TOPSHAM

The Mt. Ararat High School girls field hockey team hosted the third annual Drive Out Cancer tournament on Saturday. Teams from Boothbay, Brunswick, Freeport, Lincoln Academy, Lisbon, Maranacook, Morse and Mt. Ararat competed.

The tournament was much more than a tune up for regular season action

It is the brain child of Mt. Ararat coach Krista Chase. When she took over the Eagles program four years ago, she wanted to make sure that her athletes understood how privileged they were.

“I wanted to give the girls a sense of the responsibility that they have to give back to the community that has afforded them so much opportunity,” said Chase.

The first year involved a scrimmage with Morse and quickly expanded to the eight-team format that comprised Saturday’s tournament.

“I have had plenty of help organizing the tournament,” Chase continued.

This year’s tournament was especially poignant when Jocelyn Stover, mother of Mt. Ararat’s Maddy Stover, passed away on the eve of the event after a 10- year battle against breast cancer.

“Jocelyn was instrumental in helping organize this event over the past three years. Her hard work and dedication was an inspiration to us all. She will be missed,” added Chase.

In a pre-game ceremony, Eagles speaker Fiona Hoang introduced several speakers who provided personal testimony of the day’s honorary captains who are battling cancer. Mt. Ararat sophomore Tegan Byrne spoke admiringly about her mom, Leslie Byrne, who is fighting breast cancer. Leslie is an Occupational Therapist for SAD-75.

Sisters Sidney and Courtney Meader from Boothbay told the story of their mom, Michelle Bouchard, who recently ran in the Beach to Beacon 10K. Kayleigh Temple chronicled Suzie Satterfield’s battle. Suzie has two children in the SAD-75 school system and among other duties is a substitute nurse at Mt.. Ararat. Katie Trebilcock related the tales of Jack Crommet, and Chase’s step-father David Hammond, a long time teacher within the SAD-75 system. Madeline Svetin had the difficult task of honoring Jocelyn Stover and she did so beautifully.

However, it was Ronald Bonsaint and Willow Guimareas who stole the show. Ronald, or RJ, sporting some super cool looking shades, is the little brother of Lisbon player Courtney Bonsaint. Ronald was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia a year ago. After a year of treatment he is on the road to recovery.

Willow Guimaraes is a 6- year old who was diagnosed with leukemia two years ago. She is the daughter of Annie Chang, the school nurse at Mt. Ararat. Willow has a sparkle in her eye and an exuberant personality that commands the stage in whatever activity she is participating in.

After the ceremony, the teams formed a circle at midfield and released hundreds of balloons into the air in remembrance of people who have battled cancer, followed by a group picture.

There was plenty of action on the field as the teams participated in multiple 25-minute scrimmages in anticipation of the opening games, which are set for later this week. However, between games the athletes were still able to share their thoughts about what the tournament meant to them.

Maya Bradbury of Freeport said, “The balloon release is a chance for our team to come together and show support for one another and for the various ways cancer has affected everyone.”

Cancer hasn’t had a direct effect on Morse’s Madeline Skroski, but she knows many people who it has affected. “It feels good for our team to help raise money to fight against a disease that hurts so many.”

Teammate Leah Totman echoed Skroski’s feelings. “I am just really happy to be able to participate in something that can do so much good for the community.”

For Morse’s Sophie Wilson, “The tournament represents the opportunity to build a community and a support network for that community.”

Lisbon’s Morgan Fenderson “believes that this tournament represents hope for the children who are affected, for survivors, for those undergoing chemo. Our team includes a family (Ronald Bonsaint) that has been affected by cancer. The tournament represents the hope for a better tomorrow and to hopefully find a cure.”

Hollie Imperato, one of Brunswick’s captains, lost a younger sister to cancer. To her the tournament “is a great event that everyone can relate to. It is an awesome opportunity to give back to the community.”

Anna Rider, another Brunswick captain, points out that “the event is great way for all the schools to come together, to forget about team rivalries and support the community and the cancer victims.”

Johnny Folsom, the third Dragon captain, explained, “Everyone has been affected by cancer one way or another. It’s great to see everyone come and support the fight against cancer”

According to Trebilcock, “This is the fourth year of participating. The tournament really means the world to me. It is a great way to come together and work really hard, on and off the field, to raise money to fight cancer.

It was a beautiful day, a festive atmosphere, and everyone went home feeling good about helping their community.

The event raised more than $12,000 that will be donated to the Maine Children’s Cancer Program.