Area roundup: Edward Little’s John Shea is a Mr. Maine Basketball finalist

Edward Little’s John Shea puts the ball up past Lewiston’s Malik Foster during a AA North semifinal last month in Portland. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

Edward Little’s John Shea has been chosen as a finalist for Mr. Maine Basketball, which will be awarded next week to the state’s top senior boys basketball player.

Joining Shea as finalists are Brady Coyne of Class A runner-up Falmouth and Hunter Curtis of Class B runner-up Ellsworth.

Jaycie Christopher of Class A champion Skowhegan, Anna Nelson of Class AA runner-up Gorham and Grace Ramsdell of Wells are the three finalists for Miss Maine Basketball.

INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
AREA ATHLETES SHINE: Edward Little’s Makenna Drouin and Lewiston’s Abdirizak Abukar had high finishes and Mia-Claire Kezal of Thornton Academy broke the state record while winning the 1,000 meters Saturday at the New England high school indoor track championships in Boston, leading a group of 15 Maine athletes who earned All-New England honors with top-six results.

Kezal’s time of 2 minutes, 53.47 seconds was .02 faster than the record set by Tia Tardy of Mt. Desert Island in 2017.

Scarborough’s Jayden Flaker and Zach Barry and Bangor’s Anna Connors also set state records. Flaker placed second in the boys 55 hurdles in 7.42 seconds, Barry was third in the boys 1,000 in 2:29.28, and Connors was the runner-up in the girls 300 in 39.16.

Connors also was one of three Maine girls who placed in the top six in the 55 dash, led by runner-up Makenna Drouin of Edward Little (7.20). She was followed by Connors in fifth (7.29) and Caroline Fallona of Scarborough in sixth (7.32).

York sophomore Cary Drake finished second in the girls mile with a time of 5:01.52 — just .003 behind Anna Keeley of Fairfield, Connecticut.

In the boys long jump, Fryeburg Academy’s Jacob Adams was third (21-7) and Bucksport’s Colin Simpson finished sixth (21-5 3/4).

Gorham’s Andrew Farr was the runner-up in the 300 with the second-best time in state history — 35.40. Abdirizak Abukar of Lewiston placed fourth in 35.77.

Mt. Ararat’s Grady Satterfield set a personal-best while finishing sixth in the boys 2-mile (9:12.53), and Megan Randall of Bangor finished fifth in the girls race (11:06.24).

Matt Charpentier of York placed sixth in the shot put (56-3 3/4), and Alyvia Caruso of Gorham was sixth in the girls 55 hurdles (8.74).

WRESTLING
WORSTER TAKES THIRD: Oxford Hills’ Dillon Worster was one of three Maine wrestlers to earn third-place finishes at the New England Tournament in Providence, Rhode Island.

Worster, who captured a state championship last month, won the 195-pound third-place match against Corbin Maraia of Rhode Island by 5-3 decision.

Mattanawcook’s Jackson Sutherland earned Maine’s highest finish as the runner-up in the 170-pound division.

The state’s other third-place finishers were Sanford’s James Blood (106 pounds) and Bonny Eagle’s Caden Frost (132 pounds).

Ayden Cofone (113 pounds) of Windham/Gray-New Gloucester, Brycen Kowalsky (126) of Mt. Ararat/Brunswick and Noble’s Derek Cote (138) earned victories in fifth-place matches.

FOOTBALL
FITZPATRICK AWARD RETURNS: The Fitzpatrick Trophy Award dinner will be held this Sunday.

Originally scheduled for Jan. 16, the dinner was postponed when Maine was dealing with a surge in COVID-19 cases, particularly among high school populations. It begins at noon at the Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland.

The three finalists were announced on Dec. 15 — Bonny Eagle offensive guard/defensive tackle Thomas Horton, Windham quarterback Will Ledbetter and Cape Elizabeth quarterback Caden McDuffie. Horton, already a Gaziano Award recipient, has a chance to join 1977 winner Gerry Raymond of Lewiston as the only linemen to win the Fitzpatrick Trophy.

All three finalists intend to play football in college. Horton committed to the University of Maine, Ledbetter to the University of New England and McDuffie to Louisiana Christian University. Coaches and media members vote for the Fitzpatrick Trophy winner from a group of semifinalists selected by the Fitzpatrick Trophy Committee.

The Fitzpatrick Trophy, named in honor of former Portland High School athlete and coach James J. Fitzpatrick, has been awarded to the top senior football player in Maine since 1971. This will be the 50th presentation. There was no award given for the 2020 season when Maine’s high schools did not play tackle football.

Colonel Dustin Ireland, the 1996 winner, is expected to be the guest speaker. Ireland was a quarterback at Mt. Blue and went on to play wide receiver for four seasons at the Air Force Academy, where he graduated in 2001.