Staff Writer
In championship meets, it’s all about the pack time.
The Caribou boys’ varsity cross country team proved that on Saturday, bunching up its top five runners en route to the Penobscot Valley Conference Class B championship in a meet held in Bangor.
Contributed photo/Gina Freme
MEET CHAMPIONS — The Caribou Vikings were victorious at the Penobscot Valley Conference championships, held Saturday in Bangor. From left are coach Roy Alden, Finn Bondson, Jesse Stephens, Jacob Michaud, Steve Melbourne, Chris Nadeau, Tim Freme and Christian Sleeper. Alden was voted PVC coach of the year, which was announced following the competition.
“We were packed together well, which is extremely important on a team like ours,” said Caribou coach Roy Alden.
In fact, the separation time between the Vikes’ No. 1 runner, Jesse Stephens, and their No. 5, Christian Sleeper, was a mere 40 seconds. Stephens placed third on the 3.1-mile course in 17:13.5 and Sleeper was eighth in 17:53.7. They sandwiched teammates Steve Melbourne (fourth, 17:20.7), Tim Freme (sixth, 17:42.3) and Finn Bondeson (seventh, 17:47.6).
The effort by Stephens was especially impressive, according to Alden. After missing four weeks with an injury, Stephens was finally back on the trails two weeks prior to the PVC meet and Saturday’s performance was the culmination of plenty of hard work in rejoining his team.
“It was great to see Jesse come back to race like he was running last year,” Alden said.
Jake Michaud backed up the performance of Caribou’s top five with a 14th-place overall placement in 18:21.4. The other Viking starter, Chris Nadeau, was 32nd.
Caribou totalled 28 points to defeat Ellsworth (60), Mount Desert Island (68) and four other schools.
Taking the boys’ title individually was Ben Chapman of Ellsworth. He crossed the finish line in 16:38.6, 21 seconds ahead of John Bapst’s Gabe Stewart.
The Lady Vikings came within two points of pulling off a double win for Caribou.
MDI ended up winning with 61 points, with John Bapst and Caribou tying for second with 63. Bapst captured runner-up honors as its sixth runner finished ahead of Caribou’s.
Dayna Michaud came in third place in 20:00.4, while Mary Jo Sheehan was sixth in 20:08.6 and Hannah Saunders, back from an injured hip, ending up 11th in 20:48.6.
Katelynn Plourde was 18th in 21:12.1 for the Lady Vikings. Ashley Clark (26th, 21:53.6), Kaysie Pelletier (38th, 22:32.6) and Kelly Kashian (39th, 22:42) rounded out Caribou’s starting lineup.
“I had no clue what to expect because of the situation with Hannah, but she ran a good race,” said coach Thomas Beckum. “Almost everyone on the team ran a personal record, with Kaysie cutting five minutes off her previous best.”
The individual champ was Brianne Dunn of Ellsworth, clocking the course in 19:31.4 for a 28.5-second margin of victory.
The Eastern Maine Championships will be held Saturday at Belfast.
“We took the girls in the gym Monday and took a look at the banners hanging from the rafters. The last one for girls cross country was in 1990 and they want another one,” Beckum said. “Coming in the top two would be quite an achievement and is something we’ve been striving for.”
Alden feels his team is ready to make a run at another title.
“Hopefully we can maintain our focus and build on the confidence we gained Saturday,” he said. “The next couple races should be a lot of fun as we continue our quest for championships.”
Limestone/MSSM will also be on hand, competing in the Class C meet.
Contributed photos/Laurie Sheehan and Leo Kashian
OFF AND RUNNING— The Caribou varsity cross country teams made a successful trip to Bangor Saturday for the Class B Penobscot Valley Conference Championships. The Viking boys won the meet, while the girls placed third, but only two points out of the top position. Jesse Stephens of Caribou stays in front of Stearns’ Michael Rioux, center, and Viking teammate Steve Melbourne down the stretch.
The Caribou girls take off at the start. From left are Katelynn Plourde, Hannah Saunders, Ashley Clark, Kaysie Pelletier, Mary-Jo Sheehan, Kelly Kashian and Dayna Michaud.
