Fans who attended the Madison boys and girls Class C South quarterfinals on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, at the Augusta Civic Center were treated to a rarity — the national anthem played on the trombone.
Madison student Dominic Fazio — who’s played the trombone for eight years, beginning in third grade — performed the anthem.
Fazio said he also played the national anthem once last season.
“When you’ve played it as many times as I have, it’s not that hard,” Fazio said.
Fazio added that playing solo in front of the large tournament crowd didn’t bother him.
“I don’t usually mind big crowds. It’s just another show to perform,” Fazio said.
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Tuesday’s 33-32 loss to Searsport marked the end of high school basketball careers of five Richmond seniors.
Starters Kelsea Anair and Kalah Patterson, as well as reserves Autumn Acord, Kyla Johansen and Jade Gammon, led the Bobcats to a 16-3 record and the top seed in their first season in Class C South. It was their fourth tournament appearance in as many years.
“Most of them have been here for all four years,” Richmond coach Mike Ladner said. “They’ve been used to success in everything they do. They’ll be fine. They’ll bounce back. They’ve got softball coming up so they’ll be fine. It’s going to be tough to see them go because they’ve definitely been a big part of the program for the two years that I’ve been here.”
With starters Meranda Martin (junior), Sydney Tilton (sophomore) and Caitlin Kendrick (freshman) — as well as key reserves Mackenzie Abbott and Cassidy Harriman, both juniors, and Ashley Abbott, a freshman, expected back — Ladner vowed the Bobcats won’t be a flash in the pan in their new class.
“Hopefully, this is a learning experience,” Ladner said. “We lost some seniors but we’ll be back next year.”
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Searsport’s upset win over Richmond was as much of a mental victory for the Vikings and their fans as a physical and emotional one.
“This Richmond team has had their number in softball. They’ve had it in soccer the last couple of years. And it just translated over to basketball,” Searsport coach Melvin Grant said. “I really think we had the better overall team. It’s just the fact that they’ve had this horse on their back that they couldn’t … They just felt a little bit of fear against it.”
“It’s huge. I mean, we don’t even know what to do with it,” said senior forward Melinda Ogden, who scored a game-high 13 points and made two huge plays in the final minute. “I don’t know how to feel about it.”
In the last two sports seasons, the Vikings have lost to the Bobcats in the Class D regional soccer semifinals and regional softball final after suffering regular season losses.
This season on the hardwood, the Bobcats won by 18 and nine points in their two meetings before Tuesday.
“We didn’t quite have a good game both games, but we knew what we had to do,” Ogden said. “It’s all about executing.”
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