Locals have strong showing in triathlon
ORONO — A large contingent of Aroostook County residents made the trip to Orono Sept. 30 for the Black Bear Triathlon, and many turned in strong performances.
TRIATHLON WINNERS 
— Proudly displaying their prizes, which included apple cider and a pumpkin, from the Black Bear Triathlon held in Orono Sept. 30, were, from left, Shawn Berry of Caribou, first overall; Kate Parsons of Presque Isle, second overall female; and Matt Cote of Mapleton, third overall.
In fact, the overall champion was Shawn Berry of Caribou, who completed the 600-yard swim, 12.5-mile bike and five-kilometer run in one hour, one minute and 12 seconds.
“The weather was harsh — cool with significant rain and very poor conditions, but it was still fun,” said Berry, who was making his Black Bear Triathlon debut.
Matt Cote of Mapleton was third overall out of the 72 competitors at 1:07:26. John Hebert of Van Buren placed seventh in 1:10:43. Berry, Cote and Hebert made up the top three in the 30-39 age division.
Kyle Washington (1:21:36), Hal Stewart (1:21:38) and Jeff Pangburn (1:22:14), all from Presque Isle, were 18th, 19th and 21st overall, respectively.
The top woman from Aroostook to finish was Kate Parsons of Presque Isle, who was second among women, first in the 29-and-under age group and 25th overall in 1:23:21.
Frank Bemis of PI was 28th in 1:24:15 and Nate Berry of Mapleton was 30th in 1:24:34.
Dustin Drabek of Presque Isle was 36th (1:26:26), Robert Poiesz of Madawaska 51st (1:35:15), Ellen Bemis of Presque Isle 52nd (1:35:21), John Pluto of Caribou 58th (1:41:09) and Sue Deschene of Presque Isle 72nd (2:02:31) to round out the list of local racers.
