Another spring high school sports season is in the books, with three teams representing the area in Saturday’s high school state championships.

For the Freeport baseball team and the Brunswick boys lacrosse squad, the ending didn’t represent the amazing runs to the title games, both taking far different routes to the final.

For the Richmond softball squad, win No. 70 in a row was sweet, along with the team’s fourth consecutive State Class D title.

Let’s take a look back at the season that was.

Championships

When Rick Coughlin announced the he was stepping down prior to the Richmond softball season, some Bobcat fans might have panicked. They really didn’t need to.

First-year coach Tony Martin took over the loaded squad, and all that followed was another perfect season and another trophy for the ever-growing trophy case inside Richmond High School.

As with most teams that find success, coaches look to the seniors. Kelsea Anair, Kalah Patterson and Autumn Acord finished their careers undefeated in softball, a perfect 70-0! And, the supporting cast, players like Meranda Martin, Sydney Tilton, Emily Douin, Camryn Hurley and Caitlin Kendrick are set to return for the 2017 season, giving the Bobcats another chance to run the table.

The feel-good story of the 2016 spring season had to be the Freeport baseball team.

Three years ago, Bill Ridge decided to depart a pretty good Brunswick squad to take over the reigns of the Falcons, a program that had mostly struggled over the past decade. It had been a long 31 years since this program tasted a postseason victory, much less a run to a state title game.

This year, seniors Jack Davenport, Caleb Rice, Caiden Shea, Ben Humphrey and Brandon Cass put the Falcons on their backs, reeling off seven straight wins to turn a 3-5 start into a 10-5 team to be reckoned with.

Then came the postseason, starting with a 5-1 win over Morse to end three decades of playoff frustration. Next came the upsets — at No. 2 York (7-2), at No. 3 Greely (1-0) and a Class B South regional title win over top-seeded Cape Elizabeth (3- 1) — and suddenly the Falcons were in the State Class B title game at Bangor’s Mansfield Stadium on Saturday.

Things didn’t go as planned, with a talented Old Town squad taking a 12-2 decision in five innings, but the large crowd that showed up in Bangor was proud of their Freeport Falcons.

Freeport, known for great shopping at L.L. Bean, was suddenly a baseball town, and the community got behind the Falcons. It definitely showed.

“It wasn’t even people telling us ‘congratulations!’ It was the ‘thank you’s’ that touched us. Everyone was excited,” said Ridge.

Turning to Brunswick boys lacrosse, here was a Dragons team that quite frankly was vulnerable heading into the 2016 season.

Last year, 16 seniors, talented young men, rolled to the State Class A title, then left for college, leaving a big hole in Don Glover’s program.

But, for those attending any spring event in Brunswick, check out the practice lacrosse field. Rarely is the field vacant, with young children learning the ropes from those wearing the high school Orange and Black.

See, Glover’s program is more than the high school team. It is more than playing the sport for a couple months, turning in your uniform, then moving on to the next phase. To play lacrosse at Brunswick takes commitment, drive and excellence. There is an honor code that comes with playing Brunswick lacrosse, and that is taught early.

This is why Brunswick, with 19 new faces on the roster, competed on Saturday against Scarborough in the State Class A title game at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland.

Yes, talent took the Dragons far, but that drive is what made this year’s Brunswick squad one to watch.

Honors

There were several teams that put together solid seasons this spring.

At Morse, Linda Levesque, along with co-coach Jessica Avery, took a group of Shipbuilders and molded them into a high school lacrosse power.

Hey, it wasn’t pretty, as Morse used in-your-face defense and timely scoring to get it done this year. An 11-1 regular season garnered the No. 1 seed in Class B North, and wins over Oceanside and Gardiner (for a fourth time this year) had the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference champions one win away from a state championship berth.

Yarmouth did put an end to that, taking a 16-7 decision on McMann Field, but the Shipbuilders gave their fans a bunch of thrills this season.

Bob Neron’s Mt. Ararat baseball team had one win in 2015. The young group was determined to do better this season, and the Eagles did.

After an up and down, but competitive 7-9 regular season record, Mt. Ararat found another gear in the playoffs. In a 4-2 win over Oxford Hills, pitcher Garrett Moody pitched a gem, giving the Eagles a win in their first postseason action since the 2009 campaign.

Then came a meeting with second-seeded Edward Little at Auburn Suburban Field. Trailing 4-1 in the sixth, never-give-up Mt. Ararat rose up and tied the game. It came down to a gut-wrenching seventh inning, when the Red Eddies walked off with a 5-4 win, ending the Eagles’ thrilling season.

Here is food for thought. Most of the 2016 Eagles will return in 2017, and the players coming up through the middle school program are likely to help out in the years to come.

“I am so proud of these guys,” said Neron after the hard loss that his team took in a true sportsmanship way. “They fought hard and deserved to be here. The future is bright.”

Staying in Topsham, a fun team to watch was the Mt. Ararat softball team. Facing defending State Class A champion Messalonskee in the Class A South semifinals in Oakland, Mt. Ararat hung tough with the champs. It came down to a fifth-inning home run that provided Messalonskee a narrow 1-0 win.

Again, the future is bright in Mt. Ararat land, as most of the Eagles return to the fold next year.

Over at Lisbon, one of the classy head coaches is Randy Ridley. Here is a guy that bleeds Lisbon day-in and day-out.

It was awesome to see the Greyhounds battling a good Sacopee Valley squad in the Class C South Baseball Regional final at St. Joseph’s College.

Lisbon, which has struggled over the years come playoff time, found something, picking up postseason wins over Carrabec (4-2), No. 3 Madison (3-0) and No. 2 St. Dom’s (4-2).

In the regional final, Lisbon scored five runs in the first inning and seemed on its way to the State Class C title game. But, Sacopee Valley stole victory out of the claws of defeat, scoring three runs in the seventh inning for a 7-6 loss.

It was a tough loss for the Greyhounds. No doubt! But, the core of this year’s team returns in 2017 with only one goal in mind … A state championship!

Lisbon softball also advanced to the Class C South Regional final at St. Joe’s. Terri Tlumac’s squad had an even more improbable run. Going on the road to face No. 3 Carrabec in the quarterfinals, the Greyhounds avenged a 19-5 regular season loss by taking an 8-4 decision.

Then Lisbon traveled to Bethel to take on the talented and second-seeded Telstar Rebels, a squad that handed the Greyhounds a 5-4 setback. Again, the final score was 8-4 in favor of Lisbon.

The run for Lisbon ended against Madison, 12-0, and the Bulldogs went on to capture the State Class C title with a 3-1 win over Bucksport.

Tlumac has a solid nucleus slated to return next season as well.

Tennis anyone!

There were several solid tennis programs this season.

At Brunswick, Rob Manter’s girls were a force to be reckoned with again. The only regular season loss came in a hard-fought 3-2 setback to unbeaten Lewiston, a loss that was quickly avenged less than a week later when Brunswick captured the KVAC title with a 3-2 victory over those same Blue Devils.

Meeting No. 3 produced a third 3-2 decision in the season series, with Lewiston again coming out on top, but Brunswick once again showed why its a yearly power in girls tennis.

The Brunswick boys also had a solid season ended by Lewiston, this a 4-1 semifinal loss.

Over at Morse, Steve Boyce and his Shipbuilder boys put together a superb 10-2 regular season, and a 4-1 win over Freeport had the Shipbuilders in the Class B South semifinals.

The ride ended against defending Class B champion Cape Elizabeth with a 4-1 setback, but Morse again proved that this program is here to stay.

Thinking of Morse tennis, how about Barbara Boyce’s Shipbuilder girls? Many will likely remember the quarterfinal 3-2 loss to York. But, Morse was an impressive 11- 1 this year with, count ’em, 10 5-0 blankings this season.

Mt. Ararat’s Nick Mathieu had come so close to winning the Maine Principals’ Association Schoolboys title in his freshman and sophomore campaigns, coming in second both times.

As a junior, Mathieu wasn’t going to be the best man again, rolling to the title in impressive fashion.

Mathieu looks to return to the Mt. Ararat courts next spring, hoping for both a team title and another Schoolboys championship to celebrate.

Track

How good is Brunswick runner Keenan Welzel?

One could answer that question several ways, from his two-win performance at KVACs, to his dominating state championship victory in the 400-meter run.

Welzel recently competed in the 71st New England Interscholastic Track and Field Championships at Veteran’s Stadium in New Britain, Conn. In the 400 against New England’s best athletes, Welzel finished fifth and broke the 50-second plateau with a time of 49.86. He also ran a leg of the 4 x 400 relay with teammates Isak Carney, Seth White and Jaznel Burns, with the Dragons finishing in 3:33.48, good for 23rd.

Other area tracksters that stood out this spring included long-distance runners Cameron Meier and Katherine Leckbee of Mt. Ararat, Nicholas Harriman of Lisbon, Chandler Vincent of Freeport, Tessa Cassidy of Brunswick and Christopher Walfield of Morse.

Also at New Englands, Meier claimed 19th in the one-mile (4:28.36), Vincent 14th in the two-mile (9:26.38) and Harriman 25th in the two-mile (9:53.29). Leckbee was 22nd in the mile (5:20.43) and Lisbon’s Bree Sautter 24th in the 400 (1:03.34).

Lisbon captured team honors this year, as the Greyhound boys won their 11th consecutive Mountain Valley Conference title, while the girls captured their 10th MVC title in 11 seasons.

Will the 2016 spring season be looked at as one of the best in recent memory? I think so! One thing is for sure, those successes had The Times Record sports staff scrambling to cover all that we could.

That success, as always, is a good thing, don’t you think?

BOB CONN is The Times Record sports editor. He can be reached at bconn@timesrecord.com.