Sports Editor
CARIBOU — A large, talented group of athletes has longtime Caribou track and field coach Roy Alden eager for the season to begin. The Vikings have an astonishing 50 girls and 40 boys participating in the track and field program this spring.
Staff photo/Kevin Sjoberg
Matt Till, left, and Christian Sleeper get ready to make the final turn in a 400-meter run during a practice held at Caribou High School recently. The Viking track and field team begins its season Saturday with a meet at Bucksport.
“We have a large number of very talented freshmen that should have a major impact on this year’s team,” said Alden, who is embarking on his 31st season coaching at Caribou High School. “We are excited about the season. We have 84 athletes, many of whom are new to track. However, they are working very hard to get the conditioning they need to be successful and to learn the skills required to do well.”
Members of the boys squad (with projected events athletes will participate in included in parenthesis) include: seniors Andrew Adams (throwing), Justin Wilcox (throwing), Brian Brewer (sprinting), Finn Bondeson (racewalk), Jared Sleeper (sprinting), Tim Freme (distance); and juniors Levi Bither (throwing), Nick Michaud (throwing), Shawn Holmquist (sprinting), Cole Sirois (sprinting), Matt Till (sprinting), Lance Jandreau (pole vault), Kyle McEwen (jumping), Kevin Strid (hurdles), D.J. Flynn (distance), Jake Michaud (distance), Christian Sleeper (distance) and Ethan Stetson (distance).
The sophomores are Jake Maher (throwing), Dustin Boucher (sprinting), Cody Charette (sprinting), Nick Pucci (sprinting), Mitchell Reck (sprinting), Kjetil Rossignol (sprinting), Aaron Tarbox (sprinting), Josh Kovach (racewalk), Nick Dobson (hurdles), Charm Karunsari (hurdles), Hongtao Wu (hurdles), Alex Gehring (distance), Jesse Sandstrom (distance), Marc Sturzl (distance); and freshmen Matt Lulofs (throwing), Paul Flick (sprinting), Graham Freme (sprinting), Nolan McDuffie (sprinting), Brendan Wood (sprinting), Ron Lund (jumping) and Sean Barbosa (distance).
Members of the Viking girls squad (with projected events athletes will participate in included in parenthesis) are seniors Danielle MacDonald (throwing), Emily Anderson (sprinting), Kaysie Pelletier (racewalk) and Abby Small (distance); and juniors Jessica Zbylut (throwing), Jenna Selander (sprinting), Nicole Cyr (racewalk), Emilie Patton (hurdles), Meagan Wood (hurdles), Dayna Michaud (distance) and Mary Jo Sheehan (distance).
Staff photo/Kevin Sjoberg
Assistant coach P.J. Gorneault, right, puts Caribou girls track and field team members through 400-meter heats during a practice session held at the high school recently.
The sophomores are Sam Murchison (throwing), Morgan Swan (throwing), Annie Collins (sprinting), Renee Dube (sprinting), Cory Marrett (sprinting), Katie Plourde (sprinting), Marigan Doody (racewalk), Paige Small (racewalk), Laura Collins (jumping), Kelly Kashian (jumping), Demarre Doody-Corriveau (hurdles), Katrina McPherson (hurdles), Sarae Sager (hurdles), Natasha Bishop (distance), Erin Madore (distance) and Ashley Ouellette (distance); and freshmen Bekah Walker (throwing), Rachel Wasson (throwing), Regan Buck (sprinting), Alison Earle (sprinting), Sabrina Haney (sprinting), Hannah Hebert (sprinting), Ginger Keiffer (sprinting), Katherine Page (sprinting), Reanna Plourde (sprinting), Alyssa Randolph (sprinting), Meredith Sleeper (sprinting), Olivia Sleeper (sprinting), Haley Hunter (hurdles), Chelsea Bard (distance), Mackenzie Belyea (distance), Emily Soderberg (distance) and Kendra Stephens (distance).
The managers are Molly Davenport, Sphen Johnson, Nanette Levasseur, Paige Nadeau, Beth Curtis and Sasha Cote.
“We should be very competitive in the PVC [Penobscot Valley Conference],” Alden said. “Hopefully we will have some athletes do very well at the state level too.”
The Vikings lost some valuable athletes to graduation last spring, most notably Hannah Saunders who set both a school and state record in the racewalk last season. The Vikings’ team of Nate Swan, Matt Till, Jesse Stephens and Steven Melbourne also set a school record in the 1,600-meter relay.
Coach Alden said Till could be one of the best sprinters and high jumpers in all of Class B this season, if he continues his improvement. As a sophomore, Till was 13th in the state in the 400. Flynn, Bondeson and Jared Sleeper are among three of the best racewalkers in the state, the coach added.
The boys team of Tim Freme, Sleeper, Flynn and Bondeson all finished in the top 20 in the state cross-country championships this past fall, which could bode well for the track squad.
The weather has been extremely cooperative in getting ready for the season.
“It’s been great,” Alden said. “We have been able to use the track and athletic field right from the start. The athletes are a lot more excited about track when they can be doing events outside instead of just drills and conditioning inside.”
Caribou opens its season 1 p.m. Saturday, April 24 at Bucksport.
