Lady ’Cats run well at Pendale XC meet

    The Presque Isle girls cross country team had a strong showing at Hermon Saturday, placing second in the five-team Pendale Invitational.
    The Lady Wildcats had two runners in the top-seven and all five scorers among the top-17 to score 52 points and finish behind only fellow Class B power John Bapst and ahead of Caribou, Old Town and Orono.     Dacie Manion of Old Town picked up the individual win on the 3.1-mile course in 20:35, but PI’s Alecia Palmer was third in 21:11 and teammate Krista Buck was seventh in 21:48.
    Hallie Bartlett was 13th and sisters Emily and Elizabeth Wright were 16th and 17th, respectively. The other starters, Jerica Fox and Julia Brown, turned in top-25 efforts.
    The Wildcat boys were unable to field a full team due to injuries and illness. Jason Johnson was eighth in 18:39, while Logan Thibeau was 15th in 19:39 and Matt Eager 21st in 20:03 to pace PI.
    According to coach Mike Waugh, Presque Isle was without the services of Alex Carter, who will miss the rest of the season due to hip tendonitis; Brandon Hafford and Ethan York, both out with illnesses; and Tyler Michaud, who missed the meet due to shin splints.
    Caribou won the meet and John Bapst’s Gabe Stewart was first overall in 17:39.
    At Belfast the previous Saturday, the Maine Cross Country Festival of Champions took place, a meet which had well over 1,000 runners competing and teams from throughout Eastern and Western Maine and another from Rhode Island taking part.
    The Scarborough girls and boys swept the meet. The PI girls were 15th overall out of 47 teams, scoring 406 points. Palmer was 24th in 21:13.8 to lead the way. The boys team from Presque Isle was well behind the leaders.
    In the Sectional Invitational at Old Town Sept. 30, the Wildcat girls and boys both placed third.
    MDI and Caribou were first and second, respectively, in the girls meet. Palmer took fifth place in 20:52.71 and Buck was eighth in 22:02.92.
    On the boys’ side, Caribou was first and MDI second. Pacing PI was Johnson, who was sixth in 18:26.96, while Brandon Hafford was 13th in 19:15.06 and Logan Thibeau 14th in 19:19.58.
    The ‘Cats are involved in Saturday’s Penobscot Valley Conference Championships in Bangor.
    The Eastern Maine competition is the following weekend in Belfast, with the state meet scheduled Nov. 1.