By Kevin Sjoberg
Sports Reporter
The girls’ and boys’ Nordic ski teams at Caribou High School are drawing closer to the championship portion of the season.
Fifth-year coach P.J. Gorneault has especially high hopes for the Viking girls, who are going after their fourth consecutive Aroostook League title and could be in the mix of the top contenders at this year’s Class B state meet, which will take place in Rumford.
The boys’ team, on the other hand, has a youthful roster, but Gorneault loves the challenge and is hopeful the team will make a run at its 12th County title in a row.
“We have some strong competition in Fort Kent and Presque Isle and have been going back and forth with those teams all season,” Gorneault said.
The coach loves watching skiers progress in their ability and “accomplishing things in the sport they don’t think they could.”
“I have had kids who never skied before that placed in the top-10 at the state meet by their senior year,” he noted.
The Vikes lost a couple top-notch skiers from last year in state classical meet champ Caleb Chapman and skimeister runner-up Katie Plourde, but the team still has some strong talent in seniors Ashley Richards, Chelsea Bard and Ginger Kieffer and sophomore Sarah Doak on the girls’ side and sophomore Brendan Cyr, senior Ron Lund and junior Keith Draper among the boys.
Other members of the team are, for girls, junior Sirena Cyr; sophomores Lauren Chapman, Mackenzie Deveau and Elise Gudde; and freshmen Raylee Cloney, Maura Freme and Anna Soderberg.
For boys, juniors Alexander Murchison and Tyler Strid, sophomores Dylan Conroy, Dustin Coty, Dylan Coty and Michael Marquis; and freshmen Lukas Lagasse, Riley McDuffie, Elijah Verhoff and Caleb Willett.
