Editor’s Note: The following is the second of a two-part series highlighting some of the top sports moments from the year 2016. This article covers July through December.
The final six months of 2016 were filled with several memorable sports stories. From Fort Fairfield 9-year-old Michael Bruce qualifying for a national golf competition to Ashland winning another girls’ state soccer title, there were plenty of exciting moments in the local sports world. A look at a few of them follows:
July
Inducted into the Fort Fairfield High School Athletic Hall of Fame were Clarence “Chub” Clark, Wilbur “Biff” Cyr, Timothy Doak, 
Devin Jewett, Kelly Koziol, Shawn Rogers, Jessie Giggey Thompson and Tony Ugone.
Ralph Michaud defeated Randy Hebert in a one-hole playoff to claim the men’s title in the Cary Classic Benefit Golf Tournament held at Caribou Country Club. Lance Bernier of Boothbay was the champion of the 49th Coca-Cola Spudland Open held later in the month at Presque Isle Country Club, with Greg Hallett of Presque Isle winning low net and Todd Newlands winning the J.J. Freeman Award as the top PICC golfer.
Former Central Aroostook boys’ basketball coach Tim Brewer, who led to the Panthers to five state titles during his 15 seasons, was hired as the boys’ coach at Houlton. Brewer had taken the 2015-16 season off.
August
Former Central Aroostook girls’ basketball standout Julie Bradstreet was inducted into the Maine Basketball Hall of Fame during a ceremony held at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.
Jocelyn MacDonald was hired as the girls’ soccer coach at Fort Fairfield and Michael Hartford as the boys’ basketball coach at Washburn. They replace Tom Towle and Randy Norsworthy, respectively.
The Presque Isle 10-12 year-old baseball team beat Caribou to win the Northern Maine Community Recreation Association title, while Cushman’s of Presque Isle lost to Union 122 in the title game of the NMCRA 13-15 year-old baseball tournament. In 10-12 year-old softball, Fort Fairfield bested Ashland to take first place.
Jonathon Bowman was hired to replace Mark Kornachuk as head volleyball coach at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. Traci Halvorson took over the women’s basketball job at UMPI in place of Doug Carter.
Kyle Taylor of Westfield and Marie Beckum of Caribou were the overall winners of the third annual Mars Hill Mountain Challenge adventure obstacle race held at Bigrock Ski Area.
September
Erik McCarthy of Old Town (2:36:05.6) and Tracy Guerrette of St. Agatha ran to overall titles in the first Caribou Marathon. Former UMPI runner Evan Graves, who serves as the boys’ cross country coach at Presque Isle High School, was second for men. Curtis Wheeler of New Sweden won the men’s half marathon and Stephanie Graves of Presque Isle was the women’s winner.
Nine-year-old Michael Bruce of Fort Fairfield qualified for the Drive, Chip and Putt nationals to be held in Augusta, Ga. in April 2017 during Masters weekend. He won the regional held at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass. after winning state and sub-regional titles earlier in the summer. He is the son of James and Melissa Bruce.
October
Jon Bernard of Fort Fairfield placed eighth in the Class C individual state golf tournament with a score of 84. Hunter Flynn competed in the Class B tourney, while PI’s Libby Boone and Fort Fairfield’s Sadie and Sara Edgecomb played in the girls’ state tourney. In the team championships, Central Aroostook was the only local team competing.
Raiden and Jenna Cochran each advanced to the New England championships in the Elks Soccer Shoot. Raiden won the 7-and-under boys category and Jenna the 10-11 girls’ division at the state finals held in Augusta.
Presque Isle won all three meetings over Caribou in girls’ soccer, including a 4-1 victory in the Class B North quarterfinals played at Caribou High School. The Easton girls soccer team finished with a seven-game winning streak and fell in a close game to No. 2 PVHS in the Class D North quarterfinals. The Bears, coached by Audra Fitzherbert, finished 8-7-1 overall.
Tyler Putnam, a former Hodgdon High School basketball standout, was hired to replace Diana Trams as coach of the Washburn girls’ varsity basketball team.
November
A header by senior Cassidy Pelletier in overtime gave Ashland a 2-1 win over Richmond for the team’s second state soccer title in three years. The game was played in Portland. Ashland had beaten Madawaska 3-2 in the regional finals played in Ashland. The Presque Isle and Central Aroostook girls were both eliminated in the semifinals.
Fort Fairfield lost to Bangor Christian, 3-0, in the Class D North boys’ championship soccer game held in Fort Fairfield. The loss spoiled the chance for the Tigers to collect back-to-back state titles. FF topped Central Aroostook in the semifinal round. The PI and Ashland boys’ squads also made it into the semifinals before being eliminated.
Kimberley Wright of Mapleton won the women’s division of the Turkey Trot 5K road race held Thanksgiving weekend on an out-and-back course beginning at Caribou High School.
December
Presque Isle’s Maddie Michaud and Nick Bartlett, Ashland’s Mackenzie Carter and Fort Fairfield’s Ryan Player were all selected as all-state soccer players by the Maine Soccer Coaches and honored at a banquet held in Bangor.
The Hornets’ head coach, Peter Belskis, was named New England small school girls’ coach of the year by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
Jillian Flynn made a return to her home ice for four years with the Presque Isle Wildcats’ hockey team. Flynn, who plays for the University of Maine Black Bears, started in goal in an exhibition victory over Mt. Allison University played at the Forum.
