The first year of a reconfigured Class A was a lean one for both Leavitt and Mt. Blue. The teams combined for five victories and missed the tournament.

Both teams are eager to put last season behind them, although they will have to attack the new season in different ways.

Leavitt coach Mike Hathaway thinks his team started out on the right foot in preseason thanks to a new and improved commitment from his returning players.

“I like the vibe a lot this year,” he said. “Guys are a lot more team-oriented and they’re coming to the gym excited and ready to go every day.”

Leavitt has much of its talent back from last year and hopes a year of maturing helps its large sophomore class make a significant contribution.

Senior forward D’Andre James returns to lead a frontcourt that has some good size and more versatility since James expanded his repertoire to the perimeter during the off-season.

Fellow seniors Jack Sylvester and Nick Angelo should help him with some of the scoring load, while sophomores A.J. Tirrell, Dylan Turner and Camden Jordan and freshman Cole Morin, all 6-4, will help out in the paint.

Led by defending state champion Falmouth, Greely and Cape Elizabeth, the Western Maine Conference dominated Class A South last year, much in the same way the conference dominated the old Class B South for many years. But there should be more challengers emerging from other conferences, such as Brunswick and Mt. Ararat from the KVAC and Westbrook from the SMAA.

A North turned out to be the surprise of the class if not the state last year as someone other than Hampden emerged from the region for the first time in six years. Oceanside upset the Broncos in the regional semifinals, then knocked off Medomak Valley in the final before losing to Portland in the state championship.

Oceanside, Medomak and Hampden should all be in the thick of the region again this year. But in their preseason poll, the KVAC’s coaches picked Messalonskee as the favorite to emerge.

Mt. Blue finds itself starting over again with a new coach, Brian Kelly. Zack Mittelstadt, who emerged as one of the top players in the KVAC last year, transferred to Gould Academy, so Kelly is focused on balancing a senior-laden roster with building for the future.

“We have 14 freshmen in the program. We’d love to see those kind of numbers become the norm for all classes,” said Kelly, whose last head coaching job was at Jay High School.

Kelly still hopes to be in the mix of teams competing for a tournament prelim with a nucleus of seven seniors led by Fitzpatrick Trophy semifinalist Makao Thompson, Cole Dorman and Cooper Hollingsworth.

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