The season is young, but unlikely teams have been filling spots near the top of the Class A volleyball standings.

Edward Little is off to a 6-0 start in its third year as a varsity program and was second in the Heal point stands as of Friday. South Portland stormed into the 2025 season with a 4-1 record after finishing 6-9 in 2024. The Red Eddies and Red Riots will test each other Thursday when they clash for the first time ever in South Portland.

Adding to the unpredictability, last season’s Class A finalists, Gorham and Biddeford, are a combined 4-6 this year.  

Thornton Academy coach Corey Huot said the gap is closing between the traditional powers and upstart teams.

“A lot more kids are playing club and travel volleyball outside of the high school season,” Huot said. “I think that’s added a lot of parity to Class A. I think we’re seeing a stronger middle group of teams start to emerge. They can definitely at times contend with those top teams and have a shot to upset someone.”

Huot’s Golden Trojans, who are 5-1 and atop the Class A Heal standings, know all about being upset. Last year, No. 10 Cheverus knocked off second-seeded Thornton Academy in the quarterfinals. The Stags are also undefeated, with a record of 5-0. The teams meet on Tuesday.

The Golden Trojans have wins over Gorham and Biddeford, but Huot said there’s still a lot to sort out before the regular season ends in late October.

“We’ll play Biddeford and Gorham again,” Huot said. “Those were all close matches, so we’ll be curious to see how those end up. We still have two games against Scarborough, who beat Gorham. So I think it could be fair to say that they could be pushing for that top spot as well.”

Messalonskee is not looking back

The Messalonskee golf team has won seven straight matches since beginning the season with a loss to Skowhegan. The way they moved on from their loss to the River Hawks is part of what coach Gene Dumont said is the Eagles’ goal this season.

“We talk about putting their bad shots and their bad holes behind them and focusing on what’s ahead,” Dumont said. “We’ve done that pretty well as a team. We put that bad round, bad match against Skowhegan behind us. We can’t do anything about that.”

To prepare the Eagles for the season’s quick end, Dumont keeps the team grounded by reminding them that golf can be unpredictable.

“It’s a funny sport,” Dumont said. “You can play your best round one day and your worst round the next day. I try to tell the players they’re not as good as their best rounds. They’re not as bad as their worst rounds.”

Freshman has arrived

Freshman Drew Mertzel is putting up low numbers for the Winthrop golf team, with a 36.57 average so far. Ramblers coach Lonney Steeves said he has been anticipating Mertzel’s arrival for a few years now. Before reaching high school, Mertzel played events at the Ramblers’ home course, Springbrook, where Steeves is a member.

“The last couple of years, when he’s been in sixth and seventh grade and everybody sees him play, you kind of sit there just biding your time,” Steeves said. “It’s also nice that, as a freshman, we get him performing for three more years. So it was worth the wait.”

Mertzel scores have included nine-hole rounds of 32 and 35 this season. However, Steeves said Mertzel’s main impact was recruiting other freshmen who have helped the Ramblers go 5-2.

“Lincoln MacArthur is playing our No. 2. He’s only been playing golf for about eight months,” Steeves said. “They’ve got a buddy named Parker Dow, who’s another freshman. Those guys played a lot of golf this summer and all of them have progressed.”

Personal records set at Southern Maine Classic

The Southern Maine Classic cross country race at Narragansett Elementary in Gorham was sizzling with record performances on Sept. 13.

Eight of the top 10 boys finishers shattered their previous personal bests, including Freeport’s Alex Gilbert who won the race in 15 minutes 40.96 second. Runner-up Amherst-Pelham’s Calvin Miller also hit a new mark at 15:55.29.

The other top-10 finishers with PRs were Scarborough’s Atticus Merriam (15:58.92), Bangor’s Samuel Bergmark (16:17.14), Sanford’s Isaac Pelletier (16:26.86), Amherst’s Peter Nadeau (16:36.71), Yarmouth’s Jackie Chalmers (16:39.99), and York’s Hayden Atkinson (16:41.27).

In the girls race, five of the top 10 set PRs, including winner Rowan Barry of Greely, who finished in 18:01.46. Second place went to Georgia Moon (18:20.80) of Falmouth, and third place went to Laurel Driscoll (18:29.82). Those were both personal bests.

Hampden Academy runners Addison Elliot (18:48.95) and Gretchen Plant (18:56.78), were fifth and seventh, respectively.