Despite an exciting start, the Thursday, Dec. 18 match-up between the Wiscasset High School boys varsity basketball team and Lisbon quickly became a war of attrition.

Wiscasset was unable to overcome a rash of fouls, and an attacking Greyhound team was able to capitalize en route to a 66-44 victory. The loss drops Wiscasset to 2-4 and boosts Lisbon to 2-4 on the season.

The two teams didn't waste time showcasing their clashing styles: Wiscasset was able to sink an early three and showed off its long-range prowess in the first quarter, while Lisbon allowed its guards to go into attack mode from the start.

The two teams swapped leads back and forth for most of the first quarter, but Lisbon held the slimmest of 13-11 leads after the first frame. The Greyhounds were able to harass Wiscasset's ball-handlers for most of the second quarter, as the team stretched its lead into double digits. Wiscasset, behind Russell Marr's four points, scored a flurry of points before the half to trim Lisbon's lead to 26-21.

The Wolverines would soon run into foul trouble, however. Three players, including two starters, fouled-out in the fourth quarter. Lisbon was able to take advantage, too: the team began relentlessly attacking the hoop in hopes of making it to the charity stripe. Wiscasset was able to stem some of the offense by switching to a trap defense, but Lisbon was able to move the ball up the court.

Lisbon's Johnny Yim was able to take advantage of a hand-cuffed Wiscasset defense and scored 16 of his game-high 29 points in the second half, mostly via layups and foul shots.

Josh Huston and R.J. Sargent both scored eight points for Lisbon.

For Wiscasset, it was Cody Roberts with nine points, and Brandon Sprague with eight points to lead the way.

Andrew Lincoln was certain there was something missing from Wiscasset's sidelines.

There are cheerleaders, a goodly-sized student section, and scores of fans sporting back and red gear at any given Wiscasset home game.

But the basketball fan and Wiscasset High School junior noticed that there was still something missing.

“I watch a lot of NBA games, and all the NBA teams, and some of the other schools we play — they all have mascots,” Lincoln said Thursday, Dec. 18 after making his first appearance as the mascot. He spoke with the shaggy brown Wolverine head propped up on his brow in between trips to high-five the crowd.

“I thought it would be cool if we could have a mascot of our own.”

So, with the help of fundraisers and the Wiscasset Boosters, money was raised and the Wolverine mascot costume was purchased to make its entrance during Guns N’ Roses “Welcome to the Jungle” played on Thursday, Dec. 18.

Lincoln led the boys varsity squad from the locker room and sprinted first out onto the court. He dished out hugs to the starting five while wearing the shaggy brown fur suit and Wiscasset home jersey.

“It's hotter than you'd think,” he said during a break. “I sprinted out — I was running as fast as I could, and it's hot.”

The suit is equipped with a fan in the head, for just that purpose, Athletic Director Sarah Ricker said.

“We're going to be having a contest pretty soon to name the mascot,” she said. “(The costume) arrived in the mail this week and it's just for us — it's unique and it was made just for Wiscasset.”

Ricker said that beyond the teams and Boosters fundraising, it was Lincoln's project from the start. When he saw the creation for the first time, Lincoln said it met all his expectations.

“When I first saw it, I was overjoyed,” he said.

Lincoln said he has been taking notes from the Chicago Bulls mascot, Benny the Bull, and the Brooklyn Nets’ mascot on how to get a crowd fired up.

Because, like the team he cheers on, he has a similar goal: to make it to Augusta.

While the Wiscasset Wolverines on the court are hoping to make it to Augusta to compete in the state playoffs, Lincoln and the as-yet-not-named mascot have a different goal in mind.

“When we get to Augusta,” he said, “I want to use a trampoline to dunk.”

Despite relinquishing a lead late in the third quarter, the Wiscasset High School girls varsity basketball team was able to rally to defeat Lisbon, 48-38, Friday, Dec. 19.

The Wolverines (2-4 after the Lisbon game, currently 3-4 on the season) held the lead for most of the game, but a Greyhound (0-4) buzzer beater briefly gave the away team the lead.

Although Wiscasset had a large height advantage, Lisbon would not go quietly; behind guards Mia Durgin and Mikayla Yanez, the Greyhounds were able to stretch the floor and space out Wiscasset's post players.

Wiscasset jumped out to an early lead and appeared to be well on its way towards the team's second victory.

After the first quarter, it was 14-3 in favor of the Wolverines and by the time the halftime horn blew, Wiscasset had stacked a 27-16 lead over the Greyhounds.

But, Lisbon wasn't ready to roll over.

Behind Durgin and Jasmin Le, Lisbon outscored Wiscasset 16-4 in the third quarter, and took its first lead of the game when Le sunk a buzzer-beater to make the score 32-31 in favor of the Greyhounds.

But Wiscasset wasn't done yet.

Gordon and Faulkingham each scored five points in the final frame and the Wolverines were able to play keep-away to seal the 48-38 victory.

Faulkingham scored 17 points, including a pair of three-pointers, and Gordon scored 15 points, including a perfect three-out-of-three from the free-throw line. Tylan Onorato was also able to score in double digits, as the senior netted 10 points.

Three members of the Boothbay Region High School Outing Club recently secured a grant from Teens To Trails, which will allow the group to take an overnight trip sometime in May.

These two members are freshmen Summer Chamberlin and Madison Gaudette, who were helped out by faculty adviser Chip Schwehm.

This is the third year Schwehm has been adviser for the club, but the club has been around for a while. It gives students at BRHS a chance to spend more time outdoors and explore the beauty Maine has to offer.

“It's a chance to be outside, hiking and stuff,” Maya Schwehm said.

“And we love having adventures,” added Kyle Alamo.

So far this school year the group has taken two trips, one to Angel Falls in the White Mountains of Franklin County, and climbing Baldpate Mountain in Oxford County. They are thinking about a snowshoe trip in March or April to go along with their overnight in May.

Climbing Baldpate was a 10 mile hike, which Schwehm said was “pretty rough” with the cold and ice on the mountain. But the kids made it and had a lot of fun during the climb.

“Climbing up a 3,000- to 4,000-foot mountain, you expect it to be cold up top,” Schwehm said.

Teens to Trails gives grants to many high school Outing Clubs around the state. According to its website, they support groups “that get teens active outdoors and reconnect them with nature.”

Besides spending time in nature and getting lots of exercise, the group has a ton of fun. They swam in the falls, which proved extremely cold according to Kyle Alamo. They posed for “falling off the mountain shots” at Baldpate, and married Karl Alamo to a pumpkin.

Well, actually it was a piece of wood that looked like a pumpkin, and he only pretended to marry it. But, as Gaudette said, she has pictures.

The outing club members include seniors Maya Schwehm, Kyle Alamo, Karl Alamo, and Zachary Vise; sophomores Chelsie Graves and Sawyer Alley, and freshmen Devyn Campbell, Summer Chamberlin and Madison Gaudette.

Every year for the past four years, Avery Thomas of Wiscasset has spent over 20 hours setting up a Christmas lights display next to Ship's Chow Hall in Wiscasset.

He says the project is a lot of work, but a lot of fun and a lot of people have said how much they enjoy the display.

“It takes about 10 hours to do the lights, and another 10 to set up the sync with the music,” Thomas said.

Thomas matches the light display up with a list of songs played on 88.7 FM. If someone pulls into the Hall parking lot, turns on the radio and watches the lights, it's a perfect sync.

“This is the most I've done so far,” Thomas said.

Thomas is 17 and is a junior at Wiscasset High School. Each year he sets up a donation box on a tree with the display to offset the costs of lights and electricity for the display so he can keep doing it year after year.

“The only reason it's so big this year is because we got lots of donations last year,” Thomas said.

The display can be seen on at 277 Bath Road (Route 1) in Wiscasset.

The Maine Public Broadcasting Network (MPBN) announces the launch of its annual Ski Bum Promotion to be held in January 2015 looking for the “Ultimate Ski Bum Family.” The Grand Prize drawing will be drawn on Jan. 28, and will include a ski and stay at Sugarloaf Mountain Resort for a family of four during school vacation week in February, and gear for the entire family from Gorham Bike and Ski.

Each week in January, MPBN will release a new “MPBN LIBS” Challenge on its website, www.mpbn.net. Entrants will be required to fill out the MPBN LIBS online form and submit their best thinking and creative words. The most humorous two submissions each week will be declared winners and will be entered into the final drawing for the MPBN Ski Family Grand Prize.

“Thanks to our partners at Sugarloaf and Gorham Bike and Ski for making this fantastic vacation for some lucky family of four possible,” MPBN President and CEO Mark Vogelzang said. “What a great way to celebrate winter in Maine. We hope all of our listeners and viewers will join in the fun.”

Details on the entire Ski Bum 2015 promotion are available at www.mpbn.net effective Jan. 1.

Chewonki's annual Winter Vacation Camp for students in grades 1-8 give students and their families an opportunity to explore the outdoors in winter during the week of February vacation, Feb 16-20.

Students in grades 5-8 can build their own toboggan and sleep over in a heated tent on Thursday night. Students in grades 1-8 will enjoy learning outdoor skills including cooking a community lunch outdoors.

Families are invited to enjoy Chewonki together on Presidents Day to enjoy snowshoeing and meet live owls.

On Presidents Day, Feb. 16, Chewonki's Family Fun Day invites adults and children to enjoy snowshoeing on their 400-acre peninsula, animal tracking, an "Owls of Maine" presentation and making a community lunch over a campfire. Snowshoes are available at Chewonki.

Starting on Tuesday, Feb. 17, Chewonki offers two four-day camps for students grades 1-8.

Chickadees (grades 1-2) and Ravens (grades 3-4) will spend the week learning about outdoor cooking, building and creating with natural materials, winter arts and crafts and wild animal adaptations. Campers will also visit Chewonki's organic farm, home to cows, sheep, pigs, chickens, and the famous horse, Sal. Camp will be 8:30-3:30 Tuesday through Friday.

A Toboggan Building Workshop is offered for students in grades 5-8 who want to hand craft their own wooden toboggan over the course of the four-day week. Camp will be 8:30-3:30 Tuesday through Friday with an optional overnight on Thursday night in wood-heated canvas wall tents.

For pricing and registration, please visit www.chewonki.org or contact Holly Lowe at 207-882-7323 or hlowe@chewonki.org.

Chewonki, 485 Chewonki Neck Road, Wiscasset inspires transformative growth, teaches appreciation and stewardship of the natural world, and challenges people to build thriving, sustainable communities throughout their lives.

Despite one of the warmest Decembers on record, 2014 will go out with a bite.

A month of above-average and above-freezing temperatures will end this week with a cold front that has settled in over the Midcoast and will likely linger into the new year, according to meteorologist Eric Sinsabaugh at the National Weather Service in Gray.

At the current temperatures, as of Monday, Dec. 29, 2014 would tie the record for the second-warmest month of December in Maine since records were kept.

At the current average temperature of 34.5 F, 2014 would tie 2006 for the second-warmest December on record. In 2001 a new record was set for December when Maine averaged 34.8 F.

But save any champagne popping for New Year's Eve: Things are about to get cold, Sinsabaugh said.

“These cold temperatures should drop us out of the (top-two),” he said.

The cold temperatures will arrive Monday night and continue into Tuesday and Wednesday, Sinsabaugh said. Some of the night time temperatures are expected to dip into the teens and single digits, Sinsabaugh said, adding that a white New Year's Day is unlikely, as the cold system has pushed aside any chance for precipitation.

The current cold snap is expected to be paired with northwesterly winds notching 10 to 15 knots on Monday and Tuesday, and potential gusts of up to 20 knots on Wednesday, Dec. 31.

By Friday, Jan. 2 temperatures will hover around the freezing mark.

The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry’s Bureau of Parks and Lands will host free, guided hikes in five state parks on New Year’s Day as part of America's State Parks First Day Hikes initiative. That initiative, held in all 50 states, offers individuals and families an opportunity to begin the new year rejuvenating and connecting with the outdoors by taking a healthy hike on Jan. 1, 2015 at a state park close to home. 

In his weekly radio address, Gov. Paul R. LePage highlighted the increase of visitors to Maine and the abundance of winter activities available to residents and visitor alike.

“Last year, nearly 5 and a half million people visited Maine during the winter season, many to enjoy the outdoors,” said LePage. “We have some of the best skiing in New England and Maine is the premiere snowmobiling destination in the eastern U.S. We also have some of the most beautiful State Parks, which remain open all-year long. To ring in the new year, the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry’s Bureau of Parks and Lands will host free, guided hikes in five state parks throughout Maine on New Year’s Day.”  

Commissioner Walt Whitcomb highlighted the natural connection between Maine’s outstanding recreational opportunities and a healthy lifestyle. “On nearly every New Year’s resolution list is the goal of better physical fitness,” said Whitcomb. “Our state parks make it easier to be healthy. Give the electronics a little time off and be healthier by enjoying our state parks. Last winter, beginning with our First Day Hikes, nearly 4,000 people participated in our Take It Outside/Winter Family Fun Days.”

“We are excited to host First Day Hikes as part of this national effort to get people outdoors and into our parks,” said Tom Morrison, Acting Director of the Bureau of Parks and Lands. “First Day Hikes are a great way to cure cabin fever and burn off those extra holiday calories by starting off the New Year with an invigorating walk or hike in one of our beautiful state parks.” 

Park staff and volunteers will lead the hikes, which average one to two miles or longer depending on the park.

Visit www.maine.gov/dacf/winterfamilyfundays and www.parksandlands.com to see complete event listings, review trail conditions and locate a park near you.

For more information about the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, go to: www.maine.gov/dacf.

As the basketball season nears the half-way mark, both girls and boys Wiscasset teams would qualify for the Western Class C playoffs if the season ended on New Year’s Day.

But that hasn't been the only news out of the Western Class.

Both teams from Boothbay Region loom at the top of the standings, and both Wiscasset teams, despite below-500 records, currently qualify for the playoffs.

Boys basketball

On the boys side, a depleted Wiscasset squad currently sits in 11th place with a record of 2-5. The Wolverines have had to rely on a young core of players after injuries have knocked out several starters.

But, Wiscasset hasn't backed down: The team has scored wins over a pair of Class C rivals to keep pace with the rest of the league.

Boothbay Region has held onto the top spot in the Western Class C standings since the season started. The Seahawks (6-0) were able to bounce Wiscasset at home on Dec. 8. The two teams will have another meet-up in Wiscasset on Jan. 26 in the Wolverines last regular-season home game.

The Wolverines will have a difficult homestretch after New Year's Day. On Jan. 3, No. 6-ranked Monmouth (4-3) arrives, followed by No. 3 Dirigo (5-2) on Jan. 6 then Carrabec (0-6) on Jan. 9.

Girls basketball

The Wiscasset girls team has relied heavily on seniors Alecia Faulkingham and Kayla Gordon among others as the season has progressed.

The Wolverines (3-5 overall) have been able to limit opponents to 40 points per game as the defense has again been a bright spot.

With solid wins over Telstar (on Dec. 10), Lisbon (Dec. 19), and Mt. Abram (Dec. 20) the Wolverines have held onto the 12th spot in Western Class C.

Things are about to get tougher for the Wolverines, however: On Jan. 2 No. 8 Monmouth (4-2) comes to town, followed by No. 3 Dirigo (6-0) on Jan. 5 and defending Western Class C champ Carrabec (2-3) on Jan. 8.

Maranacook (6-1) currently holds a slim edge over Boothbay Region (6-0) for the top spot in the league. Wiscasset won't have to face Maranacook in the regular season, but will try to even its season series with Boothbay on Jan. 27 when the Lady Seahawks come to Wiscasset.

It’s one of the rarest birds in the world, with less than 250 breeding pairs in the entire population. It nests on only a few tiny islets just offshore from the main island of Bermuda.

Once thought extinct, 18 nesting pairs of Bermuda petrel were rediscovered in 1951 on some tiny rocky islands at Castle Harbor, Bermuda.

Through careful and painstaking protection efforts to build artificial burrows, get rid of rats and other predators, and thwart attacks on nestlings by white-tailed tropicbirds, the population of Bermuda petrels has thankfully grown by more than seventy percent.

For years, we, like most bird enthusiasts, have followed the research and conservation efforts dedicated to this mysterious bird.

In the last 20 years or so, regular pelagic sea-birding trips off North Carolina started to find Bermuda petrels on rare occasions among the similar but more frequently seen black-capped petrels, which breed in the Dominican Republic and Haiti (possibly in Cuba and Dominica as well).

But even more astonishing were the results of a research project in which small devices called geolocators were attached to 12 Bermuda petrels between 2009 and 2012. Each geolocator stores information about day length while attached to the bird and when recovered from the bird allows researchers to pinpoint where the bird traveled.

Now imagine this: Maps of two of the birds show them coming into the Gulf of Maine during their travels! Although the precision of the locations is not good enough to say for sure the exact locations of the birds during their visits (they can be off by as much 150 kilometers), we were surprised to see one of the mapped locations appearing between Monhegan Island and the mainland.

Even if it didn’t get that close, it’s still astonishing to think that one of the world’s rarest birds may regularly visit Maine’s offshore waters even if just occasionally.

A similar study was done with a seabird species called the Audubon’s shearwater, which breeds in the Caribbean and looks similar to the manx shearwater — a regularly occurring species in Maine waters.

Although there are a few hypothetical sightings of Audubon’s shearwater in Maine, the species has never been confirmed to occur here. But yet again the maps produced from geolocators recovered from six Audubon’s shearwaters originally captured in the Bahamas show birds regularly coming north, roughly appearing to make it into the waters offshore from Maine.

Mysteries like these are a great reminder that when it comes to birding, you never do know what you might see!

As the weather cools, the Wiscasset High School swim team will look to turn up the heat with a pair of early-year meets.

Although the team has several meets under its cap already, the busy part of the schedule is coming in early January as Wiscasset will again look to fill its state meet roster.

The team will travel up Route 27 to Gardiner on Tuesday, Jan. 6 to swim at the Kennebec Valley YMCA in Augusta at 7 p.m. The team won't have a long layoff: it swims again at 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9 when Boothbay Region and Lincoln Academy come to visit the Wiscasset Community Center.

The Wolverines are coming off a successful trip to Bath, in which the hometown Morse Shipbuilders won each event during the Dec. 19 meet.

Despite Morse's dominance, Wiscasset was able to cross the finish line with several strong individual and team performances.

In the boys 200-yard medley relay, the Wiscasset team of Kyle Viele, Ryan Medina, Sam Storer and Ridge Barnes finished fourth with a total time of 2 minutes and 25.19 seconds.

In the girls 200-yard freestyle, sophomore Jenna Bickford claimed a seventh-place finish with a time of 2:55.03.Bickford also finished eighth in the girls 100-yard freestyle with a time of 1:20.07.

In the boys 200-yard freestyle, Kyle Viele scored a fourth-place finish with a time of 3:14.04, while in the girls 200-yard medley, Maeve Carlson finished fifth when she finished with a time of 3:07.58. Carlson finished fourth in the girls 100-meter breaststroke when she completed the circuit in 1:35.70.

Amanda Marcus finished seventh in the girls 50-yard freestyle with a time of 35.47 seconds. Marcus also finished seventh in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:31.94.

Barnes finished fifth in both the boys 50-yard freestyle with a time of 32.92, and the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 1:13.91. Storer finished second in the boys 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:05.74 and Medina was fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:37.64.

The boys relay team of Storer, Barnes, Medina and Viele also finished fourth in the 200-yard freestyle relay.

Stepping Stone Housing will be conducting a tennis tournament on Feb. 7 to raise money for affordable housing in Lincoln County. The round robin tournament is called “Serving to End Homelessness” and will be held at the YMCA in Damariscotta from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Members of the organizing committee are Seth Meyer, tennis pro from Midcoast Recreation Center, Carolyn Neighoff, secretary of Stepping Stone Housing, Liliana Thelander and Lori Bailey.

The committee is looking for tennis players in the 3.0 to 4.0 skill range to enter the tournament. The entry fee will be a donation to Stepping Stone in the suggested amount of $20. Anyone who would like to sign up to play in the “Serving to End Homelessness” tournament may call Liliana at 207-882-6053 or email her at lilianathelander@hotmail.com. There is a limit of 24 players for the round robin event.

The committee is also seeking individuals, organizations or businesses to be sponsors of the tournament. The sponsorship fee is $500, which will be a donation to Stepping Stone Housing. Interested sponsors, or anyone who would like to help, should call Carolyn Neighoff at 207-650-7990 or email her at neighoff@roadrunner.com.

The committee’s goal is to get 10 sponsors to raise funds to help with the building of a duplex on the Blue Haven property in Damariscotta. Stepping Stone Housing is an organization that provides housing to persons not making a living wage. Started in 2013, the group seeks to work with homeless individuals or those is substandard housing who are in need of adequate housing in Lincoln County.

Currently Lincoln County has no shelters for emergency housing of individuals or families. Stepping Stone has four small houses and a Tiny House and is raising funds to build a duplex. Tenants are expected to pay up to 30 percent their income and will be given help to improve their life situation.

There will be more information available at the tournament. The public is welcome to attend. All donations are welcome.

In 1969, Special Olympics Maine held the world's very first Special Olympics Winter Games. It all began on a small hill in Gorham with only a handful of people. Today, in 2015 Special Olympics Maine will send 490 athletes to Sugarloaf USA for the 46th annual Special Olympics Maine Winter Games.

The events will begin on Sunday evening, Jan. 25 with one of Maine's largest community suppers. Citizens of Carrabassett and surrounding areas will play host to the athletes by bringing in casseroles and desserts and serving over 800 people. The evening activities kick off with outdoor skating and hot chocolate, a sing-a-long and karaoke.

The competition will be underway bright and early on Monday morning, and Opening Ceremonies featuring our parade of athletes, will begin at Noon sharp. That evening athletes will be treated to a torchlight parade, fireworks and victory dance.

Enroute to Sugarloaf, Special Olympic teams will have the opportunity to take a break and stretch their legs at a rest stop courtesy of the Roderick-Crosby Post and Auxiliary #28 of Farmington. Hot chocolate and cookies will be provided to the athletes.

During the three day event athletes will compete in Nordic skiing, Alpine skiing, Snowshoe, Speed Skating, and Dual Ski.

Special Olympics is a year round athletic training and competition program for adults and children with intellectual disabilities. In Maine there are over 3800 athletes involved in the program. SOME offers over 60 events annually at the local, and state levels. The State Winter Games at Sugarloaf will host nearly 500 athletes from 68 teams.

Competitions will run through Tuesday morning and will conclude with Closing Ceremonies at noon on Jan. 27.

SOME is still in need of 100 scarves for the 2015 Scarf Project. Our goal is to offer a handmade scarf to every athlete in attendance at the Winter Games. Details are below.

For further information on Special Olympics Maine or the State Winter Games please call our state office at 207-879-0489 or email Lisa Bird at lisab@somaine.org.

Upcoming SOME events

Winter Games Jan. 25-27 at Sugarloaf USA

Central Maine Basketball Tournament at UMO Fieldhouse

Southern ME Basketball tournament at USM Gorham

Central Maine Motor Activities Tentative March 18

State Swim Meet Tentative April 9 at Tarbell Pool at Bates College

Motor Activities Southern Maine May at North Yarmouth Academy

State Young Athletes Festival Friday, May 15 (rain date May 18) Yarmouth Middle School

Maine Law Enforcement Torch Run June 2-5 statewide

State Summer Games June 5-7 at UMO

Special Olympics World Games July in Los Angeles

Scarf Project 2015

Special Olympics Maine is reaching out to knitters (and to those of you who crochet) everywhere to help with the 2015 Scarf Project. We are hoping to have 500 scarves donated in time for the 2015 Special Olympics Maine State Winter Games January 25-27, enough so that every athlete will have a scarf for their winter competition. We still need 100 more.

Scarves can be mailed/delivered to: Attn: Katheryn Wildes, Trinity Lutheran Church,612 Main St., Westbrook, ME 04092. For more information, call 207-929-6237.

The design/pattern is totally up to you. (The majority of our athletes are teens and adults. Red Heart yarn: The colors are: Carrot #256, Burgundy #376, and Paddy Green #368.)

The CLC YMCA Gymnastics Team set off for Augusta’s Mainely Gymnastics to compete against teams from Augusta, Waterville and Farmington with coaches, Janice Cormier-Hay and Assistant coach, Lincoln Academy Junior, and former team member, Catherine Roy.

“It is early in the season and this meet was a great opportunity to experience competing in front of a large crowd and judges."

The team then competed at the Bath YMCA before Christmas and the girls topped the podium in almost every level of competition.

Madeline Burt-Weeks Level 2, Age 5-6, Augusta - came in 3rd on vault with a 7.5, 3rd on bars with a 4.8, 1st on beam with a 7.7, 1st on floor with a 7.65, placing 3rd all around. Bath - Age 5-8, 6th on vault with an 8.1 (PB), tied for 6th on bars with a 7.0 (PB), 6th on beam with a 8.2, 5th on floor with n 8.1 and placed 6th all around.

London Hunter - Level 2, Age 5-6, Augusta - came in 1st on vault with an 8.1, tied for 1st on bars with a 7.2, 3rd on beam with a 7.6, 2nd on floor with a 7.55, placing 1st all around. Bath - tied for 5th on vault with an 8.2, 7th on bars with a 6.4, 7th on beam with a 7.8, 3rd on floor with an 8.45 (PB) and placed 7th all around.

Abby Harrington of Nobleboro - Level 2, Age 5-6, Augusta - came in 4th on vault with a 6.4, came in 2nd on bars with a 7.0, 4th on beam with a 7.3, came in 4th on floor with a 6.8 placing 4th all around. Bath- Age 5-8, 3rd on vault with an 8.6, 5th on bars with a 7.4, 5th on beam with an 8.3, 4th on floor with an 8.4 (PB) placing 2nd all around.

Charlotte Hilton - Level 2, Age 10, Augusta - 2nd on vault with an 8.8, 2nd on bars with a 7.75, 3rd on beam with a 7.75, 3rd on floor with an 8.15, placing 2nd all around. Bath - Age 9-11, 3rd on vault with an 8.6, 2nd on bars with an 8.35 (PB), 6th on beam with an 8.3 (PB), 2nd on floor with an 8.55, placing 3rd all around.

Emory Shadis- Level 2 - Age - 9, Augusta - 4th on vault with an 8.2, 5th on bars with a 4.0, 5th on beam with a 7.0, 5th on floor with a 6.2, placing 5th all around. Bath, Age 9-11, 6th on vault with an 8.2, 7th on bars with a 6.1 (PB), 7th on beam with a 7.8 (PB), 6th on floor with a 7.5, placing 6th all around.

Nicole Hammond - Level 2 - Age - 9, Augusta - 3rd on vault with an 8.8 (PB), 5th on bars with a 6.7, 6th on beam with a 6.9, 5th on floor with a 6.1, placing 6th all around. Bath, Age 9-10, 3rd on vault with an 8.65, 6th on bars with a 5.6, 3rd on beam with a 7.75, 6th on floor with a 7.1, placing 4th all around.

Morgan Bathgate - Level 2, Age 10, Augusta - came in 3rd on vault with a 7.7, 3rd on bars with a 7.6, 2nd on beam with an 8.55, 2nd on floor with an 8.25, placing 3rd all around. Bath - Age 9-11, 7th on vault with a 7.8, tied for 4th on bars with an 8.1, 1st on beam with a 9.0 (PB), tied for 1st on floor with an 8.9 (PB) and placed 2nd all around.

Kate Campbell of Boothbay - Level 2 - Age - 9-11, Bath - 4th on vault with an 8.4 (PB), 5th on bars with a 7.7, 5th on beam with an 8.4, 2nd on floor with an 8.9 (PB), placing 4th all around.

Grace Campbell of Boothbay - Level 2 - Age - 9-11, Bath - 8th on vault with a 6.3, 6th on bars with a 6.7 (PB), 8th on beam with a 7.7 (PB), 5th on floor with a7.65, placing 7th all around.

Jhordaynia Ebanks of Damariscotta - Level 3 - Age 6-7, Augusta - came in 1st on vault with an 8.6 (PB), 2nd on bars with a 6.0, 1st on beam with a 7.85, 2nd on floor with a 7.6, placing 1st all around. Bath - Age 7-8, 1st on vault with an 8.6, tied for 1st on bars with a 6.9 (PB), 1st on beam with an 8.0, 1st on floor with a 7.65, placing 1st all around

Eliza Wood-Orff, Level 2 - Age 8 - Augusta - tied for 4th on vault with a 8.6 (PB), 4th on bars with a 7.3, 4th on beam with a 7.9, 4th on floor with a 7.25 placing 5th all around. Bath - Age 5-8, tied for 5th on vault with an 8.2, 2nd on bars with a 7.8, 3rd on beam with an 8.5, 6th on floor with an 8.05 placing 3rd all around.

Kadence Rogers of Nobleboro- Level 3 - Age - 8, Augusta - 1st on vault with a 9.0, 3rd on bars with an 8.2, 1st on beam with an 8.75 (PB), 2nd on floor with an 8.7, placing 1st all around.

Sarah Goldrup of Waldoboro - Level 3, Age 8, Augusta - came in 5th on vault with a 8.7 (PB), 6th on bars with a 7.1 (PB), 4th on beam with an 8.0(PB), 4th on floor with an 8.1 (PB), placing 5th all around.

Makenna Dunstan of Nobleboro - Level 3, Age 8, Augusta - came in 5th on vault with a 8.6, 7th on bars with a 7.4, 3rd on beam with a 7.05, 5th on floor with a 7.2, placing 5th all around. Bath - 2nd on vault with an 8.4, tied for 1st on bars with a 6.9, 2nd on beam with a 7.0, 2nd on floor with a 7.5 (PB) and placed 2nd all around.

Reece Instasi of Waldoboro, Level 3- Age 9 - Augusta - came in 2nd on vault with a 9.0 (SB), 3rd with an 8.6 on bars, 1st on bars with an 8.9, 2nd on floor with a 9.0, placing 1st place all around.  Bath - tied for 4th on vault with an 8.6, 2nd on bars with an 8.8 (PB), 1st on beam with a 9.0, 1st on floor with a 9.0, placing 1st all around.

Kayla Reardon of South Thomaston, Level 3 - Age 10, Augusta - came in 3rd with a 9.0 on vault, 1st on bars with a 8.7, 1st on beam with an 8.85, 2nd with an 8.75 on floor, placing 1st all around. Bath - 2nd on vault, 1st on bars with an 8.9 (PB), 2nd on beam with an 8.85, 2nd on floor with an 8.55, placing 2nd all around. 

Madalyn Mercer of Nobleboro, Age 10, Level 3, Augusta - came in 1st with a 9.2 on vault, tied for 4th with a 8.35 on bars, came in 3rd on beam with a 8.65,  came in 6th with a 7.6 on floor placing 6th all around.

Erica Johnson of Nobleboro, Level 4, Age 9-10, Augusta - tied for 1st on vault with a 9.0 (PB), 1st on bars with an 8.9, 1st on beam with an 8.75, 1st floor with a 9.25 (PB), placing 1st all around. Bath - 1st on vault with an 8.9, tied for 1st on bars with a 9.0, 5th on beam with an 8.35, 1st on floor with a 9.1, placing 1st all around.

Dakota Gregory of Newcastle - Level 4, Age 9-10, Augusta - came in 4th on vault with a 7.8, 3rd on bars with an 8.6, tied for 2nd on beam with a 8.25, 2nd on floor with a 9.05 (PB), placing 3rd all around. Bath - 4th on vault with an 8.0, tied for 1st on bars with a 9.0 (PB), 1st on beam with a 9.25, 2nd on floor with an 8.9, placing 2nd all around.

Ava Carmolli of Edgecomb, Level 4, Age 11+, Augusta - came in 7th on vault with an 7.0, 4th on bars with a 6.9,  5th on beam with a 7.6, 3rd on floor with an 8.25 (PB), placing 5th all around. Bath - 1st on vault with an 8.3 (PB), 2nd on bars with an 8.0 (PB), 2nd on beam with an 8.6, 2nd on floor with an 8.1, placing 1st all around.

Leah Wilcox of Waldoboro - Level 4, Age 11+, Augusta - came in 3rd on vault with an 7.8, 2nd on bars with an 8.45 (PB), 3rd on beam with an 8.05, 1st on floor with an 8.9 (PB), placing 2nd all around. Bath - 2nd on vault with an 8.2 (PB), 3rd on bars with a 7.3, 1st on beam with an 8.7 (PB), 1st on floor with an 8.45, placing 2nd all around.

Maddy Russ of Damariscotta - Level 7, Age 11-13, Augusta - came in 1st on vault with a 9.0 (PB), 1st on bars with a 9.25 (PB), 1st on beam with a 7.8, 1st on floor with a 9.45 (PB), placing 1st all around. Bath - tied for 1st on vault with an 8.6, 2nd on bars with a 8.95, 3rd on beam with an 8.6, 1st on floor with a 9.2, placing 3rd all around.

Reed Gulden of Walpole - Level 7, Age Age 11-13, Bath - 2nd on vault with an 8.4, 1st on bars with a 9.0 (PB), 2nd on beam with a 9.0, 2nd on floor with a 9.05 (PB), placing 2nd all around.

Emma Hall of Damariscotta - Level 7, Age 13+, Augusta - came in 3rd on vault with an 8.4, 1st on bars with a 8.65 (PB), 2nd on beam with a 7.95 and 2nd on floor with an 8.65 placing 2nd all around. Bath - Age 11-13, tied for 1st on vault with an 8.6, 3rd on bars with an 8.85 (PB), 1st on beam with a 9.2 (PB), 3rd on floor with an 8.9, placing 1st all around.

Katie Colomb of Alna - Level 6, Age 14-17, Bath - came in 4th on vault with an 8.9 (PB), 4th on bars with an 8.1, 3rd on beam with an 8.5, 1st on floor with an 8.95 placing 3rd all around.

Sometimes teams show why they are undefeated.

The Dirigo Cougars showed why they are one of Western Class C's top-ranked teams when they completed the 85-36 victory over the Wiscasset High School girls varsity basketball team Monday, Jan. 5.

The Cougars (8-0) scored early and often and were able to rack up a season-high 85 points.

Dirigo relied on the press to frustrate and harass Wiscasset's ball-handlers, and capitalized on turnovers from the start.

The Cougars rushed to early leads of 7-0, and 21-2 in the first half, before Wiscasset came storming back to cut the lead to 24-11 before the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Dirigo would again find its advantage at mid-court, where Cougar defenders were able to bottle any Wiscasset momentum with traps. The Dirigo offense was also able to spread-out Wiscasset's defense, as Dirigo's Jessica Conant scored eight of her game-high 28 points in the second quarter to pace the Cougars.

By halftime the score was 44-20 in favor of the visiting team, and Dirigo added to its lead.

Dirigo's Kelsey Hutchins scored eight of her 18 points in the third quarter to bring the lead to 66-34 entering the final quarter.

Dirigo was able to hold Wiscasset to two points the rest of the way; Emma Leuders scored eight of her 12 points in the final frame to put the game away for the Cougars.

For Wiscasset, the leading scorer was senior Kayla Gordon, who scored 12 points. Fellow senior Alecia Faulkingham netted 11 points and sophomore Gabby Chapman scored five points.

Despite the loss, Wiscasset is still in the Western Class C playoff picture; the Wolverines are currently in 12th place.

For Dirigo, the winning continues as the Cougars are now 8-0 and in sole possession of third place in Western Class C. Dirigo will have a large challenge Thursday, Jan. 8 when it faces the second-ranked Boothbay Region Seahawks. Wiscasset will host Carrabec on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Monmouth 58, Wiscasset 41

Monmouth was able to beat the Wiscasset High School girls varsity basketball team 58-41 when the two teams matched-up Saturday, Jan. 3.

Despite the two teams playing a close first half, Monmouth was able to capitalize on Wiscasset foul trouble to score 25 third-quarter points and put the game away.

Sidney Wilson scored a game-high 19 points and Tia Day scored 14 points for the Mustangs (5-2) while senior Kayla Gordon scored 13 points, sophomore Gabby Chapman had seven points and senior Miranda McIntire chipped-in with six points for the Wolverines (3-6).

The Wiscasset Warriors Middle School boys basketball team started the new year off in the right direction as they picked up a 59-48 win over the visiting Woolwich Wildcats on Monday, Jan. 5.

The Warriors backcourt tandem of Billy Pinkham and Dylan Orr turned in a fine performance as the duo combined for 30 points.

Billy led the team with 16 points and Dylan added 14.

Matt Chapman played a steady game on the low post scoring 10 points and grabbing 15 rebounds.

Noah Haggett netted eight points including two long-distant three-point shots and CJ Loyola played a strong defensive game and also turned in five points and eight rebounds.

The Warriors are now 8-2 on the season.

Woolwich was led by Kaleb Jackson who scored a game-high 18 points while teammate Arius Eich scored 12 points.

Although the striped sea bass population isn't in danger, plans are on the table to keep it that way.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources held a meeting Monday, Jan. 5 in Yarmouth in which more than 50 charter captains spoke with DMR about the looming 25 percent reduction.

Bruce Joule, director of DMR's Recreational Saltwater Fisheries Program, said via telephone that while there were some concerns about the reductions, by and large the fishermen provided solutions and suggestions on how to tackle the reduced catch limits.

While Monday's meeting wasn't a regulatory one, the fishermen in attendance, who came from throughout the state, offered several opinions as to what avenue the state should take to achieve the reductions.

“Nothing's been decided yet,” he said. “(DMR will need to) sit down in-house and figure out what we can and can't do and come up with an option that works.”

In November 2014, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission mandated that there needed to be a 25 percent reduction in the harvest of Atlantic striped bass, also known as stripers.

Joule said the ASMFC has given Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts several options on how to tackle the reduction, including allowing the states to come up with their own policy, so long as it meets the reduction goal.

Thus far, the most popular option appears to be the reduction from two 28-inch stripers per angler per day down to one, Joule said.

“With that, a lot of it depends on where along the coast you are,” he said.

Once all the information is gathered, the DMR will come up with a regulatory plan that it will roll out to the public via public meetings.

“We'll see what we can, and can't do and come up with something we think works (for the DMR and anglers) and it will have to be approved by the ASMFC,” Joule said.

Joule said that while there is room to be creative, any plan needs to accomplish the 25 percent reduction goal.

The reduction stems from the results of a 2013 striper assessment, which showed that 2012's striper mortality was above the target and that female spawning stock biomass had been declining since approximately 2006.

While the fishery isn't considered to be in grave danger like other fisheries, it was time to take preventative measures, Joule said.

“It's time for us to step up,” he said. “We want to do something about it now.”

On Dec. 4, Dr. Beth Orcutt and Dr. Graham Shimmield left Costa Rica for a 14-hour journey into the Pacific Ocean to study the Dorado Outcrop, located near where two tectonic plates, the Cocos and the Caribbean, intersect.

After arriving, they went down over two miles in the manned submersible ship Alvin, accompanied by pilot Phil Forte. While Orcutt is a veteran, this was Shimmield's first trip to the ocean floor.

“I've been studying the ocean floor for 35 years, but this was my first chance to actually see it as a landscape,” Shimmield said.

The pressure at that depth is staggering, at 2.2 tons per square inch. The sphere containing passengers in Alvin is made of 3-inch thick titanium so it can withstand the force.

According to Orcutt, the Dorado Outcrop is very unusual. It is a thermal vent that is cooler in temperature than most other ones discovered, though still much warmer than the water around it. It is also unusual because they know where the water exiting is coming from; it is entering through an area close by known as Tangosed, which means “thirsty.”

This means that the water is traveling a small distance very quickly before emerging at much warmer temperatures. According to Shimmield, the temperature measured equaled 11.2 C, while the surrounding water measured only 1.8 C.

“It is very unusual to know where the water is both entering and exiting,” Orcutt said.

The dive's objective was to collect samples that were as pure as possible from the warm water exiting the outcrop, so scientists could study how the water had changed.

“It helps us learn how to mine heat out of the earth, how the chemicals in the rocks affect the water, how the life is using them; it goes on,” Orcutt said.

Going down in Alvin is a unique experience, one very few scientists have experienced.

Currently, only five countries currently are doing manned seafloor expeditions: the United States, Japan, China, France and Russia. The majority of expeditions, mostly due to the danger, are done by unmanned robots.

“The descent takes about two hours,” Shimmield said. “Within the first 10 minutes all light filtering down from the sun vanishes. But there is a lot of bioluminescence on the way down, so we could still observe on the way down. It was slow and serene.”

“It also gets colder the deeper you go,” Orcutt said. “Leaving Costa Rica it's really warm, you carry a pillowcase on board with warm gear and the deeper you go the more you're wearing.” Since Alvin runs on battery power that needs to be conserved, there is no heating system on board for passengers.

Alvin spent five hours on the seafloor, which Shimmield said passed “way too fast.” The group saw many creatures including crabs, tiny shrimp and fish. The highlight of the living creatures were what Shimmield referred to as the “octopus spa.”

There were colonies of octopi clutching the rocks near the thermal vents, enjoying the warmer water they were ejecting. They also seemed highly interested in the scientific equipment the scientists were trying to use.

“The pilot was taking a sample, and suddenly this tentacle appears and nudges the syringe aside and pokes into the aperture were were using. It's like it was saying 'mine,'” Shimmield said.

When it was time to reascend, Alvin dropped the steel plates that gave it weight to sink and started back up.

“People often think there is a tether that connects us to the boat at the surface,” Orcutt said. “Nope — we're on our own down there.”

After appearing on the surface, they are retrieved by the boat. Until they are, they deal with what Orcutt called the “washing machine” effect as they bob around and roll back and forth.

Despite the cold, the wet (in the cold air the breath of the passengers condenses and drips on everything) and the cramped conditions, and it was still “the experience of a lifetime,” according to Shimmield. Orcutt agrees it is a wonderful experience and enjoys every descent.

Their adventure ending with the traditional initiation of an Alvin newbie being performed on Shimmield — a drenching on deck with six buckets of icy sea water.

In the first match-up since being bounced in the 2013-14 playoffs, Wiscasset and Dirigo boys varsity basketball teams picked up where they left off.

The two teams battled in a physical, defensive effort reminiscent of last year's playoff match-up, and again Dirigo (7-2) was able to muster enough offense for the win over Wiscasset (2-8).

In February 2014, the two teams played a physical, upbeat game that Dirigo would eventually win, 66-56, in the quarterfinals. The Cougars eventually fell to fifth-ranked Maranacook.

Dirigo never trailed, but the game was closer than the 78-54 final score might indicate.

A late Wolverines charge in the first quarter cut Dirigo's lead to 28-17, and Dirigo slowly built its lead from there. Again using the press and trap technique that allowed the Cougars to advance in last year's Western Class C playoffs, Dirigo was able to bottle Wiscasset's ball-handlers at midcourt and capitalize on turnovers.

Wiscasset would begin chipping away at the Cougars' lead in the second half, but Dirigo managed to keep the pressure up for the win.

Dirigo's Riley Robinson was the only Cougars player to score in double digits, but he scored a game-high 30 points to lead the way for Dirigo.

Wiscasset was led by junior Brandon Sprague, who scored 17 points. The sophomore trio of Ethan James (13 points, two blocks), Nate Woodman (seven points) and Kevin Lynch (five points) supplied much of the offense for Wiscasset.

Dirigo will have a big test on Friday, Jan. 9 when the top-ranked Boothbay Region Seahawks travel to Dixfield. Wiscasset will play host on Friday to 0-8 Carrabec.

Update: Due to the warm weather and melted snow, the biathlon has been moved to Sunday, Feb. 8.

With temperatures returning to winter levels, the time will soon come again to head out into the Jefferson woods and shoot targets while on skis.

The fourth annual Liberal Cup Biathlon, hosted and run by Hidden Valley Nature Center in Jefferson, will be Sunday, Feb. 8 at the Nature Center, Egypt Road in Jefferson.

The event features separate classes for different age and experience levels, and entertainment after the day’s races are done. Costumes aren’t required, but are encouraged.

Last year more than 130 skiers ignored the cold and took to the woods for the third year of the event. When it started, it was just a few friends together in the woods; last year more than 150 people attended the event.

The day will start with the young skiers first, Hidden Valley Nature Center director Andy McEvoy said.

“The kids race kicks off at 9 a.m. (then) the rest of the races follow roughly on the hour for the rest of the morning,” he said. “As in past years the event will wrap up in the early afternoon.”

Because there were so many skiers last year, things had to be tweaked for this year, McEvoy said.

“We've changed a few things this year. Because of some trouble with the timing last year we'll run the race a little more efficiently,” he said. “Each race category will race individually instead of lumping all categories into one race as in last year's. We've also changed the shooting range a bit to reduce backups.

“I think we've overcome the issues that caused us some major back-ups last year.”

This year will also feature the inclusion of the new building on the grounds, and a “SkiDaddle” race for kids ages 5 to 9. But other than that, things should be the same as they usually are, McEvoy said.

“All the good stuff will stay the same,” he said. “We still want to see tons of creative costumes, and we are still making sure that all ages and abilities feel welcome. Racers can still race in 4-person teams — just sign up individually and declare a team when you check in on race day.”

The other big component of the day — the beer from Hallowell's Liberal Cup — will be there along with hot toddies this year, as last year the cold temperatures made the beer tough to pour, McEvoy said.

For more information, visit HVNC's biathlon Web page: www.hvnc.org/biathlon-2.

On Wednesday, Jan. 7, the Wiscasset Warriors middle school boys basketball team traveled to Nobleboro to face the undefeated Lions for their final regular season game. The Warriors battled mightily but came up just short in the 58-48 loss. It was a hard-fought game by both sides from start to finish. The playoff bound Warriors ended the regular season with 8 wins and 3 losses.

Wiscasset was led by Matt Chapman, who turned in his finest performance of the season. Matt scored 18 points and brought down 22 rebounds. CJ Loyola played a great defensive game to go along with his 11 points. Billy Pinkham netted eight points and grabbed seven rebounds.

The Nobleboro Lions were led by Bryce Y. and his game high 22 points. Ethan S. tallied 17 points and Joel Hatch scored 12.

A piece of the North Maine Woods is coming to Hidden Valley Nature Center (HVNC) in Jefferson on Friday, Feb. 6 at 4:30 p.m. Paul Johnson from Maine Woods Forever will give a presentation about the Thoreau-Wabanaki Trail.

The Thoreau-Wabanaki Trail is a project initiated by Maine Woods Forever. It consists of traditional Wabanaki canoe routes and portages in Maine’s Kennebec and Penobscot River drainages over which Henry David Thoreau traveled in his three excursions into the Maine Woods, his last two with Penobscot Indian guides.  Along these waterways Thoreau’s ideas about nature and conservation were shaped through his observations, experiences, and through the Penobscots’ philosophy imparted by his guides Joseph Attean and Joseph Polis. 

Paul Johnson is a member of Maine Woods Forever. Prior to retiring in 2005 he worked as a fishery biologist for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife in the Moosehead Lake Region, where he had the opportunity to become familiar with the woods and waters visited by Thoreau. His program will highlight places that Thoreau visited, and things he observed, many of which can be seen today just as Thoreau saw them more than 150 years ago.

For more information, and to register please visit www.hvnc.org/registration. There is a $5 fee for this event. Feel free to bring something to snack on, but we’ll be serving hot chocolate, tea, and something sweet.

More information available online at www.hvnc.org, info@hvnc.org, or call 207-200-8840.

Have you ever wondered what knot is best for tying a tarp to a tree during a camping trip or how best to keep the canoe from leaving and yet be able to untie it a week later?

Get instruction from outdoorsman Steve Spencer at the Damariscotta River Association on Jan. 29.

The class starts at 5:30 p.m. and goes until 6:30. The class is open to everyone ages nine and up.

The group will practice tying the double half-hitch, square, bowline, clove hitch, butterfly and a timber hitch knots.

Pre-registration is required by Jan. 27. The fee for the class is $5 for non-members and members get in free.

For more information call 207-563-1393, email dra@damariscottariver.org, or visit www.damariscottariver.org.

The Lincoln Academy Eagles swim team faced the Belfast Area High School Lions at home on Jan. 6. The Eagles fought hard, coming away with one first place, seven seconds, and 11 thirds.

The one first place went to Noah Jordan in the 100 yard breaststroke. His time of 1:07.33 also qualified him for the state championships next month, along with third-place finisher Camden Gulden (1:12.43).

The Eagles also took several second places. These went to Noah Jordan in the 50 yard freestyle, Elise Dumont and Camden Gulden in the 100 yard butterfly. All three had times that qualified them for states.

Second places also went to four relay teams: the boys 200 yard freestyle relay team, the 400 yard freestyle relay team (Tommy Thelander, Abe Steinberger, Alejandro Ramos, and Anton Kalmysh), and both the girl and boy 200 yard medley relay teams (Anna Sirois, Sammy Ober, Elise Dumont and Pheobe Pugh; Camden Reiss, Noah Jordan, Camden Gulden and Tommy Thelander).

Third places went to Tommy Thelander in the 200 yard freestyle, Camden Reiss in the 200 yard IM and 100 yard backstroke, Essie Martin in the 500 yard freestyle, Anna Sirois in the 100 yard backstroke, Sammy Ober in the 100 yard breaststroke, and Camden Gulden (who qualified for states) in the 100 yard breaststroke

Relay teams taking third included Thalia Eddyblouin, Jordan Farrin, Samantha Aho and Elizabeth Gilbert for the girls, and Alejandro Ramos, Noah Jordan, Camden Gulden and Tommy Thelander for the boys in the 200 yard medleys, the girls 200 yard freestyle team of Elise Dumont, Sammy Ober, Annie Farnsworth and Essie Martin, and the 400 yard freestyle relay team of Anna Sirois, Phoebe Pugh, Annie Farnsworth and Essie Martin.

The Eagles' next home game will take place on Jan. 16 against Mt. Ararat.

Despite playing a close three quarters, the Wiscasset High School girls varsity basketball was unable to shake off a pesky Carrabec team and fell, 55-40, Thursday, Jan. 8 at home.

Both teams were evenly matched throughout, but in the end Carrabec (5-4) was able to ride a hot fourth quarter to overcome the Wolverines (3-8).

The two Western Class C rivals were as evenly-matched as two teams can be throughout the first half. Both scored 12 points in the first, and 18 in the second quarter to go into half-time with identical 30 points apiece.

Wiscasset was able to pass the ball freely in the first half, which led to players like Miranda McIntire, who finished with a team-high 10 points, and Colleen Hendricks (eight points) getting open. Carrabec countered with center Emma Pluntke, who scored a game-high 20 points, to keep pace.

The second half saw Carrabec put the pressure on Wiscasset, and the Cobras were able to capitalize on mistakes to take the narrowest of 39-36 leads into the final quarter.

Wiscasset would run into foul trouble, however, and Carrabec netted 16 points to Wiscasset's four in the fourth quarter to finish the 55-40 victory.

Kayla Gordon added eight points for the Wolverines, and fellow seniors Alecia Faulkingham (seven points) and Tylan Onorato (five points) rounded-out the Wiscasset attack. Kate Stevens scored seven points, while both Liberty Chestnut and Bailey Dunphy netted six points apiece.

Wiscasset’s game against Lisbon on Monday, Jan. 12 against the 2-6 Greyhounds was rescheduled to Jan. 13 due to snow.

After almost 11 months of opening up the ceiling and replacing walls and floor to expose and enhance the beauty of the building they bought last March, Alison Evans and her husband, Chris Fritz, have opened Ae Home, a ceramics showplace and studio at 93 Townsend Avenue in Boothbay Harbor.

Evans and Fritz have been there, along with electricians, plumbers and builders, throughout the process of adding all new wiring, new sprinkler system, electrical panels, plumbing, insulation, walls, windows, ceiling and flooring.

It was a long, costly process.

“We needed to stop spending money,” Evans said. “But I think when you look at the value of the building, and how much money we spent, we're still on the winning side of it.”

Evans said the design of the interior, which could be described as simply elegant, was a group effort.

“We looked at what we had to work with. We had to keep the posts, because they hold the building up.”

The posts were dark brown; now they're white, along with the rest of the interior, making for an open, airy, bright feeling.

The floor is wide pine boards, with the natural color adding a warm golden touch.

The big rustic cabinets against some of the walls, and acting as dividers between the showroom and Evans' working area at the back of the building, were in the space when Evans and Fritz bought it. They were all part of Wheeler's Pharmacy.

Evans is an artist who designs and sculpts ceramic dinnerware vessels inspired by natural shapes and colors from the gulf of Maine. Her plates, bowls, teapots, cups and platters, each piece individually hand molded and glazed, are works of art. But they are also practical, usable pieces that are lead-free and dishwasher and microwave safe.

Fritz and Evans also have a shop in Yarmouth, the Alison Evans Ceramics Studio, and their pottery is sold in retail stores throughout the United States and overseas.

The new shop in Boothbay Harbor has the large showroom at the front of the building, and an open working studio in the rear, where visitors can see the process of making and glazing the pieces.

A kiln room, for firing the pieces, is also in the works, with five kilns coming soon. Meanwhile Evans is working, shaping her artful forms, and letting them dry for a week before glazing and firing them.

The large open showroom is lovely as is, but is easily transformable.

“What's so beautiful about this space is that if I need more work space we can push things forward, and if we change our minds we can move them back. Everything is movable.”

Some of the tables used to showcase the ceramics were made by Evans, and some were donated.

“Some of these pieces came from a friend's home, and they went from looking like these huge pieces to looking small, because this space is so big,” she said.

Having spent most summers growing up in East Boothbay, where her parents have a summer home, Evans said she was “feeling the love” from townspeople and shop owners in town. One had just brought her a large orchid plant.

“I always knew I'd be supported by the people in this town because I've known everybody for so long, but I had no idea that people would be coming out of the woodwork to congratulate me. And it's amazing how many people have thanked me for saving this building,” she said. “I could have torn it down, and some were worried about that.”

Fritz said he looks forward to people seeing the ceramics process.

“People will be coming in and wanting to see how we make the items — what the process is to get the end result. They really like seeing that part of it, and I enjoy showing them.”

Eventually the couple plans to live on the second floor of the building, but for now they're just enjoying the elegant space of their showroom.

The business will be open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed weekends, during the winter months. The hours may vary, but you can call to check at 207-315-6221.

In early December, 55 third graders from Great Salt Bay School participated in the Damariscotta River Association’s (DRA) Wabanaki Living Skills and Culture program. The children etched birch bark with Passamaquoddy artist and educator David Moses Bridges, built emergency shelters, tasted wild edibles, played snow snakes and heard native stories.

“It was a wonderful day,” Education Director Sarah Gladu said. “The kids enjoyed the hulled corn and moose meat soup made by volunteer Jenny Begin tremendously and the camp fire, which was tended by volunteer Bill Claflin, added great atmosphere to the whole event. It was a day of getting kids into nature and learning about the native culture that teaches us about this landscape and this place.”

DRA staff expressed their pleasure in hosting Bridges again this year, the 10th that this program has been offered, during the Wabanaki Living Skills and Culture program and creating opportunities for local children to learn from him. For 13 days this October, more than 540 students from throughout the region come to Blackstone Point at the DRA farm to learn a variety of outdoor living skills in the tradition of Maine’s native peoples.

“We are committed to ensuring that Native American people continue to be involved in this program and that students have opportunities to learn from them,” Gladu said. “This is the only way for us to ensure an authentic perspective on Native culture.”

Students in the DRA program build wigwams, smoke meat, sample wild edibles, make cedar string and spoons from birch bark. They experience being outdoors and handling a variety of natural materials first-hand.

Bridges is the First Peoples Fund Community Spirit 2006 Award recipient and member of the Passamaquoddy tribe from Sipayik. He is an artist, birch bark canoe maker, educator, community activist, and co-founder of Mulankeyutmonen Nkihtakmikon (We Take Care of the Homeland), a nonprofit organization committed to protecting and preserving Wabanaki original territories.

His birch bark skin canoes are built to match the traditional hull forms developed by his people, the Passamaquoddy, Penobscot and Malecite.

For more information, call 207-563-1393, email dra@damariscottariver.org, or visit www.damariscottariver.org.

The Wiscasset High School girls varsity basketball game scheduled for Monday, Jan. 12 has been canceled.

The Wolverines were slated to play in Lisbon against the Greyhounds, but the snowstorm that blanketed the region will force the game to be replayed Tuesday.

There will be a doubleheader Tuesday, Jan. 13, with the 3-8 Wiscasset girls varsity team tipping-off at 5:30 p.m. in Lisbon against the 2-8 Greyhounds. The boys team will follow at 7 p.m. with Wiscasset (3-8) facing the 3-8 Greyhounds.

The Newcastle-Damariscotta Bicycle-Pedestrian Committee would like to remind all area residents and visitors to take a few minutes to complete the committee’s Bike-Pedestrian Survey.

The survey results will be used to evaluate the adequacy of existing bicycle and pedestrian facilities, determine whether there are any safety issues and identify any improvements that should be made in the future.

This information will be incorporated into a community-wide bicycle-pedestrian plan that will serve as the basis for prioritizing future state and local improvements to bicycle and pedestrian facilities in the communities.

Paper copies of the survey are available at the town offices, YMCA and the Skidompha Public Library. The survey can also be completed electronically and is available at www.newcastlemaine.us, www.townofdamariscotta.com or www.lcrpc.org.

Any questions about the survey or the project should be referred to Lincoln County Planner Bob Faunce at rfaunce@lcrpc.org or 207-784-2617. 

Witness galaxies, constellations, planets and much more at a Star Party jointly offered by Damariscotta River Association (DRA) and Central Maine Astronomical Society (CMAS). Between Jan. 16 and 18, (depending on sky conditions) the party will take place one evening at DRA’s Great Salt Bay Farm, 110 Belvedere Road in Damariscotta.

Participants are strongly encouraged to register for the program by calling DRA at 207-563-1393 and also by signing up for the CMAS newsletter (http://tinyletter.com/MaineAstro) so they will receive notification of the date change as it occurs. Extreme wind, cold and sky clarity will impact the date of the event. The program starts at 7 p.m. and goes to about 11 p.m. The event is free of charge.

Star Party participants will learn about galaxies, stars, star constellation identification and telescope use. Telescopes will be provided and participants are encouraged to bring binoculars to assist viewing. Over the years at star parties stargazers have seen many celestial objects including the moon, planets, deep-sky objects such as the Orion Nebula and other fascinating star systems such as the open star cluster Pleiades. The program is open to all levels and ages.

Program participants should come dressed very warmly (as if they were going ice fishing) as night sky observation in the winter is a cold endeavor. The DRA Heritage Center will be open for participants to warm themselves and tea and coffee will be available. Participants are encouraged to bring lawn chairs. It is courteous to turn off headlights upon entry to the DRA parking lot, and proceed slowly with caution and only parking lights on, so as not to blind the people already engaged in star watching.

CMAS hosts star parties at observatories in Whitefield, Lincolnville and Damariscotta throughout the year. CMAS also provides presentations at schools, clubs and civic organizations; technical and legislative aid in preserving dark skies; assistance to beginners; and fellowship for experts.

For more information call 207-563-1393, email dra@damariscottariver.org, or view their website at www.damariscottariver.org.

Entries for the juried 10th annual Maine Photography Show (MPS) are still being accepted, but not for much longer. The deadline is midnight on Friday, Jan. 23.

This show is open to all Maine residents, including folks with summer addresses.

The MPS theme, one of the four categories, is “Visions of Maine.” The remaining three categories are color, black and white and student. Students must be 18 or under and may choose any theme or style.

Photographers can submit up to three images representing one or more of the categories. There is a $10 fee for each entry.

Submissions should be completed online at www.mainephotographyshow.com. Entry photos must be in jpeg format with a suggested resolution at 300 dpi with the widest dimension (1800) pixels. If not submitted at this size, images will be resized, to present a uniform presentation for juror. Entries must be submitted using the form on the show's website. No original art will be accepted.

Tillman Crane is juror of the show. Crane, artist, teacher and photojournalist, specializes in large format platinum prints and teaches workshops and classes at Maine Media Workshop of Rockport. A link to a full biography on Crane is on the show's website.

The MPS is sponsored by Boothbay Region Art Foundation (BRAF) in Boothbay Harbor. Board member and photographer Bruce Burnham said as of Jan. 14, entries were coming in “reasonably well.”

“Folks always work best in 'crisis mode’,” Burnham said. “It's just the way it is, but I would encourage artists to submit their entries now.”

Sixteen prizes, and the coveted honor of “Best of Show,” totaling over $1,600, will be awarded at the opening reception on Friday, April 10. The MPS opens at the Boothbay Region Art Foundation on April 11 and runs through Friday, May 1.

The gallery is located at 1 Townsend Avenue in Boothbay Harbor.

Have questions not covered on the MPS website? Call BRAF at 207-633-2703.

The Wiscasset High School girls varsity basketball team traveled Tuesday, Jan. 13 to Lisbon in a make-up game due to snow.

And make-up they did; the Wolverines (4-8) were able to make up for lost ground with a narrow 38-35 win over (2-9) Lisbon.

Lisbon was able to get a first-half jump on the Wolverines, but Wiscasset, behind 27 second-half points, was able to clinch the victory.

Kayla Gordon scored a game-high 15 points to go with eight rebounds, and Colleen Hendricks again put together a strong game by scoring 11 points.

For Lisbon, Jasmin Le scored 10 points while Mia Durgin scored nine points.

The Wolverines will host 2-7 St. Doms at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 16.

Swimming against local rivals brought out some of the best times of the year for the Wiscasset High School varsity swim team.

The Wolverines hosted swimmers from Boothbay Region and Lincoln Academy on Jan. 9 at home.

Wiscasset (Amanda Marcus, Julia West, Jenna Bickford and Maeve Carlson) finished third in the girls 200-yard medley relay behind Lincoln and Boothbay.

The boys 200-yard medley relay team (Aidan Carlson, Ryan Medina, Ridge Barnes and Sam Storer) finished second behind Lincoln.

West had an especially successful day; the senior was first in both the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard butterfly.

Marcus finished sixth in both the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard freestyle.

Maeve Carlson was third in the girls 100-yard freestyle and fourth in the girls 100-yard backstroke.

Bickford finished fourth in the girls 200-yard individual medley and fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke.

Like West, Storer had a strong showing: he was first in the boys 100-yard butterfly and the 100-yard backstroke.

Barnes finished third in the boys 200-yard freestyle, third in the 100-yard breaststroke and fourth in the 100-yard freestyle.

Aidan Carlson finished second in the boys 50-yard freestyle and third in the 100-yard breaststroke, while Medina (fourth) and Kyle Viele (fifth) competed in the 50-yard freestyle race. Medina and Viele finished fifth and seventh, respectively, in the boys 100-yard freestyle.

Wiscasset swims up the Kennebec

On Jan. 6, the Wiscasset High School varsity swim team “swam” up the Kennebec River ... to Gardiner YMCA, where the Tigers held a swim meet.

Wiscasset was dominant in many races, including the relay races, in particular.

In the girls 200-yard medley relay, the team of Amanda Marcus, Julia West, Jenna Bickford and Maeve Carlson finished first in 2:32.09, while the boys 200-yard medley relay team of Kyle Viele, Aidan Carlson, Sam Storer and Ridge Barnes finished first in 2:20.55.

In the boys 200-yard freestyle, Storer finished first with a time of 2:18.24, while in the girls 200-yard individual medley West was first wit a 2:34.83.

Maeve Carlson (32.95 seconds) and Bickford (35.27) finished second and third, respectively, in the girls 50-yard freestyle while Aidan Carlson (28.85) and Viele (37.96) finished first and second respectively in the boys 50-yard freestyle.

Bickford was first in the girls 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:39.55.

Maeve Carlson was second in the girls 100-yard freestyle, while Marcus finished third in the same race. Storer was first in the boys 100-yard freestyle and Viele was second.

In the girls 200-yard freestyle relay, Wiscasset (Maeve Carlson, Marcus, Bickford and West) edged Gardiner by two seconds.

The boys 200-yard freestyle team (Ridge Barnes, Aidan Carlson, Medina and Storer) also finished first.

Marcus finished second in the girls 100-yard backstroke, while Barnes finished first in the boys race.

West was first by a wide margin in the girls 100-yard breaststroke while Aidan Carlson and Medina finished first and second, respectively in the boys 100-yard breaststroke.

The Lincoln Academy Eagles traveled to the Wiscasset Community Center on Jan. 9 for a meet with three other teams, the Wiscasset High Wolverines, Hyde-Bath Phoenix and the Boothbay Region High School Seahawks.

Out of 20 events, the Eagles took six first places. Noah Jordan took first in the 200 yard IM, qualifying for states with a time of 2:19.84. Camden Gulden also qualifying for states with a time of 25.51 in the 50 yard freestyle, earning him a first place.

Four relay teams from Lincoln Academy took first places as well. Anna Sirois, Sammy Ober, Elise Dumont and Essie Martin in the 200 yard medley relay, and Essie, Elizabeth Gilbert, Kristyna Skyvova, and Samantha Aho in the 400 yard freestyle relay.

The boys came in first in the 400 yard freestyle, with the team of Tommy Thelander, Alejandro Ramos, Nicholas Miaoulis, and Anton Kalmysh; and in the 200 yard medley relay with the team of Camden Reiss, Jordan, Thelander and Gulden.

Second places went to Dumont in the 200 yard freestyle, Kate Laemmle in the 200 yard IM, Sirois in the 100 yard butterfly, Jordan in the 100 yard freestyle (qualifying for states with a time of 56.67 seconds), Sammy Ober in the 100 yard backstroke, Gulden in the 100 yard backstroke (qualifying for states with a time of 1:08.12), and Dumont and Kalmysh in the 100 yard breaststroke.

One relay teams took second: Gulden, Kalmysh, Reiss and Jordan took second in the 200 yard freestyle relay.

Third places went to Aho in the 200 yard freestyle and 100 yard butterfly, Annie Farnsworth in the 200 yard IM, Martin and Kalmysh in the 50 yard freestyle, and Laemmle in the 100 yard backstroke.

The relay team of Laemmle, Ober, Cassie Leeman and Rowan Carroll-Christopher took third in the 200 yard freestyle relay, and the team of Farnsworth, Sirois, Thalia Eddyblouin, and Erin Kelly took third in the 400 yard freestyle relay.

Home meet on Jan. 16

The Eagles had a home swim meet on Jan. 16. They competed against Mt. Ararat and Boothbay Region High Schools. They took three first places, eight seconds and seven thirds.

First places went to Elise Dumont in the 100 yard butterfly, Camden Gulden in the 100 yard freestyle and 100 yard backstroke, and the relay team of Camden Gulden, Tommy Thelander, Anton Kalmysh and Whitman Vaughn in the 200 yard freestyle relay.

Second places went to Whitman Vaughn in the 200 yard freestyle, Elise Dumont in the 200 yard IM, Essie Martin in the 50 yard freestyle, Anton Kalmysh in the 100 yard butterfly and 100 yard breaststroke, Anna Sirois in the 100 yard backstroke, the relay teams of Anna Sirois, Samantha Aho, Elise Dumont and Essie Martin in the 200 yard medley relay and Alejandro Ramos, Camden Gulden, Anton Kalmysh and Whitman Vaughn in the 200 yard medley relay.

Thirds went to Anna Sirois in the 100 yard butterfly, Tommy Thelander in the 100 yard freestyle, Essie Martin in the 500 yard freestyle, Abe Steinberger in the 500 yard freestyle, Tommy Thelander in the 100 yard breaststroke, the team of Nathan Osborne, Abe Steinberger, Tommy Thelander and Alejandro Ramos in the 400 yard freestyle relay, and the team of Annie Farnsworth, Jordan Farrin, Kristyna Skyvova and Essie Martin in the 200 yard freestyle relay.

Elise Dumont made a state qualifying time in the 200 yard IM, as did Essie Martin in the 500 yard freestyle. Martin came very close to a qualifying time on the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 29.22 seconds (qualifying time is 29.10 seconds).

The Eagles have two more home meets on Jan. 23 and Jan. 30 before the KVAC championships held at the Bath YMCA on Feb. 6.

In a game that came down to the final seconds, St. Dom's Saints were able to withstand an attempted buzzer-beater to escape Wiscasset with a win.

How close was St. Dom's 49-48 victory over Wiscasset on Thursday, Jan. 15? Only a couple of feet, as the buzzer-beater chucked-up with a second left just missed the mark.

The Saints (5-6) had taken the lead on a Becket Wagner free throw with four seconds left in a 48-48 game.

The two teams appeared to be evenly-matched throughout the contest.

Wiscasset (4-9) jumped out to an early 10-9 lead after one quarter behind sharp-shooting forward Brandon Sprague, who buried a pair of three-pointers in the opening frame.

But every time Wiscasset was able to build up a lead, St. Dom's enormous center would smash it back down. The 6’8” Wagner was able to block a handful of shots and used his reach to score a game-high 19 points.

By halftime the difference between the two teams remained at one point, as Wiscasset went to the locker room with a 23-22 advantage.

The second half quickly became the Mike Bryant show, as the St. Dom's forward scored 11 of his 14 points in the second half, and the two teams were tied after three quarters, 36-36.

Then the drama began.

Both teams traded big shots and fouls, but the Saints were able to give Wagner the ball and the tall senior scored eight of his points in the last eight minutes. At one point St. Dom's was able to build up a small lead, but Wiscasset's Cody Roberts quickly closed the gap.

The guard scored all eight of his points, including two back-to-back three-pointers, within a minute to again tie the game at 48 with less than a minute remaining.

But a controversial call gave Wagner two shots with time ready to expire. Wagner made the first shot, but the second rimmed out and was quickly scooped up by a Wiscasset player. The final shot, which was launched as time expired, missed the net by only a few feet.

Sprague led the Wolverines with 14 points, while sophomore Ethan James, who was issued the tall-task of standing toe-to-toe with Wagner, scored nine points. For St. Dom's, Wagner's 19 points led the way, but Bryant (14 points) and Adam Vining (nine points) helped add to the offense.

Wiscasset 47, Lisbon 45

The Wiscasset Wolverines built up an early lead, only to watch the Lisbon Greyhounds come storming back on Tuesday, Jan. 13.

Wiscasset (4-8) jumped to a 17-5 lead after one quarter, and appeared to have the Greyhounds (3-10) on the ropes earlier. Lisbon had other plans.

The Greyhounds, behind the duo of Johnny Yim and Ty Joseph, came storming back to score 17 points of their own in the second quarter to cut the Wolverines' lead to 26-22 at halftime.

The Greyhounds cut even further into Wiscasset's lead in the third quarter, when it scored eight points to Wiscasset's seven to make the score 33-30 in favor of the Wolverines going into the fourth quarter.

Wiscasset was able to hold on in the fourth quarter, and won the game, 47-45. After its big first quarter, Wiscasset was actually outscored the rest of the way, 40-30.

Ethan James turned in a solid performance, as the sophomore netted 15 points for Wiscasset, while fellow sophomore Kevin Lynch added eight points. Yim had 15 points and Joseph added 14 for the Greyhounds.

SEATTLE and FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The two teams that will play in Super Bowl XLIX, the 49th edition of the Super Bowl, have been decided after conference championship contests took place Sunday, Jan. 18 in both Seattle, and Foxborough.

In the NFC Championship, the defending champion Seattle Seahawks squared off against the Green Bay Packers in Seattle and ultimately, the Seahawks won by a final score of 28-22 in overtime.

In the AFC Championship, hosted by the New England Patriots, the Patriots and Indianapolis Colts played to a final score of 45-7 that saw the Patriots celebrating a victory. 

Now, the Seahawks and Patriots will prepare to play in the Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 1 in Glendale, Arizona at University of Phoenix Stadium. This is the second time the stadium has hosted the Super Bowl, the last time coming in 2008 when the New York Giants and Patriots met in a game that saw the Giants win 17-14. 

All four semifinalists this year had appeared in a Super Bowl match in the last five years.

AFC Championship: New England Patriots 45, Indianapolis Colts 7

It was a record setting night for the Patriots. 

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady became the NFL’s all-time leading passer in postseason play during the game. He now has over 6,800 career passing yards and passed Denver Bronco Peyton Manning for the top spot. In last week’s playoffs, Brady set the record for most career postseason touchdown passes and passed Joe Montana (46) on the list.

This will mark the eighth time in history the Patriots will appear in the Super Bowl, which ties with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys for the most appearances.

In the first quarter, the Patriots took an early lead as LeGarrette Blount scored on a one-yard rush with 10:15 to go in the period. Stephen Gostkowski made the extra point attempt to put the Patriots up 7-0. 

Then, with 1:20 to go in the period, Brady hooked up James Develin with a one yard touchdown pass and Gostkowski connected on another extra point attempt to put New England 14-0. 

In the second quarter, the Colts got on the board with 4:54 to go as Zurlon Tipton scored on a one yard rushing touchdown. Adam Vinatieri made the extra point to cut New England’s lead down to 14-7.

Gostowksi then hit a 21-yard field goal with nine seconds to go until the half. 

At the halftime break, the Patriots had a 17-7 advantage.

In the third quarter, New England posted 21 points and held the Colts to zero. With 10:03 to go, Brady found Nate Solder, an offensive lineman for the Patriots, for a 16 yard touchdown pass, while Gostkowski hit another extra point attempt to put the Patriots up 24-7. 

With 3:19 to go, Brady connected with Rob Gronkowski for a five yard touchdown and again Gostkowski hit the extra point attempt to put New England up 31-7. 

With 2:08 left in the quarter, Blount rushed the ball 13 yards for a touchdown, followed by a good Gostkowski extra point attempt to put New England ahead 38-7. 

In the fourth, with 10:05 to go in the game, Blount rushed the ball two yards for a touchdown and Gostkowski hit the extra point attempt to give the Patriots a 45-7 advantage. 

Brady finished the day by completing 23-of-35 pass attempts for 226 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Blount had 30 carries for 148 yards and three touchdowns. 

Andrew Luck was 12-for-33 for 126 on the Colts side of the offense and threw two interceptions. The young quarterback also had four carries for 18 yards. 

With the win, the Patriots improved to 14-4, while the Colts finished 13-6.

NFC Championship: Seattle Seahawks 28, Green Bay Packers 22 (OT)

The Seahawks opened the game with silly, and costly, mistakes as they had four turnovers (one lost fumble, three interceptions) in the first half, compared to the Packers two (both interceptions). In the first half alone, the Seahawks picked up seven penalties compared to the Packers’ four. 

But at the end of the game, all that did not matter as the defending champions will have a shot at repeating as Super Bowl champs as they picked up a very impressive come-back victory against the Packers in overtime.

After scoring only seven points in the first three quarters, and allowing 16 in the same time frame, Seattle tacked on 15 points in the final quarter and allowed six in the fourth to force overtime. There, Seattle managed a touchdown in its opening drive and got the win without Green Bay’s offense stepping on the field in overtime. 

In the first quarter, the Packers’ Mason Crosby connected on an 18–yard field goal attempt with 8:07 remaining to put the Packers up 3-0. Roughly three minutes later, Crosby nailed a 19–yard field goal to extend the lead 6-0.

As time in the first quarter expired, quarterback Aaron Rodgers found Randall Cobb on a 13–yard touchdown pass, followed by a good extra point conversion by Crosby, to put the Packers up 13-0 after one. 

In the second quarter, Crosby nailed a 40–yard field goal to put Green Bay up 16-0 at 9:37.

The Seahawks managed to prevent the Packers from scoring again and so the Packers were ahead 16-0 at the halftime break. 

In the third quarter, Seattle finally managed to get on the scoreboard as Jon Ryan connected with Garry Gilliam for a 19–yard touchdown pass with 4:50 remaining. 

Early in the fourth quarter, the Packers extended its lead to 19-7 when Crosby hit a 48–yard field goal with 10:53 to go in the contest. 

Later in the final period, the Seahawks almost got on the board again with 3:02 remaining when quarterback Russell Wilson found Marshawn Lynch for a 35–yard touchdown pass; however, the touchdown call was reversed as replay showed Lynch was not in bounds. 

The Seahawks ended up getting on the board officially with 2:09 to go when Wilson carried the ball one yard into the end zone. Steven Hauschka connected on the extra point to cut the Green Bay lead down to 19-14. 

With 1:25 remaining, the defending champs were not ready to give up the term “champions” without a fight and scored a touchdown on a 24–yard run by Lynch. Wilson completed a short pass to Luke Wilson on a two-point conversion attempt to put Seattle ahead 22-19.

With 14 seconds left in regulation, Crosby connected on a 48–yard field goal attempt to tie the game up at 22.

In overtime, Seattle won the coin toss to determine who started the extra period off with the ball. Russell Wilson found Jermaine Kearse open in the middle of the field for a 35–yard touchdown that gave Seattle the victory and sends them to the Super Bowl for the second consecutive season.

Russell Wilson finished the day 14-of-29 on pass attempts for 209 yards, one passing touchdown, seven carries for 25 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown and four interceptions for Seattle. Lynch had 25 carries for 157 yards and one touchdown and Doug Baldwin finished with six receptions for 106 yards. 

For Green Bay, Rodgers went 19-for-34 on pass attempts for 178 passing yards, one passing touchdown, one carry for 12 yards and two interceptions. Eddy Lacy had 21 carries for 73 yards and Jordy Nelson had five receptions for 71 yards.

With the win, Seattle improved to 14-4, while Green Bay finished the season 13-5.

Super Bowl XLIX Fast Facts

Who: Seattle Seahawks (NFC Champion) versus New England Patriots (AFC Champion)

What: 49th Edition of the Super Bowl

Where: University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona

When: Sunday, Feb. 1 at 6:30 p.m. (EST) on NBC

Why: To crown the best team of the 2014-15 NFL season

Commentators: Al Michaels (Play-by-Play), Chris Collinsworth (Analyst), Michele Tafoya (Sidelines)

National Anthem Performer: Idina Menzel (Yes, the “Let it Go” singer from Disney’s “Frozen”)

America the Beautiful Performer: John Legend

Halftime Performers: Katy Perry and Lenny Kravitz

Other Host Cities Considered: Kansas City, Missouri (initially awarded the contest but had too many hurdles), Tampa, Florida (other option if the NFL passed over Glendale), and Miami

Reach George Harvey at: sports@penbaypilot.com. 

It didn't take long for the St. Dom's girls varsity basketball team to assert itself Friday, Jan. 16.

By the end of the first quarter, the Saints (3-8) had a comfortable lead over the (4-9) Wiscasset Wolverines — and they never looked back.

St. Dom's was able to ride an early lead to a 55-43 victory and improve its playoff chances with the win.

The Saints were also able to capitalize on fouls. When St. Dom's was fouled, the Saints didn't make it a habit of missing. The Saints sunk 18 of their 26 foul shots.

After the first quarter, the two teams were evenly matched, but unfortunately for Wiscasset, the Wolverines couldn't overcome the early lead.

The Saints scored 19 first-quarter points against Wiscasset's 7. From there, the two teams were tied, 36-36.

St. Dom's Chloe Dwinell did most of her damage in the first half, as the lanky sophomore scored 14 of her 18 points before half time. When Wiscasset was finally able to bottle-up Dwinell, senior Faith Grady took over.

Grady, the Saints primary ball-handler, utilized a sharp shooting eye from the top of the key and several post moves to get past Wiscasset's defenders en route to 28 points. Of those points, all but eight came in the second half.

But Wiscasset did have a secret weapon: freshman Grace Webber was able to register several steals and cool-off Grady for stretches at a time. Junior Colleen Hendricks, who finished with four points, put in a solid effort on both ends of the floor.

Wiscasset managed to cut the lead to 42-32 heading into the final quarter, but St. Dom's was able to hold on for the win.

Kayla Gordon scored 15 points for the Wolverines while Alecia Faulkingham netted 14 points.

Wiscasset is now 14th in the Western Class C standings, while the win propelled St. Dom's to 12th place. Only 13 teams from the conference make the state playoffs.

Wiscasset will have a chance to again make a late push for the playoffs with games against Madison on Wednesday, Jan. 21 and Boothbay Region, Tuesday, Jan. 27. Madison (6-7 overall) currently sits in ninth place in Western Class C, while Boothbay Region (11-1) is the second-ranked team.

A year ago, Wiscasset was able to ride a second-half surge to a spot in the state playoffs, and helped its case by defeating the Seahawks in Wiscasset.

This year, however, the Lady Seahawks present a much more formidable foe; when the two teams matched up in December, Boothbay Region was the 53-29 victor.

While the Wiscasset High School basketball teams will be fighting for the final playoff spots, the Wiscasset Middle School basketball teams are already on their way to the next round.

The Wiscasset Middle School Warriors boys and girls basketball teams are both in the playoffs and both will play Tuesday, Jan. 20.

The Wiscasset Middle School girls team defeated South Bristol on Jan. 14 in a quarterfinal game to advance to the semifinals. There, they will meet a familiar foe: The Woolwich Central School Wildcats.

The Warriors will travel south to play the Wildcats at 3:45 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20.

The Wiscasset Middle School boys team will also face a familiar rival when it hosts Jefferson Village School.

The Warriors, who finished their season 8-3, secured the number two seed in the playoffs and started with a bye in the first round.

Jefferson and Wiscasset dueled in December, with the Knights able to eke out a 66-60 win behind 41 points from Ryan Creamer, who also netted five three-pointers.

The Central Lincoln County YMCA gymnastics team traveled to Old Town YMCA on Jan. 3 with coach Janice Cormier-Hay, and assistant coach, Lincoln Academy junior and former team member, Catherine Roy.

“We had level 2 through 7 and Xcel Platinum compete on Saturday and I was very proud that our gymnasts competed at a high level while supporting each other as teammates,” Coach Cormier-Hay said.

Katie Colomb of Alna - Xcel Platinum, Age 13-17, came in 4th on vault with an 8.5, 1st on bars with an 8.9, 1st on beam with a 9.1, 2nd on floor with a 9.0 placing 1st all around.

Emma Hall of Damariscotta - Level 7, Age 13-14, came in 2nd on vault with an 8.8, 1st on bars with a 8.9 PB, 3rd on beam with an 8.75 and 1st on floor with a 9.3 placing 1st all around.

Maddy Russ of Damariscotta - Level 7, Age 10-12 - came in 1st on vault with an 8.4, 1st on bars with a 9.1, 2nd on beam with an 8.9 PB, 1st on floor with a 9.4, placing 1st all around.

Reed Gulden of Walpole - Level 7, Age Age 10-12, 2nd on vault with an 8.3, 2nd on bars with an 8.75, 1st on beam with a 9.3, 2nd on floor with an 8.8, placing 2nd all around.

Erica Johnson of Nobleboro, Level 4, Age 10-11,  came in 1st on vault with an 8.7, 1st on bars with a 9.5 PB, 1st on beam with a 9.4 PB, 1st floor with a 9.0, placing 1st all around.

Reece Instasi of Waldoboro,Level 3- Age 8-12  - tied for 3rd on vault with a 9.4 (PB), 2nd with an 8.75 on bars, 1st on bars with a 9.4 PB, 1st on floor with a 9.25 PB, placing 1st place all around.  

Ava Carmolli of Edgecomb, Level 4, Age 10-11, came in 2nd on vault with an 8.6, 4th on bars with a 7.4,  4th on beam with a 8.95 PB, 3rd on floor with an 8.8 (PB), placing 2nd all around.

Makenna Dunstan of Nobleboro - Level 3, Age 8-12, came in 7th on vault with an 8.7 PB, 10th on bars with a 7.0, 6th on beam with an 8.3 PB, 8th on floor with a 7.8 PB, placing 9th all around.

Sarah Goldrup of Waldoboro - Level 3, Age -12, Augusta - came in 8th on vault with a 7.0, 8th on bars with a 7.85 (PB), 9th on beam with a 7.45, 4th on floor with an 8.55 (PB), placing 10th all around.

Kadence Rogers of Nobleboro- Level 3 - Age - 8-12, Augusta - tied for 6th on vault with a 9.2 PB, 7th on bars with an 8.0, 5th on beam with an 8.8 (PB), tied for 3rd on floor with an 8.65, placing 6th all around.

Jhordaynia Ebanks of Damariscotta - Level 3 - Age 6-7, came in 4th on vault with a 9.3 (PB), 7th on bars with a 6.2, 4th on beam with an 8.2, 6th on floor with an 8.2 PB, placing 7th all around.

Nicole Hammond, Level 3, Age 8-12, came in 6th on vault with a 9.2 PB, 6th on bars with an 8.2 PB, 7th on beam with an 8.2, 9th on floor with a 7.0, placing 8th all around.

Level 2 - Madeline Burt-Weeks, Age 5-9, uneven bars - 7.55 PB 2nd place, 5th on bars with a 7.4, tied for 4th floor with a 7.8, placing 5th all around.

London Hunter - Level 2, Age 5-9, tied for 2nd on vault with an 8.7 PB, 4th on bars with a 7.3, 4th on beam with an 8.15, 2nd on floor with an 8.65 PB, placing 3rd all around.

Abby Harrington of Nobleboro - Level 2, Age 5-9, tied for 2nd on vault with an 8.7 PB, came in 1st on bars with a 7.5 PB, 2nd on beam with an 8.55, came in 1st on floor with a 8.9 PB, placing 2nd all around.

Charlotte Hilton - Level 2, Age 10, Augusta - 2nd on vault with an 8.8, 2nd on bars with a 7.75, 3rd on beam with a 7.75, 3rd on floor with an 8.15, placing 2nd all around. Bath - Age 9-11, 3rd on vault with an 8.6, 2nd on bars with an 8.35 (PB), 6th on beam with an 8.3 (PB), 2nd on floor with an 8.55, placing 3rd all around.

Emory Shadis- Level 2 - Age - 9, Augusta - 4th on vault with an 8.2, 5th on bars with a 4.0, 5th on beam with a 7.0, 5th on floor with a 6.2, placing 5th all around. Bath, Age 9-11, 6th on vault with an 8.2, 7th on bars with a 6.1 (PB), 7th on beam with a 7.8 (PB), 6th on floor with a 7.5, placing 6th all around.

Nicole Hammond - Level 2 - Age - 9, Augusta - 3rd on vault with an 8.8 (PB), 5th on bars with a 6.7, 6th on beam with a 6.9, 5th on floor with a 6.1, placing 6th all around. Bath, Age 9-10, 3rd on vault with an 8.65, 6th on bars with a 5.6, 3rd on beam with a 7.75, 6th on floor with a 7.1, placing 4th all around.

Morgan Bathgate - Level 2, Age 10, Augusta - came in 3rd on vault with a 7.7, 3rd on bars with a 7.6, 2nd on beam with an 8.55, 2nd on floor with an 8.25, placing 3rd all around. Bath - Age 9-11, 7th on vault with a 7.8, tied for 4th on bars with an 8.1, 1st on beam with a 9.0 (PB), tied for 1st on floor with an 8.9 (PB) and placed 2nd all around.

Eliza Wood-Orff, Level 2 - Age 5-9 - 1st on vault with a 9.25 (PB), 1st on bars with an 8.3 PB, 1st on beam with a 9.05 PB, tied for 4th on floor with a 7.8 placing 1st all around.

The Lincoln Academy Eagles had a home swim meet on Jan. 16. They competed against Mt. Ararat and Boothbay Region High Schools. They took three first places, eight seconds and seven thirds.

First places went to Elise Dumont in the 100 yard butterfly, Camden Gulden in the 100 yard freestyle and 100 yard backstroke, and the relay team of Camden Gulden, Tommy Thelander, Anton Kalmysh and Whitman Vaughn in the 200 yard freestyle relay.

Second places went to Whitman Vaughn in the 200 yard freestyle, Elise Dumont in the 200 yard IM, Essie Martin in the 50 yard freestyle, Anton Kalmysh in the 100 yard butterfly and 100 yard breaststroke, Anna Sirois in the 100 yard backstroke, the relay teams of Anna Sirois, Samantha Aho, Elise Dumont and Essie Martin in the 200 yard medley relay and Alejandro Ramos, Camden Gulden, Anton Kalmysh and Whitman Vaughn in the 200 yard medley relay.

Thirds went to Anna Sirois in the 100 yard butterfly, Tommy Thelander in the 100 yard freestyle, Essie Martin in the 500 yard freestyle, Abe Steinberger in the 500 yard freestyle, Tommy Thelander in the 100 yard breaststroke, the team of Nathan Osborne, Abe Steinberger, Tommy Thelander and Alejandro Ramos in the 400 yard freestyle relay, and the team of Annie Farnsworth, Jordan Farrin, Kristyna Skyvova and Essie Martin in the 200 yard freestyle relay.

Elise Dumont made a state qualifying time in the 200 yard IM, as did Essie Martin in the 500 yard freestyle. Martin came very close to a qualifying time on the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 29.22 seconds (qualifying time is 29.10 seconds).

The Eagles have two more home meets on Jan. 23 and Jan. 30 before the KVAC championships held at the Bath YMCA on Feb. 6.

The Wiscasset Middle School Warriors boys basketball A team is on to the Busline League South finals.

The team will next face-off at 4:30 p.m. in Nobleboro on Thursday, Jan. 22.

On Tuesday, Jan. 20, the Warriors avenged an early season loss when the team upended Jefferson, 63-33, to move onto the finals in the Busline League Small School South playoffs.

The Warriors (8-3) fell to Jefferson in December, when the Knights' Ryan Creamer scored 42 points. On Tuesday, Wiscasset was able to contain Creamer and take advantage of playing on their home court.

Creamer netted 10 points for Jefferson, but Wiscasset was able to harry him all game long.

Dylan Orr scored 16 points for Wiscasset, Matt Chapman scored 14 points, including 12 points in the fourth quarter to close out the win. Billy Pinkham scored 8 points and Noah Haggett scored seven for the Warriors.

Matthew Smith scored eight points in the first quarter to get Wiscasset out to a quick 20-14 lead. But Jefferson wasn't giving up easy: The Knights were able to keep the game close until the fourth quarter, when Wiscasset was finally able to put some distance between the two teams.

Should Wiscasset win its next game, it would compete against a Busline League North team for the state small school championship.

The Woolwich Wildcats girls team was able to take advantage of a strong second half to move past Wiscasset's girls team, 40-12.

Head coach Julie Elwell said the Wildcats, who will host Nobleboro at 3:45 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 22, put things together in the second half.

“We mixed up our defense and our offense started to click,” she said. “We were able to get them out of their comfort zone, and our offense came alive.”

Should Woolwich win its match-up against Nobleboro it will play in the state finals at Bath Middle School at 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 21. The boys Busline League Championship game will be at 1 p.m., also in Bath.

The Wiscasset boys B team will have a tournament at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 22.

For three schools and four teams, a date with destiny has been postponed, due to snow.

But the games will go on.

Due to an impending snowstorm, the Busline League Small School finals will be on Wednesday, Jan. 28 at Wiscasset High School and will feature the Nobleboro boys team matching up against the Searsport boys team at 3:30 p.m. and the Woolwich Wildcats pairing up with Searsport’s girls team at 5 p.m.

The Woolwich girls team was able to knock out Nobleboro with a late surge, coach Julie Elwell said.

“It was a five point game with two minutes to go,” she said. “We were able to control the ball, take some good shots, and we wound up winning by 11. It was a good game – it went back and forth and all the kids played hard.”

The Wiscasset Middle School boys team fell to a tough Nobleboro squad on Thursday, Jan. 22, by a score of 62-57, in the Busline League Small School South Championship game.

Wiscasset was led in scoring by Billy Pinkham, who netted a team-high 21 points, while Matt Chapman scored 18 points and collected 15 rebounds. Dylan Orr scored 11 points and Noah Haggett scored five points.

Nobleboro's Joel Hatch netted a game-high 24 points while Ethan Spear (18 points) and Bryce York (16) helped the undefeated Nobleboro Lions team.

For Wiscasset, the season ends with 10 wins and a trip to the championship game, something Coach James Roy said his team should be proud of.

“Making it to the championship game was a great reward for all the hard work the boys put in,” he wrote in an email. “We played summer basketball back in July and August, playing two (to) three times per week and it got us off to a solid start at the beginning of the season.”

Roy said the teamed focused on fundamentals and received help from Wiscasset High School boys varsity head coach Dana Lawrence and assistant coach Michael Pare that helped the team come together.

The team's willingness to put in work, and the desire to keep playing (the Warriors will keep playing throughout the winter in other tournaments) is what set them apart, Roy said.

“The team improved in all facets of the game from the start of the season right up to the game last evening,” he said. “They are an awesome group to work with. Not only have they had some success on the court but they have also done their work in the classroom as a good majority of the boys are honor roll students. “

Roy added that Nobleboro should be proud of its boys team, led by Coach Hatch, that will play for the championship.

For some, last Saturday’s snow meant messy driving conditions and some shoveling. But for Bob Bruce and his fellow Wiscasset Sno-Goers at the club’s open house on Sunday, that snow and the Tuesday’s brings hope for what has so far been a lean snowmobiling season.

“Mother Nature has not been kind to us,” said Bruce, the club’s membership chairman. “She has given us some good snow and then taken it away.”

Even a trip to Millinocket for snowmobiling didn’t go well for the Wiscasset man. He ran into mechanical problems there, and rain.

At the open house, things were looking up, both for the season and the club’s plans to give snowmobile rides at Wiscasset Parks and Recreation Department’s Winterfest on Saturday, Jan. 31.

The daylong celebration features nature activities and more, capped with a fireworks show and concert. Most of the fun happens at Wiscasset Community Center. Wiscasset Community Playground will have skating.

Wiscasset Sno-goers members plan to give free, short snowmobile rides from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Children take most of the rides, but the rides are also open to adults, Bruce said. The club’s members look forward to the event each year as a chance to interact with the community and share their enjoyment of snowmobiling,

Bruce didn’t plan to take up snowmobiling. “But unbeknownst to me, my companion (Louise Rideout) got two snowmobiles,” he said.

Rideout’s son is an avid snowmobile rider. So Louise Rideout and Bruce took it up, and now Bruce’s son Joel Bruce rides, too. Father and son once rode 193 miles together.

“That was a long day and I slept good that night,” Bob Bruce said.

While he is the first of two generations of snowmobilers, many of Wiscasset Sno-Goers’ members are the offspring of those who were in the group decades ago. Member and past president Chet Grover of Wiscasset used to ride with his father, Paul Grover. Now he rides with his own three boys and wife Michelle Grover.

It’s something they can all do together as a family, the couple said inside the clubhouse Sunday. And it helps pass the winter.

“If you live here, you might as well enjoy it,” Chet Grover said.

President Buck Rines started riding with the club when he was 12 or 13; back then it was named Yankee Sno-Goers because some of its early members worked at Maine Yankee.

“It’s just something I enjoy doing,” Rines, 59, said about why he has stayed with the club over the decades.

The snow on Saturday was a start, but, by itself, not enough cover for riding the trails.

“Every rock and stick is sticking up,” Rines said.

Wiscasset’s snowmobile season largely takes place in January and February, as much as two months shorter than in northern Maine where the ground freezes sooner and stays frozen longer, Bruce said. With or without snow to ride on, the Sno-Goers gather for potluck suppers and meetings, and to clear trails and repair bridges.

“It’s a great bunch of people, and it’s a lot of fun being out in the fresh air,” he said.

For more on the club, including membership dues that help support riding in Wiscasset and around the state, contact Bruce at 207-319-8009 or bobbiker@roadrunner.com. For more on Winterfest, call Wiscasset Community Center at 207-882-8230 or visit Wiscasset Parks and Recreation on Facebook.

Students at Wiscasset High School have embraced their mascot, the Wolverine, which replaced the Redskins mascot in 2011.

Sophomore Andrew Lincoln spearheaded the goal of purchasing a mascot costume, and it debuted on Dec. 18, 2014 during a basketball game against Lisbon.

Lincoln, of course, plays the wolverine.

The Wiscasset student council decided their new mascot needed a name. They put out a call for name ideas, and students enthusiastically sent in 22 names in total. The students voted last week and narrowed it down to four finalists: Wicked, Wiz, Willy and Wilfred.

The students voted again to choose the final name, which was a landslide victory for Wilfred.

"It was overwhelming," said Deb Pooler, student council advisor. "Wilfred won by a lot. The student who came up with that name, Ethan James, wins a $50 gift card to Dunkin’ Donuts."

Related: New mascot pumps up Wiscasset’s fans

The Damariscotta River Association (DRA) invites families to celebrate winter at Winter Fest which will be held Saturday, Feb. 28 from noon to 3 p.m. at Round Top Farm, 3 Round Top Lane, Damariscotta. The event will feature, among other activities, snowshoeing, sledding and a dog-sledding demonstration.

A campfire with hot dogs and marshmallows will be provided. The warming hut will be open and staffed. Numerous pairs of loaner skates and snowshoes will be available at no cost. The hot dogs will cost $1. All other activities are free of charge.

The trails from Round Top Farm provide excellent snowshoeing opportunities. The trails follow the edge of fields and then dip down along to follow the upper estuary and then loop back from the Whaleback Shell Middens. There are excellent views of the river throughout.

For more information call 207-563-1393, email dra@damariscottariver.org, or view www.damariscottariver.org.

The Lincoln Academy Eagles swim team competed in all but one of the 22 events at the team’s most recent meet against the Winslow Raiders and Boothbay Region High School Seahawks.

First places went to Noah Jordan in the 200 yard freestyle and 100 yard breaststroke, Anton Kalmysh in the 50 yard freestyle and 100 yard freestyle, Jordan Farrin in the 500 yard freestyle, Camden Gulden in the 100 yard butterfly and 100 yard backstroke, the team of Alejandro Ramos, Ave Steinberger, Camden Reiss and Tommy Thelander in the 200 yard medley relay, the team of Gulden, Kalmysh, Jordan and Whitman Vaughn in the 200 yard freestyle relay, the team of Cassie Leeman, Annie Farnsworth, Kate Laemmle and Sammy Ober in the 400 yard freestyle relay, and the team of Vaughn, Kalmysh, Gulden and Jordan in the 400 yard freestyle relay.

Second places went to Thelander in the 200 yard freestyle, Ober in the 200 yard IM, Essie Martin in the 50 yard and 100 yard freestyles, Elise Dumont in the 100 yard butterfly, Vaughn in the 50 yard and 100 yard freestyles, Reiss in the 100 yard backstroke, and Steinberger in the 100 yard breaststroke.

Team second places went to Anna Sirois, Farrin, Dumont and Martin in the 200 yard medley relay, Thelander, Steinberger, Nicholas Miaoulis and Nathan Osborne in the 200 yard freestyle relay, and Kristyna Skyvova, Farrin, Samantha Aho and Dumont in the 400 yard freestyle relay.

Third places went to Laemmle in the 200 yard freestyle, Reiss in the 100 yard butterfly, Sirois in the 100 yard backstroke, Ober in the 100 yard breaststroke, the relay team of Laemmle, Ober, Farnsworth and Martin in the 200 yard freestyle relay and the team of Theo Seidel, Miaoulis, Ramos and Osborne in the 400 yard freestyle relay.

The Eagles will have their final home meet on Friday, Jan. 30 at the Boothbay Region YMCA. Next week on Friday, February 6 are the KVAC championships in Bath, the last meet before states on Feb. 14 and 16 at the University of Maine at Orono.

The eighth annual Karl’s Kids Ski Day fundraiser will be held on Saturday, Feb. 28 at Sugarloaf.

Karl’s Kids honors the late Karl Berger by helping less fortunate children up to the age of 18 in Lincoln County who want to participate in athletics. Karl’s Kids has helped “Make Dreams Real” by providing sports equipment, cheerleading uniforms, and many other items that helped.

If you are aware of a child up to age 18 who has a financial need for sports equipment, uniforms, or other related items in order to participate in athletics, please request a grant application by going online at www.karlskids.org, click on Karl’s Kids and print off an application. You can also call Charleen Foley at 207-522-4369 for further information or grant questions.

All information is kept strictly confidential and not released to the general public. If you are a parent, coach, teacher, mentor or friend of a child in need, please contact Karl’s Kids for help.

This year’s event will kick-off Friday, Feb. 27 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Sugarloaf Hotel with a welcome reception and preview of silent auction items. Some of the items already included are Red Sox tickets, sailing trips, lobster bakes, and much more! Don’t miss this great event!

On Saturday, Feb. 28, there will be a fun day of skiing from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Discounted lift tickets are available through Karl’s Kids. Contact Charleen Foley at 207-522-4369 for information on tickets. From 2 to 4 p.m. we will have a fun race on the Boardwalk race course. For a $5 donation to Karl’s Kids you will get two runs for a chance to win prizes for fastest run, slowest run and craziest dressed skier.

After the race from 4:30 to 6 p.m. there will a closing reception at the Sugarloaf Hotel with a great silent auction, hors d’oeuvres, refreshments and thank yous to all of our great sponsors. At 5:30 p.m., the race winners will be announced. The silent auction will close at 6 p.m.

Karl’s Kids is also looking for sponsors for the event and silent auction items. If you are interested in making a difference in children’s lives, make a contribution to Karl’s Kids, c/o Damariscotta-Newcastle Rotary Club, 110 Gibbs Road, Wiscasset, ME 04578. See you on the slopes!

On a night before a blizzard, it rained three-pointers in Wiscasset.

The Boothbay Region High School girls varsity basketball team was able to use the perimeter to their advantage and sunk the Wiscasset High School Wolverines, 70-33 on Monday, Jan. 26.

The Seahawks (15-1) netted eight first-half three-pointers, including five by Morgan Crocker, who scored a game-high 27 points, and three from Sara Durgan, who scored 11 points.

Despite the lopsided final score, the two teams were competitive throughout, and the first quarter featured two longstanding rivals trading big shots and blows.

Boothbay Region was able to strike via the three-pointer early in the first quarter, but Wiscasset's Kayla Gordon scored six points to cut the lead to 15-8 after one quarter. Alecia Faulkingham (team-high 14 points) found seams in the Seahawk defense to score 10 first-half points and to help Wiscasset remain in the game with a halftime score of 39-20 in favor of Boothbay Region.

In the second half the Seahawks were able to muscle Wiscasset to pull out the victory.

Gordon finished with 12 points for Wiscasset (4-11), who will travel to Auburn on Friday, Jan. 30 to play St. Dom's.

Boothbay breaks away with win

Although the rematch of the Wiscasset Wolverines and Boothbay Region Seahawks boys varsity basketball teams was more competitive than the first go-round, the result was the same.

Boothbay (13-1) was able to upend Wiscasset (4-11) on Monday, Jan. 26 by a score of 86-46 in front of a packed-house in Wiscasset. The Seahawks had defeated Wiscasset by a score of 84-27 when the two teams met in Boothbay in December.

The two teams played a physical game, and Wiscasset came out hot early, although Boothbay was able to take a 20-11 lead after the first quarter.

Boothbay's defense was especially aggressive, as the Seahawks were able to force turnovers that lead to fast break points in the second and third quarters to put the game away. In the middle two quarters of play, Boothbay scored 55 points, large thanks to a stifling defense that was able to bottle-up a Wiscasset attack to the tune of 24 points over the same stretch.

John Hepburn led the way for the Seahawks with a game-high 19 points. Julian Aponte did damage beyond the arc to the tune of 14 points on three three-pointers, while Abel Bryer scored all 12 of his points in the fast-break third quarter.

For Wiscasset, Brandon Sprague was again the high scorer, as the junior forward netted 15 points. Cody Roberts, Zach Reed, Daren Wood and Kevin Lynch all scored five points apiece for Wiscasset.

The Busline League Small School championship game has again been postponed due to the weather.

The Woolwich Wildcats girls team will play Searsport at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 29 at Wiscasset High School.

The boys championship game, which will feature Nobleboro representing the South and Searsport representing the North, will be played at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 29 also at Wiscasset High School.

The originally scheduled date of Saturday, Jan. 24 was snowed out, and the snow date of Wednesday, Jan. 28 was also snowed out.