Lisbon head coach Julie Petrie reacts following a reversed call by the referee with just over ten seconds left in a game against Mt. Abram in December 2017. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal file photo

After eight years leading the varsity girls basketball program at Lisbon High School, Julie Petrie is sliding over into the same position at Mt. Ararat High School in Topsham, where she is a Health and Physical Education teacher.

Petrie said the change “helps cut down the travel time and more convenient to be able to spend more time with my husband and twin daughters, and a new challenge and opportunity to grow as a coach.”

Petrie spent 11 years with the Greyhounds, including the least eight as head coach. Lisbon made the playoffs twice during her head-coaching tenure, including a Class C West postseason berth in 2012 and a Class B South berth in 2017.

“Obviously every team wants to win as many games as possible and compete deep into the playoffs,” Petrie said. “Being a small school competing at the Class B level has presented challenges.”

She takes over an Eagles program that made it into the Class A South playoffs last year, their first postseason berth since 2015. The position opened up following former coach Andy Morris’ resignation.

“We are excited to have Coach Petrie leading our girls basketball program. Julie’s combination of experience, enthusiasm and passion for basketball are characteristics that the girls and I both value tremendously,” Mt. Ararat Athletic Director Geoff Godo said in a press release announcing the hire. “She has consistently demonstrated an ability to effectively coach at high levels and she makes great positive connections with her players, making her a terrific candidate for this position.”

Petrie, who will continue to coach the field hockey team at Lisbon — which won a state championship in 2012 — called the move “bittersweet” and said she had “lots of great memories in Lisbon.”

“I wasn’t anticipating a change until an opportunity presented itself unexpectedly. It’s never easy leaving a group of athletes you have known for many many years. They know I care about them and want them to succeed in everything they do,” she said. “Lisbon is where I began my basketball coaching and teaching career fresh out of college so it will always be near and dear to my heart. There has been lots of great memories with that program, town and the people in it. I am fortunate to continue to lead the girls field hockey program and maintain those connections.”

Julie Petrie is the new varsity girls basketball coach at Mt. Ararat. Submitted photo courtesy of Mt. Ararat Athletics