Top 5 area boys teams to watch in the 2010 spring playoffs

The majority of the spring sports pairings will be announced Monday - baseball, softball, boys and girls lacrosse - while tennis played its individual tournament last weekend and the golf sectionals and track and field state championship meets will be held on Tuesday and Saturday, respectively, of this week.

Like I did last week with the girls, here are my top five boys teams to watch in this year's spring sports state tournaments:

• Northfield baseball. The Marauders went undefeated in the regular season behind pitching depth and great hitting. This team communicates better than any high school team I've ever seen. I've been to two of their games this spring, and to listen to the boys encourage each other the way they do - the voice one hears most prominantly is that of shortstop Eli Diebold - is a sign of a truly cohesive team. It's no wonder they've done so well. The Division III baseball tournament should belong to the Marauders.

• U-32, Harwood boys lacrosse. OK, this is me cheating and getting an extra team in my top five. But really, this spring, you can't talk about U-32 boys lacrosse without talking about Harwood (and Randolph, for that matter). These two (OK, three, but that's REALLY cheating) teams have battled all spring, and I can't wait to see how it shakes out in the D-II boys lacrosse tournament. U-32 has proven itself a physical team and both feature a number of scorers.
  

Harwood track and field. Coach Taggert Haslam has enjoyed depth in almost every event, if not every event, and should give host Fair Haven quite a run at this weekend's D-II state meet. The Highlander boys were state champions last year, and behind distance specialist Tim Shepard and other equally as dominating athletes, should do very well. It was fun to see the number of alumns from Spaulding, Harwood and U-32 come out to this spring's Monster Meet, which shows the bond these athletes have not only to each other but to their programs. Clearly track in central Vermont is on its way up and one doesn't have to look very far to see that.

Spaulding baseball. The Crimson Tide had a great run at the end of last season and have enjoyed the benefits of a team with 12 seniors - 12! - this season. Surely the momentum from 2009 carried into 2010, and it wasn't any more evident than when the Tide smacked four - 4! - home runs in one of its last games of the regular season. Cameron Cummings, one of those 12 seniors, had two - 2! - home runs in that game. Coach Chad Bell has to be a happy man headed into this postseason.

Stowe boys tennis. These kids just don't know how to lose. And in this case, that's a very, very good thing. The Raiders have barely dropped a set in years, nevermind an entire game, and I am pretty sure that trend will continue this spring. More than pretty sure. Behind No. 1 singles player Coleman Gay, who is also a tremendously talented soccer player, the Raiders should dominate. What makes the boys tennis team tournament interesting is this year there is just one division. It will be interesting to see how the Raiders dominance translates in that format, but I have very little doubt they won't be one of the last two teams standing.

There are also several individuals, like I mentioned in the girls post last week, who deserve our attention as well. The Montpelier track and field team scores as independents, so I'll talk about them here. Chris Keller and Laura Mears, running specialists, should fare very well in their respective events. Colby Cunningham has come onto the track scene in a big way - much like Keller when he was a freshman and a sophomore - and should give spectators in Fair Haven something to see in terms of the jumps - triple, long, and high. Randolph boys lacrosse star Alex Green is another tremendous athlete, and while I briefly mentioned the Randolph team earlier, Green is worthy of his own category. This kid can score goals, and he can score goals in a hurry.

There's plenty to see this week as the tournaments get under way, so get out there and see these kids before the season's over!

-Anna Grearson