GORHAM — Lily Posternak of York High and Joe Esposito of Portland High were named as the girls’ and boys’ Athlete of the Year at the 2016 Varsity Maine Awards on Wednesday evening.
The awards show, honoring the best in Maine high school sports, drew a crowd of more than 400 to the Costello Sports Complex at the University of Southern Maine. Winners were announced in 12 categories at the event, which was hosted by the Maine Sunday Telegram.
Waterville Senior High School’s Lauren Anderson earned The Unsung Hero award for her efforts with the school’s unified basketball team.
Posternak, a junior, is a two-time Telegram Player of the Year in field hockey. She was a key player on York’s state championship teams in field hockey and basketball. Esposito, a senior, was the Telegram Player of the Year in football. He also was a starter on the Bulldogs’ state championship basketball team.
The Athletes of the Year were selected in a vote of the sports staffs of the Portland Press Herald, Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel.
The winners in the other categories were selected by a panel of judges who weighed a group of finalists culled from reader nominations. Those winners were:
• Austin McCrum of Thornton Academy as The Clutch Player.
• Hilary Merrifield of Camden Hills Regional High as The Role Model.
• Yarmouth High as The School That Rules.
• Abdi Shariff-Hasson of Lewiston High for The Wow Factor.
• Joyce Hill, a longtime supporter of Skowhegan High athletics, as The Loudest and Proudest.
• The Vinalhaven High boys’ basketball team as The Comeback Kids.
• Rick Clark of York High as Coach of the Year.
• Colin Tardiff of Scarborough High for The Leap Year.
• Steve McEachern as The Critical Assist for his work with the Ellsworth High swim team.
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