CA cheering,
FF girls hoop squads
were state champs in 2010
YEAR IN REVIEW
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.
• Tim Prescott joined an exclusive group of high school basketball coaches when he picked up the 300th victory of his varsity-coaching career. The Wildcats’ 43-36 victory over John Bapst at the Bangor Auditorium put Prescott at the milestone. He joined some Maine coaching legends, including Ordie Alley, Dick Barstow, Gerry Duffy, John Donato, Ed Guiski, Phil Faulkner and Bob Brown, in reaching the impressive win total. “When they gave me the job in 1985, my biggest fear was being the one who let things slip because Presque Isle had such a great tradition,” said the 49-year-old Prescott, whose only job has been at PIHS. “I was terrified about not letting it be an average program.”
• A Yankee Swap Christmas Party had been a tradition for coach Tim McCue’s Presque Isle junior varsity girls basketball team, but captains decided to go in a different direction with their celebration. The team still ventured to their coach’s house for the party, but instead of getting gifts for each other, members brought in gifts to include in five boxes earmarked for U.S. military personnel serving in Afghanistan. “We all thought it’d be a good idea,” said one of the captains, Claire Cheney, whose father David was stationed in Afghanistan. “We have another player whose father is being deployed, and coach’s son (Dan) is also over there, so everyone got behind it.”
• The Presque Isle cheering squad picked up its second straight Aroostook County crown when the Wildcats beat Caribou, Houlton and Central Aroostook for the league championship. Held at Caribou High School, the Wildcats averaged a score of 68.5 points after two rounds for the victory. The other team scores were: Houlton, 65.05; Central Aroostook, 61.4; and Caribou, 60.3.
• The Wildcat cheerleaders followed up by qualifying for the state Class B championship in February for the first time in 10 years after a sensational outing at the regional competition. The Wildcats finished third out of 14 teams.
• In Class D, Central Aroostook took home the regional crown with a stellar performance. The team scores were: 1, Central Aroostook, 115.4; 2, Deer Isle-Stonington, 100.5; 3, Buckfield, 98.3; 4, Bangor Christian, 90.6; 5, Schenck, 85.9; 6, Machias, 84.2; 7, Fort Fairfield, 83; 8, Rangeley, 80.9; and 9, Jonesport-Beals, 80.1.
February
• “Fan Appreciation Night” at Central Aroostook High School proved extra special as the Panther girls basketball team gave a packed house something to appreciate as CAHS (15-2) defeated previously unbeaten Fort Fairfield (16-1) 51-27.
• The Presque Isle Wildcats won their fourth consecutive hockey game, blanking Winslow on the road, 5-0, to all but secure the No. 2 position in the Eastern Maine Class B rankings. The victory was also important as the Wildcats avenged a 4-2 loss to the Black Raiders at home Dec. 30. Presque Isle and Winslow also met in last year’s EM finals.
• Dynasties are hard to come by in sports, unless your team was the Central Aroostook cheering squad. The Panthers collected their third consecutive state Class D championship with a narrow victory over Buckfield. Central Aroostook tallied 115 points, while Buckfield was a close second at 114.1.
• Four Presque Isle swimmers — Erica Hemphill, Steve Goulet, Kyle Gilson and Grace Short — qualified for the state Class B meet. At states, Hemphill placed fourth in the 50 freestyle and was ninth in the 100 butterfly.
• Aroostook County was well represented at the Bangor Auditorium for the annual basketball tournament. For the boys, Presque Isle (No. 4 in Eastern Class B) lost to No. 5 Medomak Valley 46-42 in the quarterfinals; Central Aroostook (No. 2 in Eastern D) lost to No. 7 Shead 69-55 in the quarterfinals; and 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.
• On the girls’ side, Presque Isle, Fort Fairfield, Central Aroostook and Washburn all enjoyed a trip to Bangor for the tournament. Presque Isle (No. 1 in Eastern B) defeated No. 8 Waterville 52-37 in the quarterfinals, but fell to Nokomis in the semifinals 41-35. Washburn (No. 4 in Eastern Class D) fell to No. 5 Bangor Christian 41-26 in the quarterfinals. Central Aroostook (No. 1 in Eastern D) defeated No. 8 Jonesport-Beals 60-26 in the quarterfinals and bested No. 5 Bangor Christian 44-29 before falling to Fort Fairfield in the regional title game 50-38.
• Fort Fairfield (No. 2 in Eastern D) had the most success in the tournament, bringing home the gold ball for the first time in school history. The 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
• It was back to the Eastern Class B championship game for the Presque Isle hockey team after the No. 3 Wildcats upset No. 2 Winslow 3-2 in the semifinals. Presque Isle (15-4 overall) faced off against No. 1 Brewer (17-1-1), falling 8-1 on the ice.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• Several members of the Presque Isle hockey team were acknowledged for their exceptional play on the ice this season by being named Eastern Maine Class B hockey all-stars. Coach Carl Flynn was named “Coach of the Year,” by his peers, while Brennan Shaw was selected as “Player of the Year.”
• A number of outstanding athletes roamed the halls of Presque Isle High School over the years, and thanks mainly to the collaboration of two men in the community, those athletic achievements were celebrated with the newly-formed Presque Isle Athletic Hall of Fame. An 11-member committee consisting of the SAD 1 superintendent (or designee), the athletic admininstrator, the high school principal (or designee), three current members of the Presque Isle High School coaching staff, two current PIHS student-athletes and three community/at large members were tasked with reviewing nominees for the inaugural class, to be named later in the year.
• At the Bobby Goding Memorial Gymnasium, former students gathered at Ashland Community High School to renew old friendships and play basketball in their gym for the last time. Bill Nemer and Ron Grover, both past varsity basketball coaches, organized and directed this event that brought a total of 189 past basketball players, cheerleaders, majorettes and band members to their beloved “Hive.”
April
• The spring sports season was gearing up as baseball, softball, tennis and track athletes were hard at work preparing for the new year. Monica Bearden was back guiding the Presque Isle girls tennis teams after a brief hiatus from coaching. Bearden led the Wildcats from 2000-04.
• Sydney Kinney was the winner of a bike donated by Dead River Convenience and a gift card for a helmet from MOJO. Kinney won the bike at the Presque Isle Recreation and Parks Department Peanut Carnival.
• The University of Maine at Presque Isle baseball team earned a huge four-game sweep over the Roos of SUNY-Canton in Sunrise Conference play. With the victories, the Owls finished the season at 4-4 in conference play (6-24 overall) and were looking ahead to the conference tournament in Boston.
May
• The University of Maine at Presque Isle held its annual athletic awards ceremony at the Campus Center. Highlighting the event was the announcement of the Male and Female Athletes of the Year. The recipients were Corey Harding, a senior soccer and baseball player from Plymouth, and Megan Korhonen, a junior volleyball and basketball player from Littleton.
• The Maine Principals’ Association Region 1 Singles Qualifying Tournament took place at UM-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.
June
• Two members of the Presque Isle boys varsity tennis team and one member of the PI girls made the trip to Lewiston for the Maine Principals Association state singles tournament, which was played on the campus of Bates College. Caleb Mathers held the No. 12 seed in the tournament, but the Wildcat ace was beaten by unseeded Adam Levesque of Mt. Ararat, 6-2, 6-3, in the tournament’s second round. The other PI competitor on the boys side, Connor Shaw, lost his first-round match to Zack Kofman of York, 6-4, 6-2. Kailee Ireland was the Presque Isle girls’ lone representative in the tourney. She was ousted in the first round by Shashanna Moll of Belfast, 6-1, 6-0.
• For just the third time in school history, the Central Aroostook baseball team was vying for the Eastern Class D championship. Scoring runs in the playoffs was not a problem for CAHS. In its two previous playoffs, the Panthers amassed a whopping 29 runs, but have also allowed 22 runs to opponents. Central Aroostook advanced to the regional championship with a 13-11 victory over No. 3 Southern Aroostook Saturday, while the Mariners beat No. 1 Shead 1-0. CAHS also advanced to the regional title game in 2003 and 1996.
• In the regional championship, the Panthers blanked No. 5 Deer Isle-Stonington 10-0 at Mansfield Stadium to advance to the state title game. In the state Class D championship, that trend came to an end as the Panthers (16-4 overall) made several costly mistakes in the fifth and sixth innings, as Richmond (15-4) rallied to beat CAHS 7-4 at Mansfield Stadium, in a game played under hot, sunny conditions.
• No. 5 Camden Hills beat No. 4 Presque Isle 7-2 in the regional B quarterfinal round for baseball.
• In softball, No. 3 Limestone-MSSM defeated No. 6 Ashland 8-6 in the quarterfinals, while No. 4 Katahdin beat No. 5 Central Aroostook 9-8, also in the quarterfinals.
