MARS HILL AND FORT KENT, Maine — Stormy and cold weather has been bothersome to high school ski teams trying to get in competitions this winter, but Monday and Tuesday were good ski days and local teams took advantage.
Bigrock Ski Area in Mars Hill hosted alpine giant slalom races Monday and the Fort Kent Outdoor Center was the venue used for Nordic sprint races the following afternoon.
In what was only the second downhill competition of the season, the Fort Kent teams swept both the girls and boys morning and afternoon races.
In the morning competition for girls, Presque Isle’s Eleanor St. Peter had the fastest time among local skiers at 1:36.52, good for fourth overall. Hope Shea of Caribou took eighth in 1:42.73 and Isabelle Higgins of PI ninth in 1:43.19.
Shelby Cowin of Greenville won in 1:26.62. Fort Kent had six skiers in the top 10, led by runner-up Alisha Guimond in 1:31.86.
In the afternoon, Shea took eighth again in 1:41.83 and Higgins ninth in 1:44.11. St. Peter completed just the first of two runs so did not figure in the standings. Fort Kent had six of the seven fastest skiers, with Greenville’s Cowin again winning in 1:26.66.
Jake Roy of Wisdom was the morning boys winner in 1:25.6 for his two runs down the mountain. The Warriors had four skiers in the top 10, led by Austin Plourde (second, 1:26.56). Central Aroostook’s Lane Grass took fourth in 1:29.71, Riley Roderick of Presque Isle eighth in 1:32.58 and Tiernan Barbosa of Caribou ninth in 1:33.18 to lead their respective teams. Taylor Campbell of CA placed 10th in 1:33.25.
Roy also captured the victory in the afternoon in 1:25.91. Fort Kent featured five skiers in the top 10 in another dominating performance. Grass came in sixth in 1:31.3, Roderick eighth in 1:33.1 and Barbosa 10th in 1:33.92.
On Tuesday in the 1.4 kilometer Nordic sprint event at Fort Kent, the Caribou girls took first with 25 points and were followed by Fort Kent (44), Ashland (47), Madawaska (50) and MSSM (62).
The girls top five included: first, Isabelle Jackson of Madawaska, 4:13.28; second, Izzy Jackson of Presque Isle, 4:15.71; third, Dolcie Tanguay of MSSM, 4:27.41; fourth, Kirsten Main of Central Aroostook, 4:32.65; and fifth, Ciara Richards of Caribou, 4:56.57.
Viking skiers Abigail Wimmer and Macey Wakem were ninth and 10th, respectively.
Ashland’s Willow Hall was sixth and teammate Kassandra Nelson eighth in the overall standings, while Jessia Halsey of Fort Fairfield had the seventh fastest time on the afternoon.
The Viking boys completed the sweep by compiling a meet-low 21 points. Fort Kent was second with 35 and Presque Isle third with 53. Madawaska won a tie-breaker against MSSM to take fourth. Both teams scored 68 points.
Max Bartley of Presque Isle continued his dominating start to the season by winning in 3:40.87. Niko Naranja of Fort Kent was the runner-up in 3:57.71 and Alec Cyr of Caribou was third in 3:58.41. Harrison Walters of MSSM (4:02.42) and Emerson Duplissie-Cyr of Caribou (4:04.74) rounded out the top five.
Four other Caribou skiers were also among the top 10, helping their team to the title. They were Dakota Yakel (sixth), Noah Hixon (seventh), Evan Desmond (eighth) and Devin White (10th). Daniel Wortman was the only Ashland skier, coming in at 5:04.86.
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- Lane Grass of Central Aroostook speeds down the mountain during one of his giant slalom runs Monday at Bigrock. (Courtesy of Sha-Lam Photography)
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- Isabelle Higgins of the Presque Isle Wildcats turned in a pair of top-10 finishes during Monday’s alpine ski meet at Bigrock in Mars Hill. (Courtesy of Sha-Lam Photography)
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- Tiernan Barbosa of the Caribou Vikings registered a pair of top-10 finishes during Monday’s alpine ski meet at Bigrock in Mars Hill. (Courtesy of Sha-Lam Photography)
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- Caribou Viking senior Hope Shea came in eighth place in both the morning and afternoon competitions Monday at Bigrock during the varsity alpine meet. (Courtesy of Sha-Lam Photography)
