The Midcoast Sports Hall of Fame has announced the five male and five female finalists for the Hall’s 2021 High School Athlete of the Year.

The winner of each category will be announced at the Midcoast Sports Hall of Fame Annual Banquet on Saturday, October 16, at the Rockland Elks Club. Tickets for the banquet must be reserved and purchased in advance. Contact Treasurer Dave Ames for tickets at damesred@tidewater.net.

Although all the 2020- 2021 athletic seasons were variously affected and curtailed by COVID-19 concerns and complications, many athletes were able to participate to some degree in their chosen sports, in spite of there being very few of the usual state level competitions in the fall, winter, and spring.

The selection process for this award begins in the spring with eight Midcoast high schools being requested to submit two female and two male nominees to the Midcoast Sports Hall of Fame Directors. The Midcoast schools are Oceanside, Camden Hills, Medomak Valley, Lincoln Academy, Vinalhaven, Islesboro, Boothbay Regional, and Wiscasset.

The nominees are then informed of the honor of their selection and are asked to complete a questionnaire about themselves and return it to the board to be considered to be one of the five finalists for each award. The 15 member board of the Midcoast Sports Hall of Fame Directors then considers all the information sent by the students and makes the selection of the Finalists and the Athlete of the Year Award winners. Any nominee who did not return the questionnaire was not able to be considered.

The five male finalists for the Student Athlete of the Year are Nate Coombs of Oceanside, Connor Daigle of Medomak Valley, Jeremy Fraser of Camden Hills, Charlie Griebel of Camden Hills, and Ethan Reed of Medomak Valley.

The five female finalists are Alexa Barstow of Oceanside, Caitlin Cass of Lincoln Academy, Caroline Contento of Camden Hills, Abby Lash of Medomak Valley, and Grace Woodman of Oceanside.

Because last year’s Banquet was not held due to COVID-19 restrictions, the 2020 award winners are also invited to attend this year’s banquet and to receive their recognition and award. The winners of the 2020 Athlete of the Year Award were Kristina Kelly of Camden Hills and Eric Benner of Medomak Valley.

Finalists

Alexa Barstow, Salutatorian class of 2021 at Oceanside HS, was a 4 year varsity player on the field hockey and tennis teams and was captain of both teams her senior year. In field hockey, Alexa received KVAC awards all 4 years , starting with All Rookie Team, Honorable Mention 2 years, and All Conference her senior year. In tennis, Alexa was named to the KVAC All Conference team her senior year, playing singles # 2 seed. Throughout her high school career, Alexa was active in her community volunteering at the Midcoast Children’s Museum, Pen Bay Junior Volunteer Program, Maine Lobster Festival, Oceanside Little League, Color Me Cured Photographer, and the Camden Conference. Alexa will be attending Bryn Mawr College in the fall, majoring in political science.

Caitlin Cass, graduate of Lincoln Academy in 2021, was a 4 year leader of the tennis team, playing # 1 singles all 4 years and leading the team to 3 Class B KVAC Championships ( 2018, 2019, 2021),as well as being named the KVAC Player of the Year each those years. She led the Lincoln Academy Eagles to 2 Regional and 2 State Championships in 2018 & 2019 and was named to the All-State Varsity Girls Tennis Team for 2018, 2019, and 2021. Caitlin also ran Cross Country , and In 2019 she was awarded the State Sportsmanship Award in Girls Cross Country. Caitlin has been active in her school and community through her involvement in National Honor Society, Lincoln Academy Ambassadors, Freshman Mentors program, Sigma Sigma Chi, YMCA, the Maine Tennis Association, and most extensively Tennis Without Borders, which included travel throughout New England an a trip to Columbia to deliver clothes and materials for schools and for tennis. Caitlin is attending Connecticut College in New London , CT, in the fall, where she was recruited to play tennis.

Caroline Contento, graduate of Camden Hills Regional High School in 2021, was an outstanding player for 4 years in soccer, ice hockey, and lacrosse. Caroline was named the Camden Hills Female Athlete of the Year 2021. In soccer, Caroline was a key player on the Windjammers’ Class A Championship teams in 2018 and 2019 , which won the Class A KVAC Title, Class A North Regional Title, and the Class A State Championship. Due to COVID, no soccer state game was played in the fall of 2020. Caroline has been involved in soccer from a young age, playing with the Dutch Soccer Academy for 7 years and winning the State Championship 4 years in 2016, 2017, 2019, and 2021. In ice hockey, Caroline played varsity on the boys team for 3 years, was the 2020 JV ice hockey captain, and in 2021 was the assistant captain on varsity. She played varsity on the Camden Hills ice hockey team that won the Central Maine 2021 Covid Cup Championship. In lacrosse, Caroline played varsity all 4 years and was captain her senior year, leading the team her senior year with 36 goals and ending her career with 67 goals, and 11 assists - a team record. Caroline has been active in her school and community, serving as class treasurer for 4 years and as treasurer for Interact and Habitat for Humanity. She was inducted into National Honor Society her sophomore year and became social media manager for Club Olas her senior year. Caroline is attending Fairfield University in CT with plans to play several club sports.

Abby Lash, graduate of Medomak Valley High School in 2021. was an outstanding 3 sport player - in soccer, basketball, and track. Abby was a 4 year varsity player in soccer and basketball, was captain her senior year in soccer, basketball, and track, MVP her senior year in soccer and basketball, and received the Medomak Valley Girls Senior Sportsmanship Award. In soccer, Abby scored a career total 32 goals as was named by the Maine Soccer Coaches Association to the Class B All-Star Team. In basketball, Abby was named to the KVAC Class A South second team her sophomore year. In track, in her senior year, Abby qualified for the KVAC and State Championships in triple jump, 4 X100 relay and 4 X 400 relay. Abby has been active in her school community by serving on PAWS, being class historian for 4 years, and being on National Honor Society for 2 years. In the community, Abby has worked on food drives, with the Food Bank , and a a local farm market. She has volunteered with youth soccer and basketball in the school system and has been a counselor and volunteer coach at summer camps for soccer and basketball. Abby is attending University of Maine at Farmington this fall, majoring in Elementary Education and playing soccer and basketball.

Grace Woodman, graduate of Oceanside High School 2021, was a dominant player in varsity soccer and varsity basketball all 4 years, being named soccer captain her junior and senior years and basketball captain her senior year. She played varsity softball her freshman and senior years. Grace was a strong leader of the Oceanside team that went undefeated in the abbreviated 2021 season to win the Kno-Wal- Lin Covid Cup. Grace has been active in basketball since grade 6, playing in the Busline league, with Maine React (AAU Team), and at numerous Pinetree and Gold Rush Basketball camps. She has volunteered in numerous youth sports clinics and camps for basketball and soccer and assisted by reffing, coaching or scorekeeping with elementary/ middle schools games and at the Rec Center. Grace states that she plans on "furthering her education and basketball career” at the University of Maine at Farmington this fall where she will majoring in business economics.

Nate Coombs, graduate of Oceanside High School 2021, was a dominant varsity player in 3 sports all four years - soccer, basketball, and baseball. Nate was chosen team captain in all three sports in 2021, as well as captain in baseball in 2020. In soccer, Nate was 2019 KVAC Class B First Team All Conference. In basketball, Nate was part of the Oceanside team that was the Class B KVAC Championship. In baseball in 2021, Nate was Oceanside MVP and was named to the KVAC Class B All Conference Team. Outside of high school baseball, Nate played on the Ford Babe Ruth Team that was 2018 Champions and has played all over New England with the Maine Sluggers baseball team. In addition, Nate has participated in the Oceanside Interactive Theater Program and has volunteered at youth baseball and soccer camps and assisted with 2021 babe Ruth practices. Nate is attending University of Maine at Farmington in the fall and plans to continue to play baseball.

Connor Daigle, a senior at Medomak Valley High School, is a runner with outstanding performances in cross country, indoor and outdoor track. Connor has been the team captain of cross country and outdoor track for his first three years at Medomak Valley. In 2018, Connor was named to the KVAC First Team in X-C. In Indoor Track in 2020, Nate was the KVAC 2 Mile Champion and was named to the KVAC Indoor Track First Team. In Outdoor Track in 2021, Connor was named to the All State Team after becoming the Class B State Champion in the 3,200 m, which set a new record for a Medomak Valley runner by more than 8 seconds. Connor has also set new Medomak Valley X-C records in the 5 K and the 2 mile. Along with many other athletes in the fall of 2020 whose athletic season was cut short by state-wide concerns about Covid, Connor is focused on returning to KVAC, Regional, and State competition in X-C, as well as indoor and outdoor track.

Jeremy Fraser, a 2021 graduate of Camden Hills Regional High School, is recognized in the Midcoast area as one of our most outstanding basketball players. At Camden Hills, Jeremy was Basketball Team MVP his sophomore, junior, and senior years. As a sophomore, Jeremy was named to the Class A North All Conference Second Team, as a junior and a senior , he was named to the Class A North KVAC All Conference First Team. Throughout the shortened basketball season of 2020 - 2021, Jeremy led the Windjammers in rebounds and scoring, averaging 22 points a game with a game high of 33 points vs. Lincoln Academy. In addition to high school basketball, Jeremy spent many years playing AAU basketball on the 207 Elite Team and Black Bear North, during which time his teams won many AAU championships. Jeremy was honored by being named to the 2021 McDonald’s All Star Team by the Maine Association of Basketball Coaches. Although, due to Covid, no All Star game could be played in March 2021, the Coaches Association and McDonald’s made sure to recognize the best of Maine’s high school basketball players with this award. Jeremy will be attending Hyde School in Bath for a Post Graduate year.

Charlie Griebel, a 2021 Summa Cum Laude graduate of Camden Hills Regional High School, was a key 4 year varsity player in ice hockey and lacrosse, and was captain of both teams for his last 2 years. He was the Windjammer ice hockey MVP for the 2021 season in which the team won the ice hockey Covid Cup Championship. In lacrosse, Charlie was named to the All KVAC First Team and received the US Lacrosse Bob Scott Award for Maine and the US Lacrosse All Academic All American team Award. From age 5, Charlie played ice hockey with the Maine Coast Storm Youth Hockey, winning a State Championship in 2013 (Squirts Tier III) and in 2017 (Bantam Tier III), and continued to play on the Maine Coast Storm all through high school (U18 ice hockey). Additionally, Charlie played 4 years of travel lacrosse with the Maine Mussels Lacrosse, and he represented Maine in Delaware on the Maine Select Lacrosse Team (summer 2020). In his school and community, Charlie volunteered for Habitat for Humanity (2019 & 2020) and was President of the group at CHRHS. Charlie was a member of National Honor Society his junior and senior year and received the following awards his senior year - Principal’s Leadership Award, American Legion Citizenship Award, George Washington University Book Award, and Highest Achievement in Math Award. Charlie is attending Franklin and Marshall College in Pennsylvania in the fall.

Ethan Reed, a 2021 graduate of Medomak Valley High School, played varsity baseball 4 years and in his senior year was named to the KVAC All-Conference Team and was named the Midcoast Region Player of the Year. Ethan was also a Finalist for the Dr. John Winkin “Mr. Baseball” Award. In middle school, Ethan played on the 14 Year Old Babe Ruth All Star Team and received the Middle School Coaches’ Award 2016. Ethan played 2 years of varsity basketball, and then changed to join Medomak’s Unified Basketball teams. While playing with Unified Basketball, Ethan also played ice hockey with the MRC Ice Cats. In his senior year, Ethan joined the Medomak Valley football team for the Covid-restricted flag football season. Ethan is attending the University of Maine at Orono this fall.