1. South Portland

South Portland has won the past two Class A outdoor track and field championships — and the most recent indoor title — with a similar recipe. The Red Riots have had one or two individuals who can win events, sometimes multiple events, and then lots of quality depth. They appear to have the same combo working this spring, and that’s why they’re the favorites to three-peat. Bossay Ditanduka emerged this winter as one of the state’s top sprinters. He’s a top-three contender in the 100, 200, 400 and long jump. Devin Berry is Class A’s top returning 110-meter hurdler. Michael Lawlor, a senior, has been a key component to each championship as an 800-meter specialist (third at indoor states this winter) and relay runner. Coach Dave Kahill expects points to come in the hurdles from Caleb Ramsell (also a high jumper and triple jumper), Isaac Arey and Gabe Babineau. Ramsell and Arey were fifth and sixth in the indoor hurdles. Ambrosio Mputu (third indoors in 55), Jared LaRose (also high jump and pole vault), Lamed Khelendende and Remy Kiala add sprint depth. Senior race walker Folsom Lamer and junior Anthony Nielsen (sixth indoors in 800) are scoring threats. Lewiston is South Portland’s highest-rated challenger.

2. Portland

The Bulldogs were fifth last year in Class A and graduated some top performers, like 1,600-meter champ Aran Johnson. It’s unlikely this year’s team will have an individual state champion, but it does have seven returners who have placed at a state meet in Brinelle Kubelo (sixth in 110 hurdles), Aziz Mohamed (fifth outdoors and indoors in 400), Liam Alexander (fifth indoors and outdoors in 800), Owen Blades (seventh outdoors in 800), Cordell Jones (fourth in high jump), Ben Mbongo (eighth indoors and outdoors in long jump), and Griffin Lavertu (1,600 relay). Coach Frank Myatt thinks freshman Josh Muanda (fourth indoors in 400) will be a factor in the sprints. The 3,200 relay team won the event indoors and is the defending outdoor champ.

3. Greely

Coach David Dowling points out that the Rangers graduated four multi-event scorers from last year’s team that won the Class B title by 26 points over Lincoln Academy. So a runaway win probably won’t happen, but Greely did claim this year’s indoor crown and has proven returners. Kannon Crocker won the Class B title in 200 and placed in hurdles. Sophomore Jackson Walton was the indoor long jump champ and sixth in the 200. Those two were on Greely’s second-place 400 relay team last spring. Pole vault should also be a strength, with seniors Nate Kim and Camden Wengler, who were third and sixth indoors after placing fifth and sixth outdoors in 2025. Greely showed its depth by winning the indoor 800 relay and placing second in the 3,200 relay.

4. Bonny Eagle

Deering and Gorham are also in the Class A mix to be a top-five team, but we give a slight edge to the Scots’ well-rounded quality. Junior sprinter Drew Gervais is a threat to win both the 100 and 200, with the top time among returnees in both events. Junior shot putter Wyatt Cyr is coming off a second-place showing indoors with a best throw over 53 feet. He will also compete in discus. Senior Caden Cooper has the third-best returning Class A time in the 300 hurdles. Sophomore Ben Havu is an emerging talent in the javelin (No. 2 Class A returner) and triple jump. Dom Metayer (race walk) and Parker Moore (800 and 1,600) are also scoring threats. The sprint relays look strong. Hurdles and jumps are an area to improve.

5. Freeport

The Falcons placed fifth in Class B last spring and second at this winter’s indoor championship. While Greely’s strength is in the sprints, the Falcons have an excellent distance program led by senior Alex Gilbert, who will likely run the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 at the state meet and place in the top three in each — with wins possible at the longer distances. Junior Ian Guzman won the 800 indoors. Brady Webber is a likely scorer in the hurdles and high jump. Tyler Burns was fifth in the indoor triple jump. Senior Jack Brogan is new to outdoor track after placing third in the indoor 400. Senior Dietrick Schulz qualified for states and finished in the top 12 in both shot put and discus last spring.

Shed hunter Drew Maciel recently found two dead moose while searching for antlers this month. Both were covered in winter ticks and had significant hair loss.

He said he has encountered six dead moose with heavy tick loads this spring. About half were young animals, while the others were fairly large.

Moose biologist Lee Kantar recently discussed winter ticks and Maine’s moose on the Vortex Nation podcast.

Kantar said the state has been documenting winter ticks since 2006, though wardens noted them more than 100 years ago.

Unlike dog and deer ticks, which take blood meals from multiple hosts at different life stages, winter ticks spend their entire life cycle on a single animal. They attach to moose in September as larvae, then molt into adults, breed and the females drop off in spring to lay masses of roughly 1,000 eggs on the ground.

Those eggs hatch over the summer. The larvae climb onto vegetation and wait for a host to pass by.

“The biggest problem,” Kantar said, “is once it attaches to the moose in the fall, whether it’s 50 degrees or 50 below, it makes no difference. The tick is living on the moose.”

He said more than 90,000 ticks have been counted on a single animal and explained how heavy infestations can lead to death.

If roughly half of 50,000 ticks are females, they can each take more than 1 milliliter of blood to produce eggs. This drains so much blood from the animal that it becomes anemic.

Kantar said that unlike deer, which regularly groom using their teeth and hooves to remove ticks, moose do not.

“There are very systematic levels to how moose deal with winter ticks,” he said.

Sometimes the hair shaft breaks off from winter rubbing, leaving the white shaft — coining the term “ghost moose.” Some moose rub off all their hair, which can abrade the skin and lead to bacterial infection.

He believes rubbing the coat is a learned behavioral response. Many moose entering their first winter do not have missing hair. By their second year, they begin grooming and rubbing and continue to do so for the rest of their lives.

Kantar said that based on observations from radio-collared moose, animals captured in January can begin losing about a pound of body weight per day until little remains. By late winter, they may lose about 30% of their body weight.

“It’s a dead moose walking,” he said. “They basically go septic at some point.”

Small animals are the most vulnerable, he said. An 8-month-old moose calf captured in January may weigh about 400 pounds.

“It needs to be that much weight,” he said. “Even without ticks, a calf entering winter has no fat because it’s still growing its skeletal mass and is in a deficit.”

An 800-pound cow has the benefit of entering winter with fat reserves.

Even so, adult moose still lose condition. If a cow goes into winter pregnant, the fetus requires nutrition while tens of thousands of ticks are taking blood.

A moose’s winter diet lacks the protein needed to replace lost blood.

Kantar and colleagues in New Hampshire have found that cows often survive heavy tick loads but give birth to calves that are underweight, do not survive or struggle because the cow may not produce enough milk.

Using data from roughly 1,000 collared moose over 13 years, Kantar said adult mortality is relatively low compared to calves. Fall tick counts from index samples collected at harvest can help predict spring outcomes.

In some years, more than 70% of collared calves have died due to winter ticks.

The worst year saw 87% mortality. The best was 8%.

Kantar said there appears to be a strong link between moose density and tick abundance. More moose on the landscape means more ticks.

That link led to a five-year adaptive hunt in wildlife management district 4 aimed at reducing cow numbers and studying impacts on tick loads and reproduction. Results from that study are expected this summer.

While some have proposed treatments such as acaricides to manage winter ticks, Kantar said the scale makes them ineffective and expensive. Future management may instead focus on forest practices that help spread moose across the landscape.

Next steps include conducting fine-scale work with adult moose using high fixed-rate GPS collars. Kantar hopes to better understand where individual animals are each week over their lifetimes, and how forest management may play a role.

It’s finally that time of year. warmer weather is here, and outdoor dining is right around the corner.

In Maine, that’s the real sign that spring has arrived. Restaurants, cafés, and bars start setting up their patios and sidewalk tables, and suddenly everything feels right in the world. After a long, tough winter, it’s a simple but welcome reminder that we made it through.

It also means Maine is gearing up for another year of hordes of tourists rolling into the state to enjoy all it has to offer. And local fare is certainly high on that list—because it’s, well, delicious.

How Great is Maine as a Foodie State?

We spend massive amounts of time discussing and dissecting every little aspect of the Maine restaurant scene. Whether it’s Portland, the surrounding area, Bar Harbor, Central Maine, the Midcoast, the Western Foothills, or the Southern Coast, this state is an absolute gold mine.

With warmer weather and longer days rolling in, I thought it’d be fun to take a look at some of the state’s best restaurants for outdoor seating—the spots that not only serve great food but also offer beautiful views of Maine’s charming towns and stunning landscapes.

Outdoor dining has absolutely blown up in Maine since 2020, with countless restaurants making use of any available outside space. It’s been a huge hit with both locals and tourists.

We put out the call for the joints Mainers say have the best outdoor dining—the restaurants that help shape a community and keep our stomachs full.

Now, thanks to our stations’ social media, we can finally put some names to those establishments.

What are the Best Maine Restaurants for Outdoor Dining?

Below is a list of many of the restaurants that were suggested to us. They vary in size, concept, and location. Some have opened recently, while others have been community staples for years. But they’re all true Maine originals.

READ MORE: Maine’s Chase’s Daily Named One of America’s Best Vegetarian Restaurants

You can check out the full list below. Hope you’re hungry—I know I am.