Sports Reporter
BANGOR – The Caribou Vikings began the championship portion of the cross country schedule in style Saturday, tucking four runners among the top six to win the Penobscot Valley Conference Class B title in a meet held on a 3.1-mile course at Saxl Park.
Staff photo/Kevin SjobergFinn Bondeson of the Caribou Vikings, here competing in the Festival of Champions event in Belfast earlier this month, placed fifth in Saturday’s Penobscot Valley Conference championship meet in Bangor. Caribou took the PVC team title for the third time in four years.
Caribou scored 36 points to outdistance Ellsworth (49), Presque Isle (75) and three other squads. The Vikings were led by Timothy Freme (17:07), D.J. Flynn (17:20), Finn Bondeson (17:25) and Christian Sleeper (17:32), who finished third, fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, in the overall standings. They came in within 25 seconds of each other.
Ellsworth had six runners finish before Caribou’s No. 5, Jake Michaud (19th overall, 18:22), crossed the finish line, but the Vikings’ front pack made the difference.
“To put four runners in the top six shows how special this group is,” said Caribou coach Roy Alden. “The boys continue to show a lot of heart and work together as a unit.”
Alden was pleased to capture a title in what traditionally has been a very difficult meet for the Vikes.
“Over the years, this has been an extremely hard meet for us to win, even for some of our best teams,” the coach said. “This was an exciting experience for our team.”
Caribou now has won three of the last four PVC titles.
Robbie Kiehn (23rd) and Jesse Sandstrom (31st) were the other Vikings competing.
The Wildcats were third, as Matt Eager claimed the ninth position overall at 17:50. Chris Cawley (11th, 17:56), Tyler Hotham (12th, 18:00) and Logan Thibeau (14th, 18:01) were next for Presque Isle.
Zach Barnes (32nd), Joel Shay (34th) and Ethan York (36th) also participated for coach Mike Waugh’s squad.
Gabe Stewart of John Bapst was first overall in the meet with a time of 16:16. He was 34 seconds in front of Elllsworth’s Ben Chapman.
On the girls’ side, Caribou took third place with 87 points, behind winner Mount Desert Island (50) and John Bapst (67).
Presque Isle ended up fourth with 92 points, with Ellsworth, Hermon and Old Town the other teams involved.
Leading Caribou was Mary Jo Sheehan, who came in seventh overall in 20:31. Teammate Dayna Michaud was ninth in 20:40.
Kendra Stephens (20th), Katie Plourde (23rd), Mackenzie Belyea (28th), Kelly Kashian (29th) and Laura Collins (37th) rounded out the list of Viking competitors.
Alecia Palmer of Presque Isle took second overall with a 19:50 clocking. She was less than 11 seconds behind meet winner Dacie Manion of Old Town.
Elizabeth Wright of Presque Isle was 15th in 21:16 and teammate Hallie Bartlett was 22nd. Jaylee Fox and Jerica Fox were 26th and 27th, respectively. Emily Wright was 33rd and Samantha Simonds 43rd for the ’Cats.
Former Viking runner Dominique Hessert, who transferred to MDI, was 10th overall.
The Eastern Maine Championships are next, to be held Saturday at Belfast.
“The challenges become a little tougher,” Alden said, noting that Hampden should provide the Vikings a tough test this weekend. “It is up to us to trust in ourselves, maintain our composure and continue to race to our potential each week.”
