Sports Editor
CARIBOU — The 2010 Aroostook County All-Star Basketball Classic drew a bumper crop of senior athletes to the hardwood for one final hurrah of their high school basketball careers.
Staff photo/Joseph Cyr
DRIVING — Taking the ball to the basket is Fort Fairfield’s Josh Booth, right, while guarded by Jordan Bragan of Houlton during Thursday’s Aroostook County Senior All-Star basketball game at Caribou High School.
Held at Caribou High School, the games serve as a fundraiser Scholarships for Aroostook County Athletes. The games featured two boys teams and two girls squads playing for bragging rights in a light-hearted game that featured several spectacular shots and a bunch of smiles as players who were once rivals became teammates.
Members of the Aroostook County Senior All-Star boys White squad included Derrick Rossignol, Van Buren; Zach Straubel and Chad Duff, both of GHCA; Jordan Bragan, Houlton; Lucas Craig, Katahdin; and Chris Williams and Dan McGuillicuddy, both of Hodgdon; Dillon Kingsbury and Keenan Eaton, both of Presque Isle; Jamie Cyr, Madawaska; and Ted Walker, Caribou. The coach was Matt Rossignol.
Members of the boys Blue team included Josh Churchill, John McNamee and Josh Booth, all of Fort Fairfield; Garrett Stiles, CAHS; Nate Ackerson and Ethan Braley, both of Presque Isle; Lucas Hafford, Ashland; Dakota Sleeper, SACS; Chris Nadeau and Cameron Anderson, both of Caribou; and Seth Cropley, East Grand. The coach was Bill McAvoy.
Staff photo/Joseph Cyr
ON THE BALL — Caribou’s Brittany Doak comes up with the ball during last Thursday’s senior all-star games at Caribou High School. The event featured senior basketball players from Fort Kent to Danforth competing one last time.
Members of the girls Violet team included Liz Goodall and Rochelle Nadeau, both of SACS; Haley Johnson and Liz Kofstad, both of Presque Isle; Vanessa Sanderson and Martha McPartland, both of Houlton; Brianna Hartin and Chelsea Hartin, both of CAHS; Olivia McNally and Melissa Duffy, both of Katahdin. The coach was Larry Worcester.
Members of the girls Pink team included Taylor Baker, Ashland; Kelsey Wilson and Courtney Churchil, both of Fort Fairfield; Chelsea Sloat, Hodgdon; Taylor Boucher and Breanna Thibodeau, both of Fort Kent; Brittany Doak, Caribou; Emma Dionne, Madawaska; and Kayla Guerrette, Wisdom. The coach was Jeanette Peters.
Representatives of the local media, including Rene Clukey of WAGM-TV; Ken Holck, of WHOU radio; Joseph Cyr and Kevin Sjoberg, of The Star-Herald and The Aroostook Republican & News newspapers; along with event organizer Jim Carter, selected athletes for the all-star games.
In the girls game, Team Pink edged Team Violet 63-59 in a high-scoring affair. Team Violet led 19-17, 33-28 and 46-41 at the quarter breaks, before Team Pink rallied in the final period, outscoring Violet 22-13.
Boucher led Team Pink with 17 points, while Dionne added 15; Thiobdeau 12; Guerrette, eight; Churchill, five; and Doak, Wilson and Baker, each with two.
For Team Violet, Sanderson led all players with 18 points, while Johnston and McNally, each had 10; Kofstad, eight; Goodall, seven; and Duffy, McPartland and B. Hartin, each with two.
In the boys contest, Team Navy edged Team White 59-51 in a back-and-forth contest. Team White led 12-11 in the first quarter, but Navy took a 29-24 halftime-lead into the locker room. In the third period, Navy’s advantage grew to 46-35. Team White tried to mount a comeback in the final stanza, outscoring Navy 16-13, but the rally fell short.
Leading the balanced scoring for Team Navy was Sleeper with 12 points, while Booth added 10; Ackerson, Churchill and McNamee, each had eight; Braley and Stiles, both six; and Hafford, four.
For Team White, Kingsbury led the way with 11 points, while Williams and Eaton both added eight; Bragan, seven; Craig, five; Cyr and Duff, each four; and Straubel and Rossignol, each two.
