Boys basketball

Coach: Kevin Jenkins

Last year: The Rams ended the regular season at 10-8 and they earned a No. 7 seed for the Western Maine Class A playoffs. They defeated Scarborough in a prelim and were beaten by Cheverus in the quarterfinals.

Players to watch: Mike Foustoukos (senior center) is a returning starter. He is a co-captain with Andrew Arena (senior guard), Isaac Barnes (senior forward), and Brian Jenkins (senior guard). Kyle Donaldson (senior forward), Isaac Pease (senior guard), Doug Woods (junior forward), and John Day (sophomore forward) are expected to contribute.

Outlook: Jenkins says his team’s strengths are overall quickness and team chemistry. He’s hoping the squad can improve its shooting as the season moves along and he sees limiting turnovers as a key to the Rams’ success.

“We should improve as the season progresses and (we) hope to be very competitive by the end of the season,” said Jenkins.

The Rams may stumble a bit out of the block as they play some quality teams early on, but they always seem to rattle off a number of wins in the second half of the season. By tournament time, they’ll be a tough match up for most teams in West A.

Girls basketball

Coach: Laughn Berthiaume

Last year: The Rams were 15-3 in the regular season and entered the West A tourney as the No. 3 seed.

Players to watch: Seniors – Lindsay Hansen, Athena Beaulieu, Whitney Bickford, Luci Pike, Chantel Tijssen; Junior – Rachele Burns; Sophomores – Elizabeth Lamontagne, Hallie Balcomb, Kristi Brown, Jill Russell, Kristi Zarrilli, Kayleigh Ballantyne.

Outlook: “Rachele Burns is our lone returning starter,” said first-year coach Berthiaume. “She will be expected to carry the scoring load as well as run the offense and lead the team. We have a hungry group of seniors who are looking to compete for playing time with an athletic group of sophomores. We are still looking for the right mix of players. Besides Rachele, we are relatively inexperienced.”

The Rams are young, but they’ll compete night in and night out while improving as the season progresses.

“I believe our strength will be our team speed and athletic ability,” said Berthiaume. “I think we will need to play pressure defense to allow us opportunities at easy baskets. We will be undersized at most positions, so it will be imperative that we rebound as a unit to be competitive on the boards.”

Ice hockey

Coach: Eric Wales

Last year: The Rams went 4-16 during the regular season.

Players to watch: Senior forward Brendan Ryan, junior center David Gushee, sophomore defenseman Spencer Violette, and sophomore defenseman Justin Bahr.

Outlook: Wales says the team defense has improved and that will obviously help the Rams in every game they play.

The Rams are young and inexperienced and the success Gorham has this season will depend in large measure on how much those players improve as the year goes on.

“The team as a whole is very young and the development of these players is a big key to our season,” said Wales. “Each year the process starts over. I’m starting to see some very nice team work and the team is starting to unify.”

Girls ice hockey

Coach: Chris Bowring

Last year: The Rams ended the regular season at 11-5-2 and they were seeded No. 3 in the Tier II playoffs. They knocked off No. 2 Lewiston in the semifinals before falling to Biddeford one game later.

Players to watch: Seniors – Kristi Colarusso (F), Kate Perkins (D), Krista Keene (C), Kate Bowring (F), Adrienne Rosenblatt (F), Amanda Sawyer (D), Bri Gervais (F), Elizabeth Asterita (D), Laurie Foustoukos (F); Juniors – Abby Wingert (G), Caitlin Caldwell (C), Bri Holloran (F), Ashley Martin (D), Kayla Colarusso (F), Hillary Randall (D); Sophomores – Kat Whitehead (C), Emily Rosenblatt (D).

Outlook: The Rams return a number of solid players who contributed to the team’s success a year ago.

Caldwell led the team in scoring last year with 11 goals and 13 assists. Martin led the Rams with 13 goals and Bowring (5 goals and 12 assists) can also create scoring chances.

Gorham has skilled players at the forward and defensive positions and they’ll likely enjoy another very competitive season with another deep run into the playoffs a possibility.

Boys indoor track

Coach: John Wilkinson

Last year: The Rams won the SMAA league championship and placed second at the Class A state championship.

Athletes to watch: Senior Justin Villacci, junior Greg Gagne and sophomore Cam Stevens.

Outlook: The Rams will be hard pressed to repeat their success of a year ago. Still, they have athletes in a number of events who’ll do well. Gorham is particularly strong in the sprints through the 400-meter races.

“We lost many seniors from last year’s SMAA conference championship and need to have the underclassmen and the returning veterans step up quickly,” said Wilkinson.

Girls indoor track

Coach: John Caterina

Last year: The Rams finished fourth at the SMAA league meet and fourth at the Class A state championship.

Key contributors from 2006: Seniors – Alyson Fearon, Leigh Maniscalco, Samantha Owens; Juniors – Molly Folan, Sarah McCullough, Samantha Martin, Amy Hodgkins; Sophomores – Lauren Chouinard, Lindsey Wilson, Solange Carpenter, Rachel Wilkinson, Kelsey Rex, Hannah Prince, Kristin Bowie.

Outlook: The Rams have a number of talented and skilled athletes returning for another winter. They’ll be competitive with all of the SMAA schools as they again seek to finish among the top teams in the league and the state.

Alpine skiing

Coach: Tim Sullivan

Skiers to watch: Garrick Adolf, Austin Arena, Alex Chase, Scott Ekin, Andrew Ernest, Chris Esposito, Nick Gowen, George Grant, Nathan Lemieux, Jimmy Moody, Tom Moutinho, Corey Perkins, Clay Peterson, Ethan Stone, Emma Alden, Maria Devlin, Mariah Dolloff, Julianne Farrar, Emily Hamblen, Melanie Heubert, Allie Platts, Pat Shaw, Katie Smith, Taylor Sullivan, Jennie Wiacek, Chris Wilcox.

Outlook: The Rams have a number of competitors returning from a year ago and they should do well in regular season meets. The team has plenty of enthusiasm and they’re looking forward to a successful winter.