As schools get ready to flip the calendar to 2018, several sporting events are planned over the next couple days involving teams from the region. Basketball, wrestling, hockey, Nordic skiing, alpine skiing and swimming are all on the schedule Friday and Saturday.
Friday’s basketball schedule includes a girls-boys doubleheader in Dyer Brook between the Warriors and the visiting Madawaska Owls beginning at 5:30 p.m. Two other girls’ games are planned as Easton is at Hodgdon and Houlton travels to Lincoln to take on Mattanawcook Academy. Both contests begin at 7 p.m.
Saturday is a busy one as 11 basketball games are scheduled. Four doubleheaders are on tap, including Katahdin at Van Buren (girls at 1 p.m., boys at 2:30 p.m.), Washington Academy at Caribou (girls at 1:30 p.m., boys at 4:30 p.m.), Presque Isle at Hermon (girls at 3 p.m., boys at 4:30 p.m.) and Ashland at Central Aroostook (girls at 5:30 p.m., boys at 7 p.m.)
The Washburn girls play at Fort Fairfield for a 3:30 p.m. start, while the Shead boys play GHCA in Hodgdon at 5 p.m. and Houlton is in Millinocket to take on Stearns at 7 p.m.
The Caribou wrestlers are in Pittsfield Friday for the Maine Central Institute Wiinter Classic tourney beginning at 10 a.m.
Waterville/Winslow travels north to play both Presque Isle and the Houlton/Hodgdon/Southern Aroostook/Katahdin Blackhawks. Friday’s game at the Forum in Presque Isle begins at 2:30 p.m. and Saturday’s game at the Millar Arena in Houlton is at 1 p.m. The Wildcat hockey team also hosts Messalonskee Saturday beginning at 1:15 p.m.
A Nordic classic ski meet will be held at the Fort Kent Outdoor Center Friday beginning at 1 p.m., with several Aroostook County schools and a few from downstate participating on the same course that will be used at the Class B and C state meet in February 2018.
An alpine meet at Lonesome Pine Trails in Fort Kent is set to begin at 10 a.m. Saturday. The first two alpine meets were cancelled due to either stormy weather or extremely cold temperatures.
The Carlisle swim team is back in the pool for a competition Saturday at Orono. The meet begins at 12:30 p.m.
Highlighting Thursday’s action on the basketball court was the Caribou girls’ completion of its homestand sweep over MDI and Ellsworth. The Vikings upended the Eagles, 56-43, less than 18 hours after they recorded an 11-point win over the Trojans.
The Vikes, now 4-3 and in first place in Class B North, have already matched their win total from 2016-17.
Summaries of their game and others played Thursday are as follows:
Girls basketball
Caribou 56, Ellsworth 43 — Taylor LaBreck scored a season-high 18 points to help the Vikings earn the victory.
Searra Herbert netted 16 points and Gabrielle Marquis added nine for Caribou.
Trinity Montigny and Hannah Sargent paced Ellsworth with 10 points each.
Southern Aroostook 69, Wisdom 14 — At Dyer Brook, Kacy Daggett and Sydney Brewer combined for 27 points as Southern Aroostook beat Wisdom of St. Agatha.
Daggett tossed in 15 points and Brewer contributed 12. Kylie Vining chipped in with 10 for the 5-1 winners, who jumped out to a 26-0 lead after the first period.
For 0-4 Wisdom, Emma Chamberland registered six points and Savanna Hanlin had five.
Central Aroostook 58, Washburn 20 — At Mars Hill, the Panthers led 20-4 after the first quarter behind Ashlee Harris’s three 3-pointers and they cruised to victory.
Harris finished with 11 points, while 3-2 Central Aroostook’s balanced scoring included Kassie Levesque (eight points), Isabelle Wright (eight), Katie Levesque (seven) and Caitlyn Harris (seven).
Washburn (2-3) was led by Kassie Farley with 11 points.
Boys basketball
Ellsworth 76, Caribou 53 — At Caribou, Zach Harris connected for a team-best 27 points and teammate Jackson Curtis added 22 in the Eagles’ win. Ellsworth (3-3) hit 13 3-pointers in the contest.
Parker Deprey tossed in a game-high 28 points, including five 3-pointers, for Caribou (3-4). Austin Findlen added 11 points.
Central Aroostook 78, Washburn 23 — Hayden Kingsbury and Caleb Harris scored 13 points each as the Panthers (4-1) broke out to a 50-7 halftime lead in the rout of the Beavers in Mars Hill.
Aidan Churchill’s seven points were tops for the 0-6 Beavers.
Other boys scores, with game details unreported, included: Katahdin 63, Easton 57; Mattanawcook boys 42, Houlton 39; and GHCA 83, Wisdom 48.
