Sports Reporter
LIMESTONE – Friday’s rain-soaked cross-country meet at Limestone served as the Aroostook League championship for the local Class C teams and a tune-up for this weekend’s Penobscot Valley Conference championship meet for the Caribou and Presque Isle squads.
The Greater Houlton Christian Academy Eagles won the boys meet with 27 points, besting Fort Kent (54) and Limestone-MSSM, which did not have the required number of runners to figure in the team results. Eagle runner Pat Brown won the County individual title by finishing first among the competing Class C runners and ninth overall with a time of 17 minutes and 26 second on the 2.9-mile course.
GHCA captured the win as Micah Wiley, Jaron Gray, Ren Shirai and Ethan Brady all came in within 19 seconds of each other and ahead of the rest of the field.
The top 10 earned individual awards.
Caribou’s Christian Sleeper was the first runner to cross the finish line, clocking the short course in 16:26.
Matt Eager and Logan Thibeau, both of Presque Isle, had times of 16:52 and 16:53, respectively and were fifth and sixth overall.
On the girls side, Fort Kent’s Cassidy Spencer claimed the top position individually in the County meet by finishing in 21:50. Lucy Wilcox of Limestone-MSSM followed in 22:01.
The top five girls runners earned Aroostook League awards.
There were no team results as none of the three schools competing had enough runners.
Alecia Palmer of Presque Isle won the race in 19:15 and Caribou’s Dayna Michaud was the runner-up in 19:56. The next four across the line were, in order, Mary Jo Sheehan of Caribou and Presque Isle’s Elizabeth Wright, Jaylee Fox and Jerica Fox.
Palmer said although Friday’s meet served as a practice meet for her team, she likes the way the Wildcats are running heading into the championship portion of the schedule.
“We have really improved,” said the PIHS junior. “Our pack time is a lot closer and we are really working hard in practice this season, taking things more seriously. The seniors have done a good job keeping everybody positive.”
