Sports

The best of 2011

Thursday, December 29, 2011

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Staff photo by JOE MARCHILENA Milford's Mike Mitchell is mobbed by fellow students after the Spartans won their second-straight basketball title.

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Joe Marchilena photo Milford's Parker Lyttle gets over the bar in the boys high jump in a dual meet Thursday at Bedford. Lyttle finished first in the event.

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Joe Marchilena photo Milford's Morgan Andrews goes up over the crowd to head a ball during Friday's game against Souhegan. Andrews had a goal, but Souhegan won 2-1.

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Joe Marchilena photo Souhegan's Kyle Robertson gets by a Dover defender during Tuesday's Division II boys lacrosse final.

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Joe Marchilena photo Souhegan's Caroline Stone, left, and Shelby Belak hold up the Division II championship plaque.

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Joe Marchilena photo Marshal Davidson celebrates after the Wilton-Lyndeborough boys soccer team defeated Sunapee 2-1 Sunday to win the Division IV title.

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Staff Photo by Grant Morris
Souhegan's Ashley Tighe pumps her fists after Jane White hit the first of two free throws sealing The Sabers' 47-44 Division II State Championship at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, Saturday afternoon.

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Staff photo by JOE MARCHILENA Milford's Mike Mitchell is mobbed by fellow students after the Spartans won their second-straight basketball title.

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No. 1: Milford basketball makes it two in a row

In 2010, the Milford High School boys basketball team won its first title since 1975, putting together a 21-1 record in Class I.

How did the Spartans top that in 2011? By going 22-0 and winning the Division II (former Class I) title.

No. 2: W-L boys soccer takes two, too

Before the 2010 season, Wilton-Lyndeborough had just one boys team championship – the 1962 boys soccer title.

After this season, the Warriors had two more, as W-L successfully defended its title in 2011.

No. 3: Souhegan girls are also unbeatable

The Sabers won Division II in impressive fashion in 2011, putting together a record of 22-0 to win the program’s third title, and first since 1996.

No. 4: Souhegan soccer back on top

For years, winning championships was a given for the Souhegan girls soccer team. But the team that had won nine titles in a row in the 1990s, hadn’t won any since 2003.

Until now. Souhegan needed overtime to beat old rival Hanover in this year’s Division II final for its 11th title overall.

No. 5: W-L bows out in quarterfinals

Several streaks were snapped when the Wilton-Lyndeborough softball team lost to Colebrook in the Division IV semifinals.

For the first time since 2004, the Warriors would not be playing in the championship game. The loss also ended W-L’s 118-game home winning streak.

No. 6: Milford boys track finally breaks through

In 2009 and 2010, the Spartans finished the outdoor track season as a runner-up to Lebanon in the Division II meet.

But with Milford hosting the championship meet for the first time, the Spartans finally snapped Lebanon’s streak of seven straight outdoor titles and won the school’s first boys track title.

No. 7: No football playoffs in the Valley

For the first time in a long time, both football teams from Souhegan and Milford missed out on the postseason.

Milford had made the Division III playoffs every year since moving up in 2004, but were just 3-5 in the division this year.

Meanwhile, Souhegan had been in the postseason for 15 straight years, but some early season losses left the Sabers with a 5-3 division record and on the outside.

No. 8: Milford’s Hawkins best in the state

After finishing fourth in the Division II meet, Milford’s Courtney Hawkins turned in one of her best performances of the season at the Meet of Champions. The Milford junior finished with a time of 18 minutes, 34.1 seconds to become the first Spartan runner to win the event.

No. 9: Souhegan reaches boys lacrosse final

The Sabers had been struggling in Division I for a few seasons before dropping down to Division II for 2011. Souhegan turned in one of its best years in its first season in the division, reaching the championship game for the first time since 2004 before falling to Dover in the final.

No. 10: Milford’s Andrews ranked No. 1

Morgan Andrews, who helped the Milford girls soccer team to the Division II quarterfinals, was ranked as the top girls soccer recruit for 2013 by ESPNHS. Andrews, a junior has already verbally committed to Boston College.

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