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VASSALBORO โ€” For the Freeport golf team, the only mystery was whether it would get a chance to play.

โ€œWe were lucky and fortunate that Cumberland County stayed green,โ€ coach Jason Ouellette said. โ€œIโ€™ve been counting the days since the season started, to just get us through Columbus Day weekend.โ€

The Falcons got that chance, and they didnโ€™t leave much room for drama at Natanis Golf Course on Saturday afternoon. Led by individual champion Matt Kempfโ€™s 5-over 77, Freeport rolled to its first Class B golf championship, shooting 324 for a 12-stroke victory over Waterville and Yarmouth. Leavitt (342) and Oceanside (357) rounded out the top five.

โ€œI think our top four is probably one of the strongest in the state,โ€ said Kempf, a senior. โ€œItโ€™s pretty hard to beat us. Weโ€™ve grown as a team. Weโ€™ve come very far.โ€

Defending champion York didnโ€™t play, as York Countyโ€™s yellow designation ruled out fall sports for its schools. But after finishing runner-up the previous fall, the Falcons reached a level that would have been hard for any team to match.

โ€œWe knew this was the strongest team weโ€™ve had so far,โ€ said TJ Whelan, who shot 7-over 79 and tied with Maine Central Instituteโ€™s Owen Moore for second. โ€œWe knew we may not have this strong of a team for the next five or six years. It either happened or it didnโ€™t today.โ€

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Kents Hillโ€™s T.J. Folsom tees off during the Class B/C state championship Saturday at Natanis Golf Course in Vassalboro. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal Buy this Photo

Another former runner-up got over the hump in Class C, as Orono, second to Kents Hill a season ago, shot 345 to beat St. Dominic (351), North Yarmouth Academy (357), Mattanawcook (363) and Winthrop (368). The Red Riots, in only their fourth season as a program and their first under coach Adam Gray, got 83s from Jason Desisto and Zack Dill, as well as an 88 from Jordan Cota and a 91 from Franc Fowler.

โ€œIt feels remarkable,โ€ Desisto said. โ€œWe came in just trying to execute, not have any blow-up holes, try not to three-putt at all. Just do what we do. It feels great to win. โ€ฆ To bring home a state championship, thatโ€™s crazy.โ€

In a testament to Freeportโ€™s talent, the Falcons cruised on a day in which they felt they didnโ€™t play their best. They were more than good enough on Natanisโ€™s Tomahawk course, however, as freshman Eli Spaulding โ€” the youngest player in this summerโ€™s Maine Am โ€” turned in an 81 and Finn Sharpe carded an 87.

โ€œEven though we didnโ€™t play our A games, I guess our B or C games were good enough,โ€ Whelan said. โ€œGoing into the season, we had nothing on our mind other than this day.โ€

โ€œItโ€™s been something that theyโ€™ve been building towards,โ€ Ouellette said. โ€œIโ€™d say, probably December, we really started focusing on a state championship.โ€

The biggest contribution came from Kempf, who according to Ouellette was shooting in the 60s for nine holes as a freshman, but who was locked in from the start three years later.

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โ€œI put (my first shot) on the green, and I felt confident after that,โ€ he said. โ€œEverything fell into place. I donโ€™t really know how to feel right now. Itโ€™s really overwhelming.โ€

The Class B girls individual title went to Leavittโ€™s Ruby Haylock, who shot 6-over-78 to edge teammate Morghan Dutil (80). It was another battle for the two Hornets, who shared the title last year.

Watervilleโ€™s Lindsay Cote reads a green during the Class B state golf championship Saturday at Natanis Golf Course in Vassalboro. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal Buy this Photo

โ€œWeโ€™ve always had a competitiveness between us,โ€ Haylock said. โ€œEven when weโ€™ll go out and play matches, weโ€™re always picking on each other, weโ€™ll bicker and trash talk like crazy. But we have so much fun.โ€

Haylock had par or better on 13 holes to earn more hardware in whatโ€™s been a season to remember. The junior won the Womenโ€™s Am in July.

โ€œThis year has been my most successful year overall,โ€ she said. โ€œItโ€™s been amazing. I love it.โ€

Yarmouth and Waterville tied for second, but the Clippers took the fifth scorer tiebreaker.

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โ€œWhen I saw Freeportโ€™s score in the qualifer, I knew they were going to be tough to beat,โ€ said Waterville coach Khristian Clement, who got 83s from Brandon Bearce and Pete Sack, an 84 from Charlie Haberstock and an 86 from Lindsay Cote. โ€œIโ€™m very proud of the guys. Some of them are a little frustrated that they didnโ€™t play as well as theyโ€™d hoped and didnโ€™t finish off their round as well as they should have, but tied for second is a great showing for our team.โ€

The Class C boys title came down to a single stroke, as Waynfleteโ€™s George Fahey shot 2-over 74 to edge Kents Hillโ€™s T.J. Folsom.

โ€œI was putting really well. I didnโ€™t really drive the ball that great, but I got it in play when I needed to,โ€ said Fahey, who was helped by four birdies on the Arrowhead course, including three in a row on the fourth, fifth and sixth holes. โ€œI knew if I played well, Iโ€™d definitely have a pretty good chance. But I didnโ€™t want to come in expecting to win.โ€

He didnโ€™t have to wonder where he stood โ€” Folsom, who had two birdies and an eagle, was in the group with him.

โ€œWe definitely knew (we were close) and we were very competitive about it,โ€ Folsom said. โ€œAll the credit to him, he closed it out. โ€ฆ He played lights-out golf.โ€

Monmouthโ€™s Abby Flanagan capped off her high school career with the Class C girls title, shooting 84 to hold off the field by nine strokes.

โ€œIt feels really good to come out on top. Iโ€™ve been working hard this past summer and fall,โ€ she said. โ€œI know I didnโ€™t play the best today, it was one of my worst rounds. But I just had to keep shooting every shot. On to the next one.โ€

Drew Bonifant covers sports for the Press Herald, with beats in high school football, basketball and baseball. He was previously part of the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel sports team. A New Hampshire...

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