surrette.
Promising newcomers: Juniors — Colby Frisbee, David Packard.
Season outlook: Mountain Valley lost four seniors that contributed a lot to the program. This year, Durant is the only golfer that has played in a match while the others have only played in exhibition competition. Adam Curato is currently working with the athletes on the mechanics of swinging the club. The matches this year will provide the team with much-needed experience with understanding the rules and etiquette of golf. The golfers are a fun bunch to be around and are willing to learn and be taught the game, according to Curato.

OAK HILL RAIDERS
Coach: Ed Zuis (first year)
Conference: MVC; Class: C
Last year’s results: 6-4
Returning athletes: Seniors — Jamison Bergeron, Xavier Hood; Junior — Austin Voye; Sophomore — Cody Shockley.
Key loss: Austin Theriault.
Promising newcomers: Sophomore — Mia Poussard; Freshmen — Hunter Wing, Jack Kramarz, Conlen Redmond.
Season outlook: The four returners give the Raiders a good chance to compete in most matches this season. The two seniors will most likely fill the top two positions, but all four of the returning golfers have the ability to put together a good round. The newcomers will be competing for the fifth and sixth position. Coach Ed Zuis is looking for all of the players to keep getting better throughout the season.

OXFORD HILLS VIKINGS
Coach: Jon Ladd (first year)
Conference: KVAC; Class: A
Returning athlete: Senior —Anabelle Steeves.
Promising newcomers: Junior — Myles Wooster; Sophomore — Dustin Farrington; Freshmen — Garrett Wooster, Maddix Holden.
Season outlook: Oxford Hills only has one player with high school match experience, in Anabelle Steeves, and she is a good player who is only going to get better, according to coach Jon Ladd. The newcomers have plenty of potential and have shown a willingness to learn and grow. Ladd believes there will be significant growth from all of the players as the season progresses.

POLAND KNIGHTS
Coach: Greggory Rose (eighth year)
Conference: WMC; Class: B
Last year’s record: 3-7
Returning athletes: Senior — Nick Garey, Hunter Brackett, Hayden Christner; Juniors — Alerick Sands, Aidan Webb.
Promising newcomer: Freshman — Alex Mains.
Season outlook: The Knights have high aspirations this season after returning five players from last year’s team. Christner, Brackett and Garey have improved their game and will need to take on the leadership role this year, Rose said. The other returners will have to play to their potential in order for the Knight to have a successful season. Mains has the ability to help the Knights and fill the remaining spot on the varsity roster.

RANGELEY LAKERS
Coach: Kevin Banfield (First year)
Conference: East-West; Class: C
Returning athletes: Seniors — Trevor Dolbier, Izzabella Whittier; Sophomore — Jack Botcher.
Season outlook: New coach Kevin Banfield expects all three Lakers to qualify for the individual Class C championship. Trevor Dolbier finished eighth in last year’s state tournament. Banfield said Whittier and Botcher have been working on their games this summer to prepare for the upcoming season.

SPRUCE MOUNTAIN PHOENIX
Coach: Dianne Fenlason (ninth year)
Conference: MVC; Class: C
Last year’s results: 8-2, MVC champions, eighth at Class C state championship.
Returning athletes: Seniors — Tyler Spugnardi, Gavin Hutton; Junior — Brenden Veilleux; Sophomores — Alex Grimaldi, Daxtyn Poisson, Ben Burgess, Alex Ladd.
Key loss: Matthew Fenlason (MVC first team, eighth at Class C state championship)
Promising newcomer: Junior — Tyler Guay.
Season outlook: Spruce Mountain should have a competitive season, helped by many younger players who saw a great deal of competition last season and experienced playoff contention golf, according to Fenlason. The Phoenix will have strong leadership in Spugnardi and Grimaldi. According to Fenlason, as a whole, the conference seems to have fewer players, but the returning golfers should prove to be strong competitors.

ST. DOMINIC SAINTS
Coach: Chris Whitney (fifth year)
Conference: WMC; Class: C
Last year’s results: 5-3, Class C state runners-up
Returning athletes: Senior — Miles Frenette; Juniors — Garrett Kendall, Ethan Pelletier; Sophomore — Mason Laflamme.
Key losses: Nick Ferrence (seventh at Class C state championships), Caleb Phillips.
Promising newcomers: Freshman — Joe Adams.
Season outlook: After piling up state runner-up finishes, this group would really like to get the program over the hump. The athletes made the effort to improve over the summer, and it has shown in preseason, according to Whitney. All of the golfers that will be the Saints’ lineup have conference and state championship experience. Frenette is a senior that will be looking to help lead the Saints to a fourth state championship appearance. Whitney looks for Frenette to pair with Kendall as the leaders. Kendall is a junior that really stepped his game up over the summer and after being overshadowed by the upperclassmen his first two seasons, according to Whitney, who thinks this season could be a big season for Kendall. Along with Laflamme and Pelletier, the Saints have solid depth.

WINTHROP RAMBLERS
Coach: Lonney Steeves (12th year)
Conference: MVC; Class: C
Last year’s results: 7-4, third at MVC championship.
Returning athletes: Jayce Corgan, Colton Baird, Chris Reed, Reilly Fyfe, Logan Harrison.
Key losses: Cam Hurd (MVC first team), Nathan Hachey (MVC second team).
Season outlook: Steeves said it will be an exciting year with golfers who played in limited roles last year stepping up to play in counting matches this season. Winthrop will look to grow, with one senior and four sophomores. The goal is to get better so at end of the season the team has a chance to qualify for the conference championship and the state championship.