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VASSALBORO โ For the Freeport golf team, the only mystery was whether it would get a chance to play.
โWe were lucky and fortunate that Cumberland County stayed green,โ coach Jason Ouellette said. โIโve been counting the days since the season started, to just get us through Columbus Day weekend.โ
The Falcons got that chance, and they didnโt leave much room for drama at Natanis Golf Course on Saturday afternoon. Led by individual champion Matt Kempfโs 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.
โI think our top four is probably one of the strongest in the state,โ said Kempf, a senior. โItโs pretty hard to beat us. Weโve grown as a team. Weโve come very far.โ
Defending champion York didnโt play, as York Countyโs 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.
โWe knew this was the strongest team weโve had so far,โ said TJ Whelan, who shot 7-over 79 and tied with Maine Central Instituteโs Owen Moore for second. โWe knew we may not have this strong of a team for the next five or six years. It either happened or it didnโt today.โ

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.
โIt feels remarkable,โ Desisto said. โWe 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. โฆ To bring home a state championship, thatโs crazy.โ
In a testament to Freeportโs talent, the Falcons cruised on a day in which they felt they didnโt play their best. They were more than good enough on Natanisโs Tomahawk course, however, as freshman Eli Spaulding โ the youngest player in this summerโs Maine Am โ turned in an 81 and Finn Sharpe carded an 87.
โEven though we didnโt play our A games, I guess our B or C games were good enough,โ Whelan said. โGoing into the season, we had nothing on our mind other than this day.โ
โItโs been something that theyโve been building towards,โ Ouellette said. โIโd 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.
โI put (my first shot) on the green, and I felt confident after that,โ he said. โEverything fell into place. I donโt really know how to feel right now. Itโs really overwhelming.โ
The Class B girls individual title went to Leavittโs 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.

โWeโve always had a competitiveness between us,โ Haylock said. โEven when weโll go out and play matches, weโre always picking on each other, weโll 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 whatโs been a season to remember. The junior won the Womenโs Am in July.
โThis year has been my most successful year overall,โ she said. โItโs been amazing. I love it.โ
Yarmouth and Waterville tied for second, but the Clippers took the fifth scorer tiebreaker.
โWhen I saw Freeportโs 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. โIโm very proud of the guys. Some of them are a little frustrated that they didnโt play as well as theyโd hoped and didnโt 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 Waynfleteโs George Fahey shot 2-over 74 to edge Kents Hillโs T.J. Folsom.
โI was putting really well. I didnโt 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. โI knew if I played well, Iโd definitely have a pretty good chance. But I didnโt want to come in expecting to win.โ
He didnโt have to wonder where he stood โ Folsom, who had two birdies and an eagle, was in the group with him.
โWe definitely knew (we were close) and we were very competitive about it,โ Folsom said. โAll the credit to him, he closed it out. โฆ He played lights-out golf.โ
Monmouthโs Abby Flanagan capped off her high school career with the Class C girls title, shooting 84 to hold off the field by nine strokes.
โIt feels really good to come out on top. Iโve been working hard this past summer and fall,โ she said. โI know I didnโt 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
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