Photo caption: Varsity Girls Basketball pre-season county tourney (Photo credit: Gorham Athletics)
The Gorham High School sports teams are in full swing, with several teams poised for strong seasons. Ski areas are open with multiple trails already groomed, which suggests good conditions for the Alpine ski team. Here are the 2025-26 Rams team outlooks for winter sports this season:
Girls Basketball – Coach Laughn Berthiaume
The Rams finished 16-5 last season and lost to South Portland in the AA South Final. The Rams have an impressive level of experience. They have three captains who are also four-year varsity players: Logan Doughty, Lauren Dunbar and Zoe Dellinger. They bring exceptional leadership, deep knowledge of the game, and a strong sense of team culture and continuity. This experience bodes well for success during the season. Coach Berthiaume shared, “Our strength is our uptempo philosophy that is centered around versatile players who can attack the basket and shoot the outside shot. We will rely on spacing, sharing the ball, and balanced scoring. As we develop, we will be looking to meet the challenge of battling on the backboard for rebounds and adding depth to our lineup.” Coach added, “With the realignment of the league, our goal is to be ready for each and every game. The league has more depth and talent due to the added teams in Class AA. Each game will feature a challenging opponent and an opportunity to test ourselves and improve. Our long-term goal is to be playing our best basketball in February.”
Boys Basketball – Coach Ryan Deschenes
The Rams went 6-13 last season, dropping to South Portland in the AA South Quarterfinals. Atticus Whitten and Preston Brown are this year’s captains and returning starters for the Rams. Coach Deschenes shared, “Our biggest strengths are our depth, guard play, and shooting. We have an exciting group of guys who compete and are great teammates, serving each other well and doing what is best for the team.” Rebounding will be pivotal for the Rams as they will rely more on their guard play and shooting. Coach added, “We have a nice blend of returnees and young talent. Our goals are to improve as the season goes on, have guys settle into roles and play to their strengths, and qualify for the postseason.”
Boys Hockey – Coach Shawn Sullivan
Last year the Rams Ice Hockey team lost in the Regional Final 4-2 against Cheverus/Yarmouth, who ended up winning their second consecutive state title 5-1 against John Bapst. This year’s captain is senior defenseman Andrew Collins, with three co-captains, senior Levi Wagner, senior Wyatt McCoy, and senior Jackson Altham. Coach Sullivan shared, “Our strength this season is our team speed and our experience. We do have a large amount of freshmen on our varsity roster, mixed with experienced seniors who are hungry to get back to the Cross Insurance Arena.” Coach emphasized, “Our goal is always to win a state title. The boys got a taste of winning in the playoffs last season and know how difficult it is. Hopefully, we can build off the success we had last year and learn from our mistakes. We are eager to get our first game under our belt.”
Girls Hockey – Coach David Grant
The Rams are strong with returning skaters this year and new additions Lily Keene (Jr.) and Kalia Davis (Fr.). Captains are Carlin Galligan (Sr.) and Azalea Grant (Jr.). The Rams began the season without a seasoned goalie, but Velina Doucette (So.) has stepped up to fill that important role for the team. Coach added, “So far Doucette has been outstanding in her new role, despite being new to the position.” The coach concluded, “In the last few years, we have made it to the regional semifinals twice and the regional quarterfinals one time. Our goal each year is to move beyond that and this year is no exception. I think we have the players on the bench to get it done.” A recent conference win on Dec, 5 against Falmouth is a strong start for the Rams.
Alpine Ski Team – Coach Sean Munkacsi
The girls’ ski team will be led by Cassidy Hjort and Jenny Miner, with Kailey Hanscom, Naomi Medd, and Mia Messina expected to be strong contributors. On the boys’ side, Carter Sprague will be representing. The team has been doing extensive dryland training to build strength, endurance, power and ski-specific movements like turning, balance and explosive power. Exercise instructor Dawn Stevens helps the team prepare for on-snow competition. Pleasant Mountain provides the team with the best conditions possible and serves as home base to Gorham and many high school teams in the area. According to Coach Munkacsi the team is expected to be training on snow very soon, with races beginning in January. The girls will have a chance to finish in the top 3 in SMAA’s with veterans Hjort and Miner bringing their diverse experiences on snow while helping the newer racers improve every race. Munkacsi shared, “Our focus this season is ‘strength of body and power of mind’ and our mantra is ‘low profile, high performance’.”
Swim Teams – Coach Will York
Gorham Swimming finished another strong year across both the dual-meet and championship seasons. Both teams performed incredibly well, with weekly personal records from more than 80% of the roster, new school records in the 200-meter individual medley, and a state champion in the 500 free. Both teams look to be strong contenders once again. This year’s captains are Brodie Berlinger (boys) and Maya Moores, Stella Moores, and Hanna Logan for the girls’ side. Coach York shared, “All four captains bring exceptional work ethic, strong and varied leadership qualities, and extensive experience both in and out of the pool. Of our seven boys this season, five are seniors who have been with the program for four years. They are tough, competitive, and love to race.” At the regional level the team will expect tight races with strong competition from Thornton Academy, Windham, Scarborough and Falmouth. The girls’ team lost one senior and added six new athletes, including three divers. Similar to the boys’ team, they bring valuable experience, with six seniors on the roster. At the Regional level, Gorham and TA look to be top teams. M. Moores and Logan are among the fastest swimmers in the conference. Many of their meets will once again bring exciting match-ups. The girls’ team will likely be championship contenders and the boys’ team will be a strong regional contender. Coach concluded, “Our message from day one has been clear: we are here to compete and make a run at it. Our girls compete in the fastest regional division in the state, which produces outstanding racing, while our boys team is scrappy, experienced, and led by seniors with strong racing knowledge.”
Girls Indoor Track – Coach Christina Stone
According to Coach Stone, the GHS Indoor Track Team features a strong veteran presence and the largest number of ninth graders it has seen in years. Returning top performers include Grace Cunningham (Capt. and state contender in jumps and middle-distance events), Annabelle Vail (Capt. and leader in sprints and relays), Jessie Moreland (Capt. and top scorer in pole vault and shot put), and consistent junior division performers including Tessa White in hurdles, sprints, and relays as well as Whitney Varney in hurdles and relays. Laurel Emerson (Capt.) and Terra Rioux (Capt.) will provide leadership and contribute points in many events. Last year, the GHS Girls Indoor Track teams finished third in the SMAA, and hope to be a main contender for team honors in the league again this year. Coach Stone added, “We have many new members who are working hard and show strong potential to fill events and score points in regular season, conference, and state meets. We look forward to seeing what this group has to offer as the season progresses.”
Boys Indoor Track – Coach Tanguay
According to Coach Tanguay, the team is coming off a successful season last year with 13 wins and 3 losses, and graduating nine seniors who were strong contributors to the program.
Team captains for the upcoming season are Logan Brassard, Owen Cummings, Jack Cyr, Antoine Dube, Colton Jenkins, Shane Morrison, Kevin Munyaneza, Tyler Olson, and Devin Swanson. Athletes to watch are Logan Brassard, senior, jumps; Harry Crider, junior, distance; Harvey Crider, junior, distance; Owen Cummings, junior, distance; Jack Cyr, junior, sprints; Antoine Dube, junior, hurdles and sprints; Shane Morrison, senior, sprints; Kevin Munyaneza, junior, hurdles and jumps; Tyler Olson, senior, middle distance; Nick Sallinen, junior, middle distance; and Devin Swanson, senior, pole vault. For the upcoming season, Coach shared, “We have many new athletes who are joining our team and this is very exciting given how many quality veterans that have returned. Our team should be competitive in league competition and if the new faces can develop this season we may be a quality team in the postseason as well.”
Good luck to all GHS Winter Teams and athletes.