CARIBOU, Maine — The Viking boys’ and girls’ cross country teams are hoping to be major factors in their championship meets over the next three weekends.
It starts Saturday with the Penobscot Valley Conference championships in Lincoln and continues the following two Saturdays at the Class B regionals in Belfast and the state meet in Cumberland.
The Caribou boys have been the dominant team in their conference and region, winning five of the last seven titles in both the PVC and Eastern Maine. They are the defending champs for both and come in with another strong team.
“This has been a really special group to work with,” said Viking coach Roy Alden, who has coached the squad for the last 26 years. “They are extremely coachable, determined and have the drive to become champions.”
Chathu Karunasiri leads a strong senior class. Alden classifies him as a “state class runner and an exceptional leader.” He has been a frontrunner in a majority of the meets this fall and hopes to improve his fourth-place finish at last year’s PVC, 12th-place effort in the regionals and 37th-place performance at the state meet.
Tsion MacLeod, another 12th-grader, was the PVC junior varsity champion last year and Alden says he is the Vikings’ fastest and strongest athlete. He had the team’s best time and was second overall at Friday’s Aroostook League meet in Washburn.
Caleb Hunter is one of the hardest working athletes Alden has ever coached. Lukas Lagasse and Elijah Verhoff have both battled injuries but hope to be close to full strength over the next couple weeks. All three seniors placed among the top 12 at the 2014 PVCs and were top 20 at last year’s regionals.
Sophomores Daniel Randolph and Evan Desmond and senior Gabe Massey are others in the mix for the Vikings’ top seven.
“They are all tired and sore from the tough training, however, as we taper our training the next three weeks, we should see big jumps in their performance,” Alden said.
Others on the squad are seniors Chris Adams, David Hunter and Riley McDuffie; juniors Nic Alfaro and Bryce Coffin, sophomores Seth Beidelman, Alec Cyr, Emerson Duplissie-Cyr, Matt Nadeau and Josh Quist; and freshmen Kyle Boucher, Logan Lusardi and Aaron Macek.
“Like every year, our goal is to win a state championship,” said Alden, whose 2010 team accomplished that. “We have to grow closer together as a team, continue to lower our pack time, and stay healthy. It’s going to be fun to see this team rise to the challenge and compete with the best in the state.”
Alden said Western Maine powers Falmouth, Greely and York provide the strongest competition at the state level.
The Caribou girls have also strung together some great individual and team efforts and coach Thomas Beckum is looking forward to seeing how things unfold in the upcoming title meets.
The squad has taken first place in three meets this fall and have been second in many others to Orono, a team Beckum feels may be the best in the state, regardless of class.
Caribou has been a surprise this season, with seven members of last year’s team lost to either graduation or transferring. There are no seniors on this year’s varsity group.
“It’s almost a whole new team,” Beckum said, “but if we stay focused and healthy, we have a shot to win both the PVC for the first time in school history and the Eastern Maine championships.”
Junior Julia Page has been the Vikings’ No. 1 runner in the last nine meets.
“She had a really good summer of training and she has been pushing herself harder and learning what limits she can handle,” Beckum said.
Junior Simone Michaud, who is new to the squad, runs only behind Page and “is a very coachable athlete who wants to win,” according to Beckum. Junior Madeline Gudde is the team’s No. 3, while classmate Emma Belyea, sophomores Sarae Greener and Anya O’Meara and freshman Emily Austin are the other varsity runners who have all turned in fine performances.
“What is special about this team is you never know where the runners are going to place on the team as it changes every meet,” Beckum said.
Freshmen Maren Moir and Olivia Austin are among the top JV runners in the conference, while sophomore Sheridan Blackstone and freshman Ashley Violette are other solid junior varsity performers. Rounding out the Viking roster are sophomore Ciara Richards, seniors Reagan Michaud and Maura Freme and junior Sam Fortin.
“We have an excellent young group of ladies who are driven to succeed,” Beckum said. “Their positive attitude and ability to work together is what is going to separate them from the other teams.”
Camden Dumont, Johnna Grant and Lance Lagasse are the managers of the Caribou cross country teams.
