Editor’s Note: The following is the second of a two-part series that looks back on some of the more memorable sports-related stories of 2010. This article covers July-December.
July
• More than 100 boys and girls from Aroostook County traveled to Bangor and battled extremely warm conditions to compete in the State Finals of the Hershey Youth Track and Field Program. The program, sponsored by the Hershey Food Corporation and the Maine Recreation and Park Association, was a national event and now a North American event for the past 32 years. Initiated as a playground track and field program in 1975 in Charleston, West Va. by Dr. Donald P. Cohen, Hershey’s Track and Field Games has become the largest youth sport program of its kind in North America.
• Ralph Michaud of Presque Isle took the overall championship at the 27th annual Cary Classic Benefit Golf Tournament, held at Caribou Country Club. He finished four strokes ahead of runner-up Phil Pelletier of Presque Isle. Betty Deveau of Caribou was the women’s winner, while runner-up Vi Kemp was three strokes back. Nearly 100 golfers participated in the annual event, which is a fundraiser for the Jefferson Cary Foundation.
• Caribou’s P.J. Gorneault covered the Maine Potato Blossom 5 Miler course in 27:51 minutes and 45 seconds, ahead of second-place finisher Thomas Beckum, also of Caribou. Rounding out the top five runners were Austin Townsend, 31:41; Corey Park, 32:05; and Richard Cotta, 32:24. Susan Plissey of Stockholm, who was first in the women’s division, was 10th in 34:39.
• Gorneault also won the annual Musterd Mile, which was held in Caribou. Gorneault set the pace and had a winning time of 4:25. The women’s winner was Plissey, who finished in 5:46 and was 15th overall.
• Ryan Deprey was hired as the new girls’ varsity basketball coach at Caribou High School, replacing Bill Schofield, who had held the position for the past eight years. Bob Hancock returned as coach of the Limestone/MSSM girls’ basketball team. He took over for Jamie Labreck, who moved from the area after serving as the team’s coach for the past five seasons.
• Sleepers swept a best two-of-three series against Savings Bank of Maine to claim the Caribou Little League championship. Sleepers took game one, 7-5, before claiming the victory in game two, 11-9.
• The American Division took bragging rights in both Little League all-star games. The Americans beat the Nationals in the 9-10 year-old game, 19-17, while also winning the 11-12 year-old contest, 6-3.
August
• Caribou took second and Fort Fairfield was fourth at the annual Northern Maine Community Recreation Association county swim meet held at the Presque Isle Indoor Pool. Presque Isle captured top honors in the team results. The high point winners in their respective age divisions were: 8 and under girls, Cassidy Coiley of Fort Fairfield; 8 and under boys, Chase Coiley of Fort Fairfield; 9-10 girls, Maddie Wing of Caribou; 9-10 boys, Camden Dumont of Caribou; 11-12 girls, Alexis Coiley of Fort Fairfield; 11-12 boys, Eric Lusardi of Caribou; 13-14 girls, Laura Lusardi of Caribou; 13-14 boys Isaac Estey of Presque Isle; 15-18 girls, Katie Plourde of Caribou; and 15-18 boys, Kyle Gilson of Presque Isle.
• Ethan Plourde, Katie Keaton, Tyler Willey, Laura Collins and Jon Ouellette were age division winners as Caribou rolled to the win in the County Singles Tennis Tournament held in Presque Isle. In the doubles tourney held at Caribou, Caribou winners included Plourde-Josiah Krul in the boys’ 10-12 bracket, Keaton-Alexa Massey in girls’ 13-15, Tyler Willey-Zachary Gorence in boys’ 13-15, Jenna Selander-Collins in girls’ 16-18; and Ouellette-Nick Willey in boys’ 16-18.
• In the championship game of the Aroostook County Junior Girls Softball Tournament, Presque Isle bested Limestone, 7-1. In the matchup with Limestone, who had beaten Ashland in the semifinal round, Presque Isle held on to a slim 2-1 lead after three innings before posting three runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth inning to put the game away.
• Caribou’s 10-12 year-old baseball team won the Northern Maine Community Recreation Association county tourney, defeating Presque Isle in the finals of the six-team, single-elimination event.
• NASCAR driver Sterling Marlin attended the Pro All Star Series at Spud Speedway in Caribou.
• The Aroostook County Pony League championship tournament was held, with Madawaska coming away with the title. Madawaska defeated the Presque Isle Wildcats by a score of 13-1 to take top honors. AFSL and Fort Fairfield tied for third place.
• Susan Plissey of Stockholm was the women’s winner at the County Open Half-Marathon held in Island Falls.
• Caribou Little League’s 11-12 year old traveling all-star baseball team captured the 12th annual Marty Lyons Classic Little League Tournament title in Bar Harbor. The Caribou 9-10 year-old team also had a strong performance, taking runner-up honors in that division.
September
• A group of local cycling enthusiasts and their support team rode the length of the state for a great cause. The second annual Spokes For Hope ride, which began in Fort Kent and ended in Kittery, is a fundraiser for four cancer organizations – the Lance Armstrong Foundation, the Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope and Healing, Children’s Hospital Boston and Ronald McDonald House Charities.
• Thomas Beckum of Caribou and Susan Plissey of Stockholm were victorious in the annual Caribou Labor Day Road Race by sizeable margins. Beckum set the early pace and finished the 8K course in 27 minutes and 58 seconds – 2:29 ahead of runner-up Alfred Hanscom of Presque Isle. Plissey won the women’s division in 32:58. She won by a 3:12 margin over runner-up Marie Strouse.
• For the first time since 2003, Washburn was fielding a cross country team. The Beavers hosted Fort Kent and Greater Houlton Christian Academy in a meet, and runners from the host school landed first-place finishes.
• The Aroostook League team championship and state tournament berths were up for grabs at a match which took place at Portage Hills Country Club featuring the region’s Class C schools. In the end, it was Fort Fairfield claiming its second consecutive County title with a team total of 380, which was nine strokes better than runner-up and tourney host Ashland.
• Jenna Selander became Caribou High School’s all-time leading goal scorer in the Lady Vikings’ win over Mattanawcook. The previous record was held by Beth Corrow, a 1988 graduate of Caribou High School, who scored 53 career goals at CHS.
October
• The Caribou boys cross country team won the school’s first state championship in the sport since 1938. Viking senior Christian Sleeper placed fourth overall, while Caleb Chapman was 13th, D.J. Flynn 17th, Ryan Washington 33rd and Jesse Sandstrom 36th as coach Roy Alden’s Caribou squad beat out Western Maine schools Falmouth and Cape Elizabeth for the top spot in the meet held at Belfast. The Caribou girls placed seventh in the state competition.
• Carsyn Koch, a Washburn District High School freshman, captured the Eastern Maine Class C cross country championship. Her time of 20 minutes and 14.15 seconds easily topped the field of 63 runners. She followed that effort with a state championship victory with her time of 19:36.5.
• Viking basketball standout Chris Funk, a 1995 graduate of Caribou High School, was inducted into Husson University’s Athletic Hall of Fame.
• Sunny skies greeted the 36 boys and 37 girls competing in the Aroostook County Cross Country Championships, held at Woodland Consolidated School. The girls meet was closely contested, with Presque Isle sneaking away with a one-point victory over Caribou. The Vikings, with 28 points, featured the meet’s individual winner in Kristin Macek, who cruised to the victory in 14:45. Robyn Larrabee of Caribou was third in 15:11, with Emma Belyea seventh in 15:54, Madeline Gudde eighth in 15:57 and Nerissa Larrabee ninth in 16:14.
• Jeanette Peters of Fort Fairfield and Dana Hews of Washburn represented the Northern Region as the newest inductees into the Maine Sports Legends Hall of Honors. William Haskell of Presque Isle and Emery Plourde of Caribou were inducted posthumously at the Alfond Youth Center in Waterville.
• In soccer playoff action, the Washburn girls bested Deer Isle-Stonington in the quarters before losing to Ashland in overtime in the Eastern Class D semifinals. The Fort Fairfield girls fell to Van Buren in the quarterfinal round. Shead pulled out a 1-0 upset victory over Washburn in an Eastern Class D boys’ preliminary playoff match.
November
• For the second consecutive year, the Presque Isle and Caribou girls soccer teams squared off in the playoffs, but the stage was much higher as an Eastern Maine championship was on the line. The No. 1 Vikings shut out the third-seeded Wildcats 3-0 in a game held at Caribou High School which was watched by more than 1,000 diehard fans. Caribou ended up losing to Falmouth in the Class B state title game, 1-0 in a match played in Falmouth.
• Maine Soccer Coaches announced their Eastern and Western Regional All-Star Teams for 2010. Local athletes named to the Eastern Class B boys team were: Caribou’s Chad Caverhill (junior); and Presque Isle’s Josh Allen (senior), Brandon Bonville (senior), Andrew Legassie (senior) and Wilder York (junior). Named to the Eastern Class D boys squad was: Nathan McLaughlin (senior) of Fort Fairfield. Named to the Eastern Class B girls team were Caribou’s Jamie Martin (junior), Jenna Selander (senior) and Olivia Sleeper (sophomore); and Presque Isle’s Chelsea Nickerson (junior) and Kayla Richards (junior). Named to the Eastern Class D girls squad were: Ashland’s Whitney Donovan (senior) and Brooke LaBelle (junior); Easton’s Carla Halvorson (sophomore); Fort Fairfield’s Logan Bubar (freshman) and Abbey Player (freshman); and Washburn’s Carmen Bragg (freshman), Carsyn Koch (freshman) and Rayah Saucier (sophomore).
• James “Chico” Hernandez of Washburn was named a recipient of the American Sambo Association’s “Pioneer of American Sambo” Award. The award recognized individuals who have made great strides toward supporting Sambo wrestling in the United States. Hernandez was among four nominees up for the award, and joined Ron Tripp as a top vote-getter.
• Thomas Beckum of Caribou and Susan Plissey of Stockholm captured the County Challenge Racing Series championships. The series is sponsored annually by the Aroostook Musterds Road Racing Club.
• Caribou High School physical education teacher Evan Graves was the winner of the Manchester City Marathon in New Hampshire Nov. 7. He beat a field including 496 participants.
• The annual Turkey Trot 5K Road Race in Caribou drew a record field of 93 participants, with Spencer McElwain of Caribou and Stockholm’s Susan Plissey racing to titles.
December
• Jenna Selander was an All-New England soccer choice for the second consecutive year. The Caribou senior forward was selected by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. Her coach, Todd Albert, was named Eastern Maine Coach of the Year by the Maine Soccer Coaches.
• Mark Shea, citing a desire to spend more time with his family, stepped down as coach of the Caribou boys’ varsity soccer team after 11 seasons on the job.
