HOULTON, Maine — The boys and girls cross country squads at Houlton Middle-High School appear to be entering a rebuilding phase after losing several key runners to graduation.
Jordyn Ritchie, a senior at Katahdin High School, is once again running with the Houlton cross country team this fall. Ritchie is shown here during a meet in 2016. (joseph cyr)
Chris Rines returns for his fifth season coaching cross country at the high school and will have several new faces in the mix. He has also coached many of the runners during track and field season in the spring.
“I expect this year to be one of growth and a lot of personal success among the runners,” coach Rines said. “We’re still a new team creating an identity and each and every kid contributes to that. We have a few who will be really competitive this season, and others who are runners for the first time. I have a very positive outlook for each of them both on the individual level and for our team.”
Members of the boys squad include seniors Joel Bond, Jeremy Cook; and sophomores Ean Bolstridge, Zach Gonya, and Nolan Jacobs. The girls team includes seniors Jillian Ross and Jordyn Ritchie; junior Lauren Swimm; sophomores Alyssa Abbotoni and Janelle Ross; and freshman Emmalyne Drake. The manager is Sarah Glatter.
Jillian and Janelle Ross are siblings from Hodgdon. Bond is also from Hodgdon and has been running with the Shires for the past few seasons. Ritchie is student at Katahdin High School.
“Last year we advanced five runners to the state championships in Belfast,” Rines said. “The Houlton girls as a team finished seventh at the regional which was two places out from state team qualifying. The boys did not have a full squad at the meet to be considered for team standings.”
Isaiah Brown, Joel Bond, Rylee Warman, Ritchie, and Abbotoni were the five runners to qualify for the state cross-country championship.
The Shires lost a number of runners to graduation on both the boys and girls teams.
“It’s been hard to recoup that large of a group, and that senior class was the first class I started with in cross so thats a lot of experience, leadership, and talent as well as great kids and personalities to depart from the team all at once.”
His hope is for the team to stay injury free and improve throughout the season.
“We have great management from Sarah Glatter this season,” Rines stated. “Her organization and administration abilities are definitely a much needed and welcomed addition to the team. We have two strong front runners in Joel Bond and Jordyn Ritchie who each have a season of experience on them. A solid pack of runners from last season have returned and are very welcoming to a few of the first time runners which certainly helps in practice.”
Houlton has added another meet to its schedule this season to help create more opportunities for racing experience with its new runners. In so doing, the Shires also align themselves more with a predominantly Penobscot Valley Conference schedule.
One of the challenge the Shires face each fall is getting the course behind the school ready for meets.
“Our home course usually takes a beating during the winter and spring and it’s not uncommon to find downed trees, rocks, and mud slides around the trails,” he said. “Every year we give up one of our early Saturday’s of practice to help fix the course, keep it updated, and remove the hazards and garbage that may be present not only for us but for the use of the general public to enjoy.”
