Caribou XC team wins big

    It was the performance coach Roy Alden has been hoping for all season.
    The Caribou boys varsity cross country team, running with a healthy top-five for the first time all season, dominated the Pendale Invitational Meet held Saturday at Hermon.    The Vikes scored 23 points and featured the second, third, fifth, sixth and seventh-place runners all coming in within 30 seconds of each other.
    “The good news is how close together they were for a pack time,” Alden said. “We would like to bring that down another 10 or 15 seconds.”
    Caribou will get its first attempt of doing just that in Saturday’s Penobscot Valley Conference Championships in Bangor.
    “We hope to have very good races,” Alden said. “Ellsworth has improved just as we have. As a team, we are starting to come together and the boys are starting to believe just how good they can be as a team the next few weeks.
    “If we can stay healthy, aggressive and focused on our team goals, we should do well.”
    At Hermon, Steve Melbourne was second in 17:58 on the 3.1-mile course. Christian Sleeper grabbed third place in 18:07, Tim Freme was fifth in 18:15, Finn Bondeson sixth in 18:25 and Jesse Stephens seventh in 18:28.
    The winning time was posted by John Bapst’s Gabe Stewart. He finished in 17:39. Caribou’s point total was by far the lowest in the field. Hermon and John Bapst tied for second with 84 points each. Orono (89), Old Town (110) and Mattanawcook (113) followed.
    In the girls’ meet, Caribou was third out of five teams with 63 points. John Bapst and Presque Isle finished above the Lady Vikes in the meet standings, while Old Town and Orono lagged behind.
    Dacie Manion of Old Town took the top position in 20:35. Leading Caribou was Dayna Michaud, in fifth place in 21:43, and Mary Jo Sheehan, eighth in 21:53. Katelynn Plourde was 12th and Kaysie Pelletier 20th, followed by Kelly Kashian in 22nd, Breanna Randolph in 24th and Laura Collins 26th.
    Limestone/MSSM was involved in a meet held at Fort Kent Thursday and the Eagle squads were victorious. Greater Houlton Christian Academy was the third team competing.
    Noah Entwisle and Ryan Keating grabbed the top two positions in the boys’ 3.1-mile event, leading the Eagles to the team win with 27 points. Entwisle’s time was 18:35, while Keating finished in 18:43. Justin Legassey of Limestone/MSSM took fifth in 19:22 and Robert LeLonde was eighth in 19:47.
    Shaylyn Adams came in second place overall for the Lady Eagles in the girls’ meet. She circuited the course in 22:05. Jessica Lutrell was eighth in 24:28 and Ashlynn Kelly ninth in 24:44 to lead the victorious Limestone/MSSM squad.