MADAWASKA, Maine — The outcome of the first leg of the Aroostook League championships for Nordic skiing mirrored what was typical of the regular season.
Just like the way they have dominated throughout the winter, the Caribou boys and girls came away with team championships and Presque Isle’s Max Bartley and Madawaka’s Isabelle Jandreau were the individual winners of the classic-style race held at the Four Season Trail Association course in Madawaska on Wednesday, Feb. 7.
The Caribou boys scored 20 points, thanks to four skiers finishing among the overall top 10, to defeat runner-up Fort Kent (32) and four other teams. Presque Isle came in third with 52, followed by MSSM with 72, Madawaska with 73 and Ashland with 93.
Bartley made it across the finish line of the five-kilometer course in 16 minutes and 36.5 seconds. Second-place finisher Emerson Duplissie-Cyr of the victorious Vikings finished in 16:53.7 and Niko Naranja of Fort Kent was third in 17:09.6
Caribou teammates Alec Cyr (17:37.3) and Evan Desmond (17:47.7) rounded out the top five.
Presque Isle’s Connor Albertson was eighth in 18:33, Dakota Yakel of Caribou ninth in 18:43.4 and Harrison Walter of MSSM was 10th in 18:50.8. Tristan Pelletier of Ashland led his team with a time of 19:09, good for 11th out of the 40 competitors.
The Viking girls won with 38 points, just four ahead of runner-up MSSM. Fort Kent was third with 46 and Ashland came in fourth with 59. Madawaska (62) and Presque Isle (85) also participated.
Jandreau won in 19:14.9, with Presque Isle’s Izzy Jackson claiming the runner-up position in 19:44.3. In third place was Dolcie Tanguay of MSSM in 19:59.8, while Kirsten Main of Central Aroostook (21:17.8) and Kassandra Nelson of Ashland (21:23) were fourth and fifth, respectively.
Willow Hall of the Hornets was sixth in 21:29.8. Caribou featured three of the next fastest skiers. Abigail Wimmer led the Vikes in 21:30.3, good for seventh overall. Teammates Ciara Richards (ninth, 21:40.9) and Jojo Fields (11th, 23:47.3) also helped in the team’s triumph.
Jessica Halsey of Fort Fairfield placed eighth in 21:31.9 and Naomi Kihn of MSSM 10th in 23:37.2. Thirty nine female skiers competed.
The second Nordic leg, the freestyle championships, will be held at the Nordic Heritage Center in Presque Isle Wednesday, Feb. 14, beginning at 2:30 p.m.
