Editor’s Note: The following is the first of a two-part series that looks back on some of the more memorable sports stories of 2010. This article covers January to June, while the second installment, to appear in next week’s paper, will feature July through December.
January
• Alpine skiers from Presque Isle, Caribou and Central Aroostook competed at the Big Rock Ski Area Saturday morning as the squads attempted to beat the winter storm that blasted Aroostook County. Two slalom events were held, instead of the planned giant slalom event.
• The Caribou cheering squad qualified for the Class B state championships following a solid fourth-place finish at the regional meet in Bangor. The squad had placed fourth in both the County championships and the Penobscot Valley Conference championships held earlier in the month.
• The Caribou wrestling team finished the regular season with a dual meet record of 16-6 after downing Nokomis and losing to Dexter in its final home meet.
• The Caribou Middle School seventh-grade girls basketball team capped a perfect season with a convincing 50-12 victory over Houlton. The team won the Aroostook League with a final record of 15-0. The CMS eighth-grade boys also experienced their fair share of success, finishing the season with an 11-4 record, which was good for second place in the league.
February
• Despite tough skiing conditions, the Caribou Nordic girls ski team skated its way to the State Class B Nordic championship. The Viking girls outdistanced second-place Yarmouth by 10 points to secure the team trophy in the cross-country races. It marks the first time a Caribou girls ski team has collected a state title. In the Skimeister competition, which ranks skiers who compete in all four events (giant slalom, slalom, skate and classic), Caribou’s Laura Collins finished second in the state, as she was third overall in the classic race and fourth in the freestyle.
• The Caribou boys ski team placed third in the Nordic combined, led by Caleb Chapman’s fourth-place finish in the classical race and D.J. Flynn’s fourth-place performance in the freestyle event.
• Caribou grappler Brendan Wood had a sensational day on the mat at the Penobscot Valley Conference championships, winning the 125-pound weight class in the meet held at Mattanawcook Academy in Lincoln. The Vikings placed seventh as a team in the event. Wood went on to win the 125-pound weight class at the Eastern Maine Championships in Pittsfield, while Deion Caudill collected the 189-pound division title. Andrew Adams was the runner-up in the 285-pound weight class, while Jason Case (112), Dustin Green (119) and Lance Jandreau (135) all finished third and Michael Selander (103) fourth. As a team, Caribou was fourth in the region. Wood ended up fourth at the state meet as the only Viking to place.
• The Aroostook League championship portion of the ski schedule saw the Caribou boys and girls sweep the Nordic classical-style titles. The Viking boys tallied a near-perfect 11 points to defeat Fort Kent (32) and Presque Isle (52). Finn Bondeson of the Vikings continued his successful season by finishing the 5.02-kilometer course in 16 minutes, 1.5 seconds for the title. Teammate Caleb Chapman came in second in 16:32 and fellow Viking Christian Sleeper was third in 16:33.7. In the girls’ competition, Caribou scored 17 points to earn the title, with Fort Kent close behind with 24. Caribou’s Laura Collins won the girls’ race in 19:41.5. In third was teammate Katelyn Plourde in 20:24. The meet took place at the Nordic Heritage Center in Presque Isle.
• The Caribou basketball teams were both eliminated in the preliminary round of the playoffs. The Caribou boys (12-7) lost to Mount Desert Island at home, 44-39, while the Caribou girls (8-11) were defeated at Waterville, 62-32.
• Aroostook County was well represented at the Bangor Auditorium for the annual basketball tournament. For the boys, Fort Fairfield (No. 3 in Eastern D) beat No. 6 Southern Aroostook 67-61 in the quarterfinals, defeated No. 7 Shead 37-36 in the semifinals but lost to No. 1 Schenck 51-42 in the regional championship. Both Washburn teams were eliminated in the quarterfinal round. The girls lost to Bangor Christian and the boys to Jonesport-Beals.
• The Fort Fairfield girls enjoyed their trip to Bangor for the tournament and ended up bringing home the gold ball for the first time in school history. The No. 2 Tigers defeated No. 7 Shead 49-30 in the quarterfinals, bested No. 3 Southern Aroostook 51-42 in the semifinals and beat CAHS 50-38 in the regional final. In the state championship, played at the Augusta Civic Center, the Tiger girls defeated Greenville 67-59. Fort Fairfield sophomore sensation Amanda Hotham continued her amazing growth on the court as she overcame an ankle injury to carry the Tigers with 27 points and 10 rebounds.
• The Tigers and Lakers set a new record for most combined points scored in a Class D game with 126 points. The previous record was 125 points set in 1981 between Vinalhaven and John Bapst. The Tigers also set a record for most team free throws scored in a tourney game with their total of 24. The previous record was 21 held by both Lee (2007) and Woodland (2008). The Tigers’ total of 24 free throws was just five shy of tying the overall record, regardless of class, of 29.
March
• 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. Held at Caribou High School, the games served as a fundraiser for 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.
• 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 Churchill, 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.
• Making the Big East all-conference first team were Caribou basketball players Jenna Selander and Cameron Anderson. The Caribou girls basketball team was also the recipient of the league’s sportsmanship award.
• After setting records in free throw shooting during the Eastern Maine Class D playoffs, Amanda Hotham of Fort Fairfield became a state champion twice over. Hotham, who was representing the northern region, tossed in 49 out of 50 free throw attempts to defeat Hannah Pray of Central (East Corinth), Kayla Burchill of Deering (Portland) and Alanna Vose of Medomak Valley (Waldoboro) at the Maine McDonald’s All-Star Basketball Games held at Husson University.
• Josh Forsman of Limestone scored 118 points to win the 16-18 boys division at the Maine Recreation and Parks Association state Hotshot competition.
• Caribou High School was the site of the Aroostook League Middle School wrestling championship and the host Vikings collected the first-place trophy, finishing ahead of Union 122, Fort Kent and Presque Isle.
• The Aroostook County Nordic freestyle middle school ski championships with 163 athletes representing eight schools from throughout the region competing for titles. In the end, it was Caribou capturing championships on both the girls and boys sides.
• Stockholm native Russell Currier wrapped up the United States/North American Biathlon Championships in style, taking the gold medal in the men’s 15-kilometer mass start held at the 10th Mountain Ski Center in Fort Kent.
April
• The Harlem Superstars played to a near capacity crowd at Caribou High School. The event was a fundraiser for CHS Project Graduation.
• The Limestone-MSSM baseball and softball team had outstanding starts to their regular season. The Eagle softball team defeated Ashland, 30-6, while the baseball team used the longball to register a 31-6 win over the Hornets.
• The Mattanawcook Academy baseball and softball teams swept Caribou in doubleheaders to kick off the Vikings’ regular season slate.
• The Viking track and field teams were victorious in their opening meet held at Bucksport High School.
May
• The Caribou track and field teams were winners of the Aroostook League championships after sweeping the meet held at the SAD 1 Athletic Complex in Presque Isle. Olivia Sleeper won the Howard Lello Award as the top point scorer in the girls’ meet, while Fort Fairfield’s Jahleel Williams took the Emery Plourde Award for being the high scorer on the boys’ side.
• The Caribou softball team upended No. 1-ranked Hermon and went 5-5 overall over its first 10 games to stay in contention for a playoff spot in Eastern Maine Class B. Limestone-MSSM saw its undefeated regular season come to an end at the hands of Southern Aroostook by a score of 9-8. The Eagles had won their first nine games in succession.
• The Viking girls tennis team won their first 11 regular season matches to take first place in Eastern Maine Class B as the regular season was coming to a close.
• The Maine Principals’ Association Region 1 Singles Qualifying Tournament took place at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, with five girls and five boys advancing to the Round of 48 state tourney at Bates College in Lewiston later in the month. Girls qualifiers were Jenna Selander, Carlee Pinette and Laura Collins, all of Caribou; Kailee Ireland of Presque Isle and Audrey Bergeron of Madawaska. Boys qualifers were Caleb Mathers and Connor Shaw, both of Presque Isle; Christian Lizotte and Nathan Beaulieu, both of Madawaska; and Romayn Richards of Washington Academy.
• The Caribou girls tennis team beat Camden Hills for the Eastern Maine Class B tennis title, the team’s fifth in the last 12 years. Caribou went on to lose to Falmouth in the state championship match. No. 1 singles player Jenna Selander reached the quarterfinals of the state individual singles tourney, becoming only the fifth player in school history to get that far. She lost to Falmouth’s Analise Kump in that round, 6-4, 6-4.
• In softball, No. 10 Belfast beat No. 7 Caribou, 4-1 in a prelim game and No. 3 Limestone-MSSM defeated No. 6 Ashland, 8-6, in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, No. 2 Deer Isle-Stonington beat No. 3 Limestone-MSSM, 10-1.
• The Vikings’ Finn Bondeson won the state championship in the boys’ 1,600-meter racewalk at the Class B state meet in Windham. Caribou’s track and field squads also competed in the Penobscot Valley Conference championship meet, with the girls placing second and the boys fourth in the final standings. The meet took place at Mount Desert Island High School in Bar Harbor.
• Evan Graves and Susan Plissey turned in the winning times at the annual S.W. Collins 5K Road Race.
• Caribou High School hosted the annual Hershey Track and Field district meet. Athletes from throughout Aroostook County participated, with approximately 100 qualifying for the state meet to take place in Bangor.
