200 area youth compete in Hershey Track & Field
CARIBOU — There was a lot of running, jumping and throwing at the Caribou High School track and field complex on Tuesday, June 21 as more than 200 youngsters participated in the Northern Regional Finals of the Hershey Youth Track and Field Games. The Caribou Recreation Department organizes the annual event, which brings kids from Houlton to Fort Kent to test their speed and strength.
The top three divisional winners in each event will travel to Bangor, July 6 to vie for the state title and possibly a spot on the Region 6 team which will travel to the national finals in Hershey, Penn. On Aug. 4-7.
jMAVOR Photography photo
JUSTIN DAVIS from Washburn jumped 6 feet, 9 inches in the long jump.
The Hershey’s Track and Field Games have been a national event and now a North American event for over 30 years. Initiated as a playground track and field program in 1975 in Charleston, W.V., by Dr. Donald P Cohen, Hershey’s Track and Field Games has become the largest youth sports program of their kind in North America. The program was offered on a statewide level in West Virginia in 1976, became a 10-state regional event in 1977, and was offered nationally in 1978. The program expanded to a North American final in 1996.
Meets are held in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the 10 provinces and three territories of Canada. State/provincial finalists are eligible for selection to Regional Teams. Region Six is comprised of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland. Once the scores from each state and province are tabulated, a regional team is formed for the National Finals.
jMAVOR Photography photo
ALEXANDRA ALLEN from Easton in the 800 meter final girls 13-14 yrs., with a time of 3.26.282.
To ensure fair representation of participants from all states, districts, territories and provinces, a minimum of five finalists are selected from each state/province group to be part of the regional team that will attend the North American Final. Several Aroostook County youth have traveled to the National Finals of the program and enjoyed an all-expense-paid trip, which includes a day at Hershey Park.
Some of the top finishers in this year’s Northern Regional Final results are as follows:
In the girls 9- and 10-year-old division, Libby Moreau of Presque Isle won both the 50 and 100 meter dashes. Brenley Fredette of Easton and Alexis Rodriguez of Caribou finished second in each race. Eleanor St. Peter of Presque Isle won the 200 meter dash. Breann Bradbury of Mars Hill finished second. In the 400 meter dash Isabelle Jandreau of Madawaska topped Rebekah Durgin of Caribou by a little over a second.
Abigail Worthley of Houlton finished first in the softball throw with a toss of 83 feet 10 inches. Paige Espling of Caribou placed first in the standing long jump. Alyssa Abbotoni of Houlton was second. The Caribou 1 relay team of Rodriguez, Durgin, Amber Moir and Willow Whitten placed first in the 4×100.
jMAVOR Photography photo
KATHY MAZZUCHELLI, of the Caribou Parks and Recreation Department, listens to a question about lane assignments.
In the boys 9- and 10-year-old division, Jake Stevens of Presque Isle won the 50 meter dash followed closely by Alan Hewitt of Caribou. Stevens also won the 200 meter race. In the 100 meter dash, Jacob Carvell of Mars Hill was edged out by Ian Jalbert of Madawaska. Sam Ellis of Houlton won the 400 meter dash topping Alex Ezzy of Caribou. Ellis also won the standing long jump.
Quintin Thompson of Washburn won the softball throw with a distance of 105 feet and 3 inches. Parker Deprey was second. Caribou 1, consisting of Ezzy, Hewitt, Deprey and Sebastian Marquis, won the 4×100 relay.
In the girls 11- and 12-year-old division, Bailey Bellfleur of Fort Kent was a double winner in the 100 and 200 meter races. Amelia Hanning of Houlton finished second in the 100. Maddie Doucette of Caribou claimed the 800 meter dash with Sarah Beaulieu a close second. Cassidy Pelletier of Ashland topped Koleen Bouchard in the softball throw. Presque Isle’s Emily Sjoberg won the standing long jump. Ashley Matlock of Caribou finished second. The Caribou 1 team of Doucette, Matlock, Zoey Gerakaris and Gabbie Marquis won the 4×100 relay.
In the boys 11- and 12-year-old division, Cameron Mosher of Mars Hill won the 100 meter dash and Jacob O’Berry of Presque Isle triumphed in the 200 meter. O’Berry also won the 800 meter dash and standing long jump. Dawson McLaughlin of Houlton placed second in the long jump. Wyatt Kennedy of Presque Isle won the 400 meter with Dawson Hebert of Caribou in second. Ryan Player of Fort Fairfield had the longest softball throw. Jordan Doody of Easton was second.
jMavor Photography photo
MOLLY ANTHONY from Mars Hill competed in the 13-14 year-old girls 100 meter with a time of 13.320.
In the girls 13- and 14-year-old division, Molly Anthony of Mars Hill won the 100 and 200 meter dashes and the standing long jump Rachel Maxwell of Presque Isle was second in the 200. Hannah Ferris of Easton was second in the long jump. In the 1,600 meter dash Alexis Coiley of Fort Fairfield finished just behind winner Jordan Tanguay of Fort Kent. Catelyn Coulombe of Washburn and Taylor Williams of Presque Isle finished first and second in the softball throw. Fort Fairfield’s Teresa Maynard, Morgann Towle, Autumn Parady and Alexis Coiley claimed the 4×100 relay.
In the boys 13- and 14-year-old division, Jeremy Gingrich of Presque Isle won the 100 and 200 meter races. David Cyr of Presque Isle was second in the 100, while Caleb Daigle was runner up in the 200. Ben Ezzy of Caribou finished second to Sam Ouellette of Madawaska in the 1,600 hundred meter dash. Jake Flewelling and Dominic Fredette, both of Easton, were the top two in the softball throw. Two Fort Fairfield competitors topped the standings of the long jump. Kaleb Daigle finished first and Lance McKenney was second.
