Tough is claiming a state championship. Tough is doing so when everyone expects you to. Certainly, tough is doing both while completing an undefeated season.

As far as most are concerned, those are true statements. But when several teams can say they accomplished many or all of those things, it’s tough deciding which is best of all.

It was that kind of year for the athletes and teams of Salem, Pelham and Windham. Championship plaques became the norm. State-tournament runs capped off every season. Player of the Year awards, though hardly the goal, provided a fitting end to most celebrations.

So when forced to pick which was the biggest sports story, the task became the very opposite of the magical runs we’re writing about – nearly impossible.

There was the Salem boys volleyball team, which remained undefeated as a varsity program with 55 straight wins and claimed its third straight Division I title. Not to be outdone, the Salem girls volleyball squad also enjoyed a perfect season as it rolled to the Division I crown, its first in a decade.

The Salem softball team won its seventh Class L title in nine years with a thrilling 1-0 victory over Manchester Memorial in the same year coach Harold Sachs won his 400th game.

Then there’s the Salem and Pelham cheerleading squads; each claimed first-place honors among the state’s best. Salem did so at the Class L fall competition after Pelham won its second straight Class IMS championship early in 2006.

Not to be forgotten is the Salem field hockey team and its overtime victory against Exeter in the Class L final, a win that clinched its fourth crown in five years.

All these teams – from their pure dominance to the adversity they had to overcome – made for unforgettable stories. But, while it’s surely open to debate, there’s one that tops them all.

After making three straight state championship appearances, one as a Class M school, the Pelham boys basketball team became this year’s biggest story when it defeated Bow – the only team to beat it all year – in the Class I championship game, 66- 53. The title came in the same season as coach Todd Kress’ 100th career victory and stood as perhaps the year’s most improbable championship run.

Of course, this year’s most memorable moments weren’t all happy ones. The Salem boys tennis team dedicated an emotional season to its coach, Robert Rhoades, who died from a brain aneurysm days before the season began on March 18.

Unfortunately, there probably are a number of stories and accomplishments that didn’t find their way into the pages of this sports section, though that hardly diminishes their importance.

But as any writer or commentator will tell you, a remarkable play always deserves a second look. So, after a year filled with them, let’s cue the tape ...

Winter

Pelham High’s cheer squad won the Class I title at the 23rd annual Kiwanis cheerleading competition. Salem took home top prize among Class L clubs. Two weeks later, the Pythons repeated as Class I state champions at the NHIAA winter spirit competition. Pelham earned 172.50 points after its performance at the University of New Hampshire’s Whittemore Center.

In Class L action, Salem’s spirit team came up one point shy of dethroning reigning champion Pinkerton Academy of Derry. The Blue Devils finished with 185 total points. Salem High hosted the NHIAA gymnastics championship meet, where the Blue Devils finished third overall with 135.950 points.

Nearly 600 females were honored at the 19th annual Women’s Athletic/Academic Awards. Winners from Pelham High included Samantha Bastoni, Julie Connatser, Ami Fuller, Lauren Horgan, Meghan Lamontagne, Ashley Long and Amanda Pepin.

Salem High winners were Cassandra Abel, Pamela Davies, Caitlin Endyke, Samantha Letizio, Traci Lyons, Alayna Mender, Kerri Phillips, Kelly Rincon, Jenna Vadala, Colleen Wilson.

Pelham Little League pitched its first ever Challenger Division, which catered to developmentally and physically challenged children. Players ranging between 5- and 18-year-old were able to compete.

The Pelham boys basketball coach, Todd Kress, celebrated his 100th win after the Pythons’ 73-54 victory over Bishop Brady in the first round of the Class I playoffs.

En route to their championship, the Pythons compiled a stellar record, sporting only one loss. Defeating St. Thomas Aquinas of Dover and Oyster River of Durham, Pelham extended its perfect season to 9-0. A week later, the Pythons proved they could overcome second-half deficits.

Going against 2005 Class I champion Hollis/Brookline, Pelham won 73-61 before it faced Class I power Milford. The Spartans were shocked, 66-51, when Pelham came back in the final frame after being dominated for three quarters. The Pythons beat out Souhegan before an ugly, 74- 59, defeat to Bow, the team it for the title.

Despite a spirited third-period comeback, the boys of Salem ice hockey fell, 5-3, to Hanover in the Division I semifinals.

Blue Devils grapplers headed to New Haven, Conn., for the New England Regional Championships.

Salem placed second, behind Timberlane, with 55 points. The second-place finish surprised everyone, including the Blue Devils.

“We never thought we’d come out that far ahead,” said Salem coach Mark Williams.

“We figured we’d be OK with fourth place, but we just had outstanding matches that moved us to second.”

Blue Devil Aaron Kalil won the 112-pound title, finishing his season undefeated at 52-0.

Teammate Trevor Deardon took the 119-pound title, good for a 50-3 record.

Salem’s girls basketball club dropped a 76-49 decision to defending 2005 Class L champion Trinity in first round of the tournament.

After beating Keene in a Class L preliminary game, the boys of Salem basketball were stopped, 53-24, by eventual champion Central in the quarterfinals.

Pelham big man Ryan Wholey helped led Bishop Guertin of Nashua’s boys basketball team to the Class L Final Four. Wholey made one of two free throws with less than 10 seconds left in the Cardinals’ 60-58 win over Nashua South.

“I’ve been coaching a long time,” said BG head coach John Fisher. “He has one of the highest shooting percentages of any player I’ve ever seen – at any position.

Wholey shot 53.7 percent from inside the arc and made nearly 41 percent of his three-pointers.

A former Blue Devils wrestler, Andrew Lacroix, finished third at the Division III National Championships in New Jersey.

The Roger Williams University junior also received an All-American honorable mention.

On Saturday, March 18, former Salem High teacher and coach Bob Rhoades died after suffering an unexpected brain aneurysm.

Rhoades’ coaching legacy spanned more than 30 seasons.

He served as junior varsity boys basketball head coach from 1974 until 1978 and led the varsity squad from 1979 until 1987.

Rhoades coached Salem cross country from 1983 until 2005 and assisted the indoor track team from 1984 to 1988 and again from 1994 to 1998. His most recent post was as head coach of Salem’s boys tennis team, which he took over in 1989.

Salem gymnast Nick Miles, 13, traveled to Battle Creek, Mich., to make his first appearance at the National Junior Olympic Trials. Miles narrowly missed the final round for the chance to make the Junior Olympic team.

“It was disappointing for sure,” said Miles. “It would’ve been special to make it all the way, but it was my first year and I know there’s a chance I could compete there next year.” Salem girls tennis was bounced, 6-3, by Bishop Guertin of Nashua in the first round of the Class L tournament. The No. 3 Blue Devils lost to sixth-seeded BG by the same score in the regular season.

Pelham’s Luke Marcum placed third in the annual Bedford Rotary Memorial 5K race.

The 22-year-old finished the race in 18-minutes, 29 seconds. Windham native and former Blue Devils star Whitney Mollica was named the Atlantic-10 Rookie of the Year and earned Player of the Year honors after her first year on the UMASS-Amherst softball team. Mollica’s 61 RBI broke the eight-year school record of 45 and the conference record of 56.

After what trainers called “a severe muscle spasm,” in his hamstring, Salem’s Bob Liekwig had to sit out the Class L track and field championship. The Salem senior petitioned to enter the Meet of Champions, where he finished second in the 110 hurdles and third in the 300 hurdles.

His performance earned him a spot to compete in New Britain, Conn., at the New England Interscholastic Track and Field Championships, where he posted two top-three scores in hurdles events.

With Liekwig sitting out the Class L meet, Salem’s track and field boys finished 16th overall with nine points. The girls finished with .5 points when Traci Lyons placed sixth in the pole vault.

On the Class I track, Pelham’s Kyle Fournier placed fourth with a school-record javelin throw of 156 feet. Senior Amber Kyzer finished fifth in the long jump with a distance of 15-09.50.

The Salem nine, seededsecond, was shocked by No. 15 Pinkerton in the first round of the Class L baseball tournament.

“I think I generally take [it hard] to losing no matter what,” said Blue Devils head coach Dan Keleher. “Even if we were the 15th seed, I think I’d probably feel the same way.”

In the Division I boys lacrosse tournament, the Blue Devils ended their season with a 19-4 loss to Hanover.

After playing the season in memory of former head coach Bob Rhoades, the boys of Salem tennis ended their emotional year with a semifinal loss to eventual Class L champion Concord.

In its second season in Class I, Pelham’s boys tennis team fell in the quarterfinals to rival Bow.

After two years without it, the girls of Salem softball finally raised the Class L championship plaque following a 1-0 win over Manchester Memorial. The game featured one of year’s best pitching duels between Blue Devil hurler Alexandra Gallant and Crusader ace Sara Murray. Gallant threw a one-hitter for the champions.

En route to their state title, Blue Devils head coach Harold Sachs earned his 400th win.

“I keep telling him to be a college coach; I’d write him a recommendation letter, too” said Concord High softball head coach Duke Sawyer. “Just get him out of Class L. It would work out for both of us: he gets the recognition he deserves, and we other Class L coaches don’t have to face him anymore.”

The Pelham 10- and 11-year-old all-star team highlighted the summer months with its District One and state tournament titles. A week after dropping into the losers’ bracket with a 6-1 loss to Bedford, the squad won back-to- back extra-inning games over the same Bedford team in the dual championship at Salem’s Michele Park.

Pelham won the first game, 3-2, on July 15 before taking a 6- 5 win on a throwing error a day later. It was sweet redemption for many of the team’s players, who were on the other side of the coin as 9- and 10-year-olds when they dropped two straight to underdog Concord in the championship.

“Last year, the kids saw it,” Pelham coach Ken Kaiser said of Concord’s two-game sweep. “So this time, they knew what they had to do and they were prepared for it.”

The Salem 14-year-old Babe Ruth baseball team also enjoyed a successful season as it took the District Two title, first defeating Monadnock, 7-2, before clinching the crown with an 11-0 win over Londonderry. The squad was beaten in the state championship by Goffstown, 9-4, on July 30.

Other Little League teams didn’t have the same success, but they put together solid summers as well. The Salem American majors all-star won four straight games at one point before Goffstown’s Dylan Bisceglia ousted it with a walk-off, sixth-inning single in a 5-4 win on July 10.

The Salem National team had reached the winners’ bracket quarterfinals before an 8-4 loss to Salem American ended its run, while Pelham completed its tournament with a 3-2 record with wins over Nashua, Derry American and Manchester Southwest. Outside of its two losses, Pelham outscored its opponents, 22-6.

The Salem boys basketball team served notice to area teams when it won the Hoops for Hope tournament title on Aug. 9 with a 61-49 win over Andover (Mass.) in Lawrence, Mass. Playing in perhaps the region’s most competitive and most prestigious summer tournament, Salem’s title was its first since 1994, which served as a prelude to the team’s state championship run in the winter of ‘95.

Jonathan Merrill completed a memorable summer himself.

Racing in his ‘78 Chevy Malibu, the Salem resident won the New England Dragway track championship, becoming the first “door car” racer to do so in eight years.

The area was also well-represented at the 53rd annual Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl, a yearly competition between the best recently graduated senior football players from New Hampshire and Vermont. Salem High’s Matt Starr and Pat Halligan both played for team New Hampshire, helping it to a 24-7 win on Aug. 5 in Plymouth.

As expected, the most successful fall in Salem High athletics history was not devoid of memorable finishes. Four teams – the Salem girls and boys volleyball teams, the field hockey team and the cheerleading squad – all claimed state titles, marking the most for the school during any season, according to Salem High athletics director Chris Bergeron.

The volleyball teams both posted perfect seasons, losing a combined five games but never a match. But their championship victories each held different levels of significance.

Led by the state’s Player of the Year, Tim Sadowski, the boys squad captured its third straight title and won its state-record 55th straight match, a 3-1 championship victory over Keene on Oct. 27.

The girls team lost just three games all season in rolling to the Division I crown, its first since 1996.

Also led by the state Player of the Year, Casey Stoodley, the Blue Devils defeated No. 2 Bishop Guertin, 3-1, on Nov. 4 in the finals.

The field hockey team exorcised some demons of its own, defeating the only two teams to beat it during the year – Pinkerton Academy and Exeter – en route to its second straight title and fourth in five years.

The No. 3 Blue Devils blew by Pinkerton, 3-0, in the semifinals before Carolyn Malloy scored the game-winner less than three minutes into overtime to give Salem a 3-2 victory over Exeter in the final on Oct. 29. It was the program’s sixth title.

“The girls volleyball team had a tremendous season and it certainly was magical, but in that same season, you have a boys volleyball team that has a winning streak of 55 games,” Bergeron said. “And you have a field hockey team that’s won back-to-back titles, and our softball program in the spring has won seven of the last nine softball titles.

“So,” he added, “it’s difficult to say, ‘This is the best team, this is the best right here.’”

The Salem cheer squad unseated three-time defending champion Pinkerton for its Class L title, racking up 190 points to the Astros’ 175 to win the crown at the University of New Hampshire’s Whittemore Center on Nov. 5.

Pelham, last year’s Class IMS champ, placed 15th out of the 21 teams the same day.

The Salem and Pelham football teams both enjoyed stellar fall seasons, though they each fell short of a state title.

The Blue Devils knocked off Central, 21-7, in the Division I semifinals on Nov. 11 before putting forth a valiant effort against powerhouse Pinkerton Academy in the finals, where they fell 27-7 on Nov. 18.

It was the second straight year Salem lost to the Astros in the state championship.

“When we started this season, there wasn’t much on us, we didn’t have very high expectations,” said senior captain Jared Ciriello. “Everything we did this year is attributed to the team and not last year’s team setting it up.

So making it to the championship was definitely great for us. And we all know that.”

Pelham, playing without senior quarterback David Joyce, nearly pulled off an upset of No. 2 Franklin in the Division V semifinals on Nov. 11, but it came up short in a 22-13 loss.

Kyle Roman scored the team’s lone touchdown to go along with Jim Mostone’s two field goals as the Pythons finished at 7-3.

The Bishop Guertin football team, led by Pelham native Steve Travaglini, won its third straight Division II crown on Nov. 18. BG came back from a 7-0 fourth-quarter deficit to top No. 1 Exeter, 21-14, avenging a 24-21 regular-season loss to the Blue Hawks in the process.

A slew of AYF youth cheer teams also completed a highly successful year. The Salem Rams organization earned first-place finishes at the New England Region Championships on Nov. 25 among Division 12 Large Red and Division 15 Large Blue squads and a third-place finish among Division 10 Large Red teams.

The Pelham-Windham Razorbacks placed well with two second-place finishes coming among Division 10 Large Red and Division 15 Large Red teams.

At the national championships in Tampa, Fla., both programs continued to rake in trophies, with Salem taking a national title in Division 15 and runner-up honors in Division 12 and Pelham taking second again in its two divisions.

The Salem/Woodbury Athletic Hall of Fame inducted another class into its ranks this year. Among those honored were Robert Rhoades; William Kress, a star basketball and baseball player and 1962 graduate; Philip Alan Smith, a 1982 graduate who owns the school wrestling record for wins and pins; and Albert LaFlamme, the Woodbury and Salem High band director from 1994 to 1999.

The Salem boys and girls soccer teams both made the playoffs before falling to Merrimack squads in the first round on Oct. 25. The boys lost, 4-2, while the girls ended their season with a 5-0 defeat.

The Pelham girls volleyball team also made a playoff appearance before dropping 3-0 decision to top-seeded Gilford.

So with that, bring on 2007.