We’ve covered the opening week of winter varsity sports

This is a developing story. More updates to come.

Boys Basketball

The Spartans opened their varsity season at home on Friday, Dec. 9 against Scarborough, but fell to the Red Storm 60-53.

On Tuesday, Dec. 13 the boys basketball team traveled to Gorham, falling in a tough 73-48 loss. Senior Luke “LJ” McFarland led the Spartans in scoring with 14, credited by his coach for being aggressive on both ends of the court.

“It was a tough game for us,” said head coach Jake Mills. “We were down three players due to illness and that really hurt our depth. I am really proud of the effort from the healthy kids we had. They played hard all night even when things weren’t going well.”

The Spartans host South Portland on Monday, Dec. 19, travel to Noble on Tuesday, Dec. 20 and host Massabesic at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 22. Over break, the Spartans travel to Kennebunk on Dec. 28 for a 1 p.m. game.

Girls Basketball

On Friday, Dec. 9 the varsity girls basketball team opened at home against Scarborough, falling 44-36. The team was tied 34-34 in the fourth quarter until Scarborough’s 10-2 run earned the Red Storm the win. Junior Julissa McBarron led Sanford with 18 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals and 1 block. Senior Riley Hebler had 9 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 steals.

On Tuesday, Dec.13 the girls hosted Gorham in an exciting overtime battle, defeating the Rams 49-47. Senior Azline Maurais made a three-pointer with 25 seconds left that proved to be the game-winner. McBarron paced the team with 18 points, 6 rebounds, 6 steals and 2 blocks. Hebler had 13 points, 3 rebounds and 7 steals. Maurais had 7 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals.

The Spartans play again on the road Dec. 19 against South Portland and host Noble Dec. 20 at 6 p.m. in the Partners Bank Competition Gym. The game against Massabesic on Dec. 22 has been canceled. The Spartans play again on Dec. 28 at home against Kennebunk at 1 p.m. and host South Portland on Dec. 30 at 12:30 p.m.

Indoor Track

The new indoor track team competed in their first meet of the season on Tuesday, Dec. 13 against Deering, Scarborough, Westbrook, and Massabesic. The girls team placed fifth with 11 points and the boys landed in third place with 80 points.

Sophomore Logan Glidden was voted JR Division Boys Athlete of the Meet after winning the 55m dash, 200m sprint, and long jump. He was also Sanford’s anchor in the 4x200m relay. Glidden was responsible for 25 of the Spartans’ 80 points.

“It was a great first meet for Sanford,” said head coach Magnes Lewis. “We we able to compete against teams that are two to four times our size and came out with an impressive performance. This team scored in every event they competed in except for two. We are looking ahead to our next meet with excitement and confidence.”

The Spartans compete again on Tuesday, Dec. 27 at the University of Southern Maine at 8 a.m. against Biddeford, Falmouth, Massabesic and Portland.

Wrestling

The returning Dual State Champions opened their season on the road on Saturday, Dec. 10. The Spartans defeated Massabesic (46-32) and cruised past Deering (72-6), Morse (7-12) and York (57-13).

Sophomore Canton Hill went 4-0 on the day with two come-from-behind pins.

“After a hard-fought match against an extremely tough Massabesic team, the Spartans continued their momentum throughout the day,” said head coach Nate Smith. “We really started to make it known that we are major contenders to defend our State Championship. The team dominated the rest of the tournament even without our lineup at full strength.”

Next up for the Spartans is their home opener on Wednesday, Dec. 21 at 6pm, where they will raise the dual state championship banner. Fans are encouraged to wear black.