(Ed. Note: The basketball season was recapped last week)

The 2019-20 winter sports season saw local athletes and teams once again turn heads as they fought their way to the top of the heap.

Scarborough’s Jarett Flaker won multiple events in helping the Red Storm win another Class A state title last month. File photos.

Scarborough’s boys’ indoor track team is still the cream of the crop in Class A (see below). The Red Storm girls’ squad, along with the South Portland girls, also produced individual champions at the Class A state meet.

Cape Elizabeth’s Keegan McKenney won a pair of individual swim titles this season.

In the pool, Cape Elizabeth, Scarborough and South Portland all had top performances on the big stage in February (see below).

Cape Elizabeth/Waynflete/South Portland’s girls’ hockey team celebrated a regional title last month.

On the ice, Forecaster Country saw some of the top teams in the state make runs at the title (see below).

The snow was kind to local athletes as well, as Cape Elizabeth’s boys’ Alpine team featured a pair of stars who know each other well (see below).

Before we take a deep breath and move on to spring sports, here’s one last look at the best of the best this winter:

State champions

Team
Scarborough Red Storm, boys’ indoor track, Class A

Individual

Swimming
Caroline Mahoney, Cape Elizabeth, Class B girls’ 50 freestyle
Caroline Mahoney, Cape Elizabeth, Class B girls’ 100 freestyle
Keegan McKenney, Cape Elizabeth, Class B boys’ 200 freestyle
Keegan McKenney, Cape Elizabeth, Class B boys’ 500 freestyle
Ethan Smith, Cape Elizabeth, Class B boys’ 50 freestyle
Ethan Smith, Cape Elizabeth, Class B boys’ 100 butterfly
Morgan Porter, Scarborough, Class A girls’ 100 backstroke
Morgan Porter, Scarborough, Class A girls’ 500 freestyle
Ethan Schulz, Scarborough, Class A boys’ 200 freestyle
Margaret Jones, South Portland, Class A girls’ 100 butterfly

Indoor track
Jarett Flaker, Scarborough, Class A boys’ 200
Jarett Flaker, Scarborough, Class A boys’ 400
Jayden Flaker, Scarborough, Class A boys’ 55 hurdles
Jacob Goff, Scarborough, Class A boys’ shot put
Emily Labbe, Scarborough, Class A girls’ 55 hurdles
Anna Folley, South Portland, Class A girls’ 400

Skiing
Killian Lathrop, Cape Elizabeth, Class B boys’ Alpine giant slalom
Tiernan Lathrop, Cape Elizabeth, Class B boys’ Alpine slalom

Michael’s top five stories/moments

5) Lathrops steal Alpine show

Sibling rivalry was on full display at the Class B Alpine ski state meet where Cape Elizabeth’s Killian Lathrop won the giant slalom with Tiernan Lathrop taking second. In the slalom, Tiernan Lathrop came in first, while Killian Lathrop was runner-up. The Capers were ninth as a team, but made their mark.
“There is a little sibling rivalry going on there,” Cape Elizabeth coach Jen Lakari said. “The rivalry between (Killian and Tiernan) works really well because they feed off each other, but it is fun.”

4) Swimmers shine

While Cape Elizabeth wasn’t able to win another Class B girls’ swim title this winter, the Capers did produce a multiple individual champion in Caroline Mahoney, who won the 50 freestyle and the 100 free. She had plenty of company in a banner year for the sport. In the Class B boys’ meet, Cape Elizabeth featured multiple event winners Keegan McKenney and Ethan Smith. South Portland’s girls enjoyed their best state meet finish in 24 years, placing runner-up to Kennebunk. Margaret Jones was the champion of the 100 butterfly. Scarborough’s Morgan Porter won a pair of events, the 100 backstroke and the 500 free. In the Class A boys’ meet, won again by Cheverus, Ethan Schulz took the 200 free.

3) Scarborough track wins another one

Scarborough’s boys’ indoor track and field team is simply unstoppable and the beat rolled on for the Red Storm this winter, as they captured their fifth straight Class A crown and their ninth in 10 seasons. Scarborough got wins from standout Jarett Flaker in the 200 and 400, Jayden Flaker in the 55 hurdles and Jacob Goff (shot put) as well. Scarborough’s Emily Labbe was first in the girls’ 55 hurdles, while South Portland produced the girls’ 400 champion in Anna Folley.

2) Cape, SP boys come close

The Cape Elizabeth and South Portland/Waynflete/Freeport boys’ hockey teams stole headlines for different reasons this winter. The Capers overcame a 2-8 start to their season, as they hit their stride, made the playoffs, then upset Yarmouth and Cheverus to make it to the Class B South Final. Cape Elizabeth finally met its match in eventual state champion Greely, but what a resurgence it was. The Red Riots, meanwhile, made their deepest playoff run in program history. getting past Thornton Academy in the Class A state quarterfinals before losing to eventual state champion Lewiston in the semifinals.
“We’d never been this far before and it’s pretty cool,” said South Portland/Freeport/Waynflete coach Joe Robinson. “I feel bad for the seniors, but they accomplished a lot and they should be proud.”

1) Scarborough boys/Cape girls fall in OT state epics

The Scarborough boys’ and Cape Elizabeth/South Portland/Waynflete girls’ hockey squads, meanwhile, came as close as you can come to winning a state title without doing so. The Capers enjoyed their best-ever season, ending Cheverus’ title reign in the South Region semifinals, then upsetting top-ranked Scarborough in the regional final. Cape/SP/Waynflete then squared off against undefeated Lewiston in the state final and nearly punctuated its season with the biggest prize of all, but lost in overtime, 1-0. The Red Storm boys, meanwhile, overcame a midseason slump to peak at the right time. Scarborough, ranked third in Class A, had no trouble with No. 6 Portland/Deering in the quarterfinals, then outlasted No. 7 Edward Little in a triple-overtime thriller in the semifinals. The Red Storm then met undefeated Lewiston in a thrilling state game which needed two OTs to determine a winner. It wouldn’t be Scarborough, as the Blue Devils took the title, but the Red Storm, like the Capers before them, turned heads with their valiant effort.

Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.