Staff Writer
The Caribou cross country teams have been able to overcome injuries to their top runners and still manage to be among the top squads in Eastern Maine Class B.
Contributed photo/Barbara Bagley
Caribou runners, from left, Christian Sleeper, Finn Bondeson and Steven Melbourne, have put together fine seasons as the Vikings have yet to lose a cross country meet this season. Caribou had a meet yesterday in Old Town and travels to Belfast for another Saturday.
The Viking boys have been without pre-season No. 1 runner Jesse Stephens since the Mount Desert Island Invitational due to a badly-strained calf muscle. Still, Caribou has not missed a beat by taking first place in every single meet it has participated in this fall.
“The biggest surprise is how well they have done without Jesse,” said Caribou coach Roy Alden.
Stephens has begun to train again, but Alden does not expect him to race until the Pendale Invitational at Hermon Oct. 10.
“The top four (Steve Melbourne, Christian Sleeper, Tim Freme and Finn Bondeson) are running very well, within 30 seconds of each other,” Alden said. “Jesse should fit right into the pack.”
That spells trouble to all the opponents of the Vikes, who have been the class of the Penobscot Valley Conference so far with some dominating performances in meets at MDI, Ellsworth, Orono and Caribou.
“We are excited about what we’ve accomplished so far,” Alden said. “We need to stay healthy and continue to get stronger the next few weeks.”
The veteran coach admits the current harvest recess is always a problem, with some of the athletes working long hours in the potato fields and then practicing and night. “It also changes the routine we were in,” Alden said. “If we can maintain our focus and continue to improve, we should do very well in the PVC, Eastern Maine and state meets.”
Those three big meets are held on successive Saturdays beginning Oct. 18 with the PVC championships at John Bapst.
Alden said Melbourne has had a superb season so far, and believes he has the ability to win a PVC or Eastern Maine individual championship. Melbourne has already posted victories in the meets at Ellsworth and Orono.
The coach said Sleeper, a sophomore, and Freme, a junior, are coming off a great summer of training, and that has translated into success this fall. Bondeson’s “confidence is growing with every race,” according to Alden, who notes the junior has become “unbelievably strong” in the second half of races.
Jake Michaud, another sophomore, has taken over the team’s No. 5 position with the injury to Stephens. “He has run way better than most of us expected,” Alden said, “and has given us the chance to win meets (despite the absence of Stephens).”
Last year, Caribou had a memorable season by placing second at the PVC championships, second at the Eastern Maine Class B championships and second at the state meet. The performance at the state meet qualified for the Vikes for the New England Championships.
It will be a tough act to follow, but Alden is confident in the team’s chances. The coach feels Caribou has the potential to have five runners among the top 10 in Eastern Maine and in the top 20 at the state meet, if it can stay away from further injuries.
“This team is hungry for success. Most of them were a part of a very young team that came very close to a championship last year,” Alden said. “They are very competitive.”
The Caribou girls have also competed well in all of their meets, despite not having No. 1 runner Hannah Saunders since a Sept. 13 meet on the Vikes’ home course.
Her absence has given an opportunity for runners like Dayna Michaud and Mary Jo Sheehan to step into more prominent roles, The two finished second and third, respectively, behind MDI’s Heather Spurling at the Orono Invitatational Sept. 19 as Caribou finished just one point behind MDI for the top spot in the meet.
Katelyn Plourde, Ashley Clark and Kaysie Pelletier also registered top-10 performances in that meet. Fourth-year coach Thomas Beckum said the continued improvement in those three runners will be key if the Lady Vikes are to perform well in the upcoming championship meets. “Our top three is strong, and I would like our fourth and fifth runners to join them,” he said.
The Caribou girls are also coming off a strong season, placing third in the 2007 EM meet and sixth at the state competition. Beckum’s goal is for the team to be one of the top two in the region and among the top four in the state.
“The key will be our teamwork and our captains’ good leadership,” Beckum said.
The Caribou teams had a make-up meet yesterday at Old Town and will next participate in the Festival of Champions at Belfast Saturday.
Hannah Saunders, center, is shown competing at a cross country meet held in Caribou Sept. 13. Saunders has missed the last two meets with an injury, but should return soon for the Lady Vikings, who are winding up their regular season slate and preparing for some upcoming championship meets.
