XC season begins for local squads

     The Caribou Vikings’ cross country teams were in action for the first time Saturday as part of an exhibition meet held in Hermon and the event was a success.

     Five Caribou girls were among the overall top seven as the Vikes scored 21 points to win the meet easily. Madeline Gudde was first on the 2.5-mile course in 17 minutes and 51.77 seconds and teammate Ashley Violette was the runner-up in 18:18.81.

     Simone Michaud (18:46.88), Emily Austin (19:01.01) and Sarae Greenier (19:03.24) were in the fifth, sixth and seventh positions, respectively. Emma Belyea and Olivia Austin were other Caribou runners in the top 10.

     Ellsworth placed second in the team standings with 61 points. Hermon posted 73 and Presque Isle 85.

     The Vikings boys were also dominant as they featured six of the top seven finishes. Evan Desmond won in 14:40.34, Dylan Marrero was second in 15:05.46 and Alec Cyr third in 15:23.66 to lead the way. After Ellsworth’s Matt Shea, Caribou had the next three cross the line as Kyle Boucher was fifth in 15:36.49, Nic Alfaro sixth in 15:53.55 and Bryce Coffin seventh in 16:03.96.

     Caribou’s 17 points put them in first place ahead of Ellsworth (57), Hermon (79) and Presque Isle (85).

     At Fort Kent last Wednesday’s, Aroostook County’s Class C squads met for a competition and LCS/MSSM was the winner in both the girls’ and boys’ meets.

     The Eagle girls posted 25 points as Ally Johnson was second in 24:34 and Naomi Kihn third in 25:17, with Hannah Nelson fifth in 26:30. For Washburn, which did not have a full team and did not figure in the scoring, Kassie Farley placed fourth in 26:29 and Maggie Castonguay sixth in 27:40. The meet winner was Teagan Ewings of Greater Houlton Christian Academy in 24:17.

     The LCS/MSSM boys scored 34 points to barely get past the host Warriors, which tallied 40. Washburn was next with 64 and GHCA had 81. James Cyr of the Eagles fashioned the winning time of 19:58. Teammate David Giovanni was fourth in 21:25 and Ben Potter, also of the Eagles, took sixth in 22:00.

     Devon Maynard paced Washburn and was second overall in 20:34.

     The same teams will be involved in a meet hosted by GHCA in Houlton this afternoon.