OLD TOWN, Maine — The Presque Isle cross country teams made the trip south to race in the 65th Old Town Sectional Invitational Saturday.
The Wildcat girls came in seventh place out of 10 teams, while the PI boys were eighth out of 10.
The Orono girls and Mount Desert Island boys took the team titles, while fellow County competitor Caribou grabbed third place in both events.
Leading the way in the girls’ race was Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln standout Tia Tardy, a sophomore who recorded a five-kilometer time of 19 minutes and 19.24 seconds, which established a new course record.
Presque Isle’s top effort was turned in by junior Mandy Graham, who was 15th overall out of 70 runners in 21:33.12. Classmate Emily Colligan was 25th in 22:51.68, with freshman Isabelle Jackson 37th in 23:41.58. The squad’s other scorers were juniors Alyssa Sweeney (46th in 24:44.71) and Karen Jones (50th in 25:30.5).
The Beavers’ Emilia Churchill, a junior, came in 13th place in 21:25.42 and teammate Mackenzie Worcester, a senior, was 19th in 22:21.01. Senior Marianne Helton came in 28th in 23;10.46, with Katie Easler and Jessica Aube the other Washburn finishers. The Class C Beavers took eighth place in the standings with 180 points, ahead of Class B schools Old Town and Hermon.
Out of the 79 boys who completed the course, Orono junior Tristan Butterfield was the winner in a record 16:34.31.
Presque Isle was led by senior Cristian Nunez, who was 28th overall in 19:03.65. Senior Austin Albert was 34th in 19:15.21 and sophomore Jacob O’Berry 37th in 19:19.46.
Freshman Dustin Alward (48th in 19:54.94) and senior James Churchill (55th in 20:27.34) were the other scoring runners for the ’Cats.
Washburn did not have a full team, but junior Derek Baker came in 18th in 18:27.11. Teammate Devon Maynard, a freshman, was 44th in 19:43.68.
Other schools in the field were Foxcroft Academy, John Bapst and Ellsworth.
Presque Isle and Washburn will next compete in the Festival of Champions in Belfast Saturday.
