FORT KENT, Maine — The Central Aroostook Panthers ended Fort Kent’s complete dominance at the Aroostook League Championships held Saturday at Lonesome Pine Trails.
The Warriors did prevail in the girls’ slalom and giant slalom competitions and also won in boys’ slalom, but the Panther boys broke through and captured the victory in the giant slalom.
All four of the Central Aroostook skiers finished among the top 13 as they tallied 769 points in World Cup scoring to defeat Fort Kent by just four points. Presque Isle was third and Caribou fourth.
For the Panthers, Bryant Grass was third overall in 1:50.13, while Nick Bradstreet was ninth in 1:54.06. Grayson McKenney and Mitchell Grass placed 10th and 13th, respectively.
Jake Roy of Wisdom placed first overall in 1:46.32. Fort Kent’s Austin Plourde was the runner-up in 1:47.67. PJ Thornton was 11th to lead Caribou and Riley Roderick led Presque Isle with his 12th-place effort.
In the slalom, Fort Kent netted 786 points and beat CA by 34. Presque Isle was again third and Caribou fourth. Roy was the winner in 1:20.17. Bryce Madore and Carson Theriault, both of the Warriors, took the next two positions. Bryant Grass of the Panthers placed fourth. PI’s Roderick placed 10th and Tiernan Barbosa of Caribou came in 12th.
On the girls’ side, Fort Kent had 10 of the fastest 11 skiers for an easy win in the giant slalom. Lyndsay Ouellette was first in 1:50 and Riley Sibley was second in 1:52.34 to lead the charge. Caribou and Presque Isle tied for second and Viking sophomore Edie Shea was the only skier to break into the top 10 as she came in seventh in 1:55.45. Eleanor St. Peter of Presque Isle led PI by placing 12th.
The Warriors featured eight skiers in the top 10 for slalom racing to score the victory. Ouellette (1:27.58) and Kailee Guimond (1:30.86) were the two fastest for the winners. Shea came in eighth for Caribou in 1:37.44 and Presque Isle sophomore Izzy Higgins took 10th in 1:39.51. Caribou was the team runner-up in this discipline, followed by PI.
