It was a banner day for the Caribou varsity track and field program Saturday in the Class C state meet held at Massabesic High School in Waterboro.
Actually, the Vikings picked up multiple banners, as the boys garnered the school’s first-ever state championship and both the boys and girls captured Maine Principals’ Association Good Sportsmanship awards.
The Caribou girls had a good showing in the meet by placing sixth in the standings.
Evan Desmond of Caribou competes in the 1,600-meter racewalk at a meet this spring in Presque Isle. Desmond won the event at the Class C state championships held Saturday at Massabesic High School in Waterboro.
(Kevin Sjoberg)
The Viking boys won a close meet, scoring 57 points to edge both Wells (54) and Traip Academy of Kittery (50). Orono, which had captured state titles in 2015, 2016 and 2017, was fourth with 43 points.
The big point scorers on the day for the Vikings were seniors Evan Michaud, Evan Desmond and Cory Jandreau.
Michaud won the pole vault by clearing 12 feet and in the process qualified for the New England championships, to be held June 9 at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, New Hampshire. Desmond was first in the 1,600-meter race walk in 7 minutes and 7.66 seconds. Jandreau was second in both the pole vault (12 feet) and the 400-meter dash (53.41 seconds). The trio joined Calvin Mokler on the 4×400-meter relay team which took third place with a time of 3:39.29.
The Vikings were also third in the 4×800 relay at 8:49.52, with that team consisting of Mokler, Aaron Macek, Tom Pinette and Dylan Marrero.
Some unheralded Caribou athletes came up with some big performances to allow their team to prevail in a competition where every point made a difference. Jordan Duplissie, a freshman, bested his previous best time in the 3,200 run by 15 seconds to finish sixth, while senior Caleb Libby just made it into the finals in the 110 hurdles and then raced to sixth place in 18 seconds flat.
“Those were a couple of special performances for kids who had their best races when it mattered most,” said Viking coach Roy Alden, whose teams have competed as a Class C team since 2016 following several years in Class B.
Desmond placed sixth in the 1,600 run (4:50.25) and Marrero fifth in the 800 (2:10.48) to round out the scoring for Caribou.
“There is pressure attached to every performance and our athletes handled the pressure well, stayed focused and managed to keep a high level of energy for the whole meet,” Alden said. “I’m extremely proud of the large group of seniors on this team. They have been an extremely easy group to coach and as the season progressed, you could see the confidence grow as their performances improved.
“They had a sense of purpose and the drive it took to be successful,” he added.
The Caribou girls scored 43.5 points to take sixth overall. Maranacook High School of Readfield was first with 103 points and Orono was the runner-up with 92.5.
Alexis Rodriguez led the way for the Vikings. The junior was second in the high jump (4 feet, 10 inches), sixth in the 1,600 run (5:44.69) and joined Willow Whitten, Meagan Dube and Monica McLaughlin on the 4×400 relay team which was the runner-up in 4:19.03, less than a second off the school record.
Evan Michaud of the Caribou Vikings attempts the triple jump during a meet at Caribou High School this spring. He won the pole vault at Saturday’s Class C state meet and was also a leg on the 4×400-meter relay team which took third place. (Kevin Sjoberg)
McLaughlin and Hope Shea were second and third, respectively, in the javelin. McLaughlin’s throw went a distance of 114-10, with Shea right behind at 112-6. Both qualified to compete in the New England championships in New Hampshire June 9.
Also placing for Caribou were Whitten, third in the 300 hurdles and tied for sixth in the pole vault; Emily Austin, fourth in the 1,600 racewalk; Brianna Reece, seventh in the discus; and the 4×800 relay team (Ashley Violette, Maren Moir, Emma Stewart and Edie Shea), which took seventh.
Fort Fairfield freshman Annika Reynolds took fifth in the long jump with a mark of 15-8 to score the only points for her team.
MSSM and Washburn were other schools represented at the meet.
