January
Cory Jandreau became the second Caribou High School wrestler to reach 100 wins in a career. Jandreau scored a pin over Fort Kent’s Rylee Theriault in the 145-pound division to join Carlin Dubay, a 2008 CHS grad, as the only Vikings to reach triple digits in victories.
Caribou hosted the Aroostook League high school cheering championships and took fourth place out of five teams. Central Aroostook captured the top spot.
Two youths from Caribou made it to the state finals in the Elks Hoop Shoot after winning school, lodge and district competitions. Amelia Godin competed in the 10-11 girls’ division and Wesley LaPointe was in the 12-13 boys’ category.
From left, Caribou senior track and field athletes Evan Desmond, Cory Jandreau, Calvin Mokler and Evan Michaud display the Class C state championship award they received in June at Massabesic High School in Waldoboro. It was the first title in the sport in school history. (File photo)
Mike Pankow, who spent four years as the head baseball coach at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, announced his resignation to take the same position at Bay College in Escanaba, Michigan. Pankow’s teams went 25-107 during his tenure.
Husson University junior basketball player Mackenzie Worcester reached the 1,000-point mark. Worcester is a 2015 graduate of Washburn District High School. She reached the milestone while playing in just 66 games, making her the fastest Husson player to accomplish the feat.
February
Caribou native P.J. Gorneault was the overall winner at the 34th annual Wild Katahdin Snow Run 5K race held in Houlton.
The Vikings’ varsity girls and boys ski teams both were the County champions in classic-style skiing at a meet hosted by Madawaska. The Caribou girls also won the County freestyle title at the Nordic Heritage Center in Presque Isle. Emerson Duplissie-Cyr went on to capture 10th-place performances in both classical and freestyle at the Class B state meet held in Fort Kent.
The Caribou girls’ basketball team reached the playoffs in Kayla Richards’ first season as the team’s head coach. Caribou defeated Oceanside in the prelim round and then lost to Hermon in the quarterfinals. The Viking boys made it into the prelims but were eliminated by Belfast at home.
Cory Jandreau took third in his 145-pound weight division at the high school Class B regional wrestling meet held at Mt. View High School in Thorndike. He went on to take third place in his division at the state meet in Wells.
At the basketball tournament, the Fort Fairfield boys were the Class C regional runners-up, falling to George Stevens Academy in the finals.
March
Fort Fairfield’s Isaac Cyr was selected to play in the McDonald’s Senior All-Star Basketball Games for classes Class C-D held at Husson University. Kayla Richards, the Caribou girls’ varsity basketball coach, was one of the coaches in the Class A-B game, while Fort Fairfield boys’ coach Logan McLaughlin was chosen as a coach in the Class C-D game.
The Caribou varsity wrestling team was awarded the MPA Good Sportsmanship Award for the Class B North region.
The Caribou boys and Fort Fairfield girls captured Northern Maine Community Recreation Association fifth- and sixth-grade basketball titles.
Caribou’s Gabrielle Marquis returns a serve by Houlton’s Rebecca Mooers during an early-season match. The Vikings completed their regular season Tuesday and the Shires will do the same today with a doubleheader at Madawaska. (Courtesy of Dave Allen Graphics)
Scott Hunter was hired as coach of the Caribou varsity baseball team, taking over for Jimmie Thibodeau, who had coached the team for 17 seasons.
The Caribou girls and boys swept titles in the Div. 2 Aroostook League volleyball tournaments, while the Fort Fairfield girls and boys were the winners of the Div. 2 competitions.
Kelly Koziol took over the head coaching job for varsity track and field at Fort Fairfield High School.
April
Logan McLaughlin announced he was stepping down as coach of the Fort Fairfield boys basketball team. He coached four years and led the team to the 2015 Class D regional title. In other coaching news, Kevin Jackins was hired as the Central Aroostook softball coach and Mitch Ross as the Panthers’ varsity baseball coach.
Curtis and Gabrielle Wheeler of New Sweden coasted to wins in the UMPI Spring Runoff 5K Road Race.
Ron Ericson stepped down as the Washburn District High School athletic administrator. Ericson, a 1971 graduate of Caribou High School, was also a longtime girls’ high school basketball coach whose team won four state championships in the 1980s.
Excessive snow and rainy weather in April caused numerous baseball and softball games to be delayed at the outset of the high school season.
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- Todd Albert (Contributed)
Longtime Caribou tennis coach John Habeeb and Mark Rossignol, the owner of County Physical Therapy, were announced as the latest inductees into the Maine Sports Legends Hall of Honors. They joined the late Richard Cormier, a baseball standout at Fort Fairfield HIgh School who went on to become a teacher and administrator at Van Buren District High School.
May
Vaughn McLaughlin was named the coach of the Fort Fairfield boys’ basketball team and Cody Tompkins was hired as the boys’ soccer coach for the Tigers.
Six Caribou varsity tennis players made it to the state tennis singles championship tournament after going undefeated at a qualifier held at Caribou High School. Hailey Holmquist, Gabrielle Marquis and Ashley Matlock reached the state tourney for girls, while Gabe Rand, Parker Deprey and Alec Cyr advanced for the boys. Marquis and Deprey both fared well, reaching the quarterfinals of the state tourney.
June
The Caribou boys’ track and field team came in first place at the Class C state championships. It was the boys first title in the sport in school history.
Success continued for coach John Habeeb’s varsity tennis programs. The Viking boys captured the Class B state championship in tennis, while the girls ended up as the runners-up.
Kyle Corrigan was named the new varsity boys basketball coach at Caribou High School. Corrigan, 28, received the nod out of a field of six candidates to succeed Chris Casavant, who stepped down in the spring.
The Fort Fairfield Tigers made it into the state championship game in Class D baseball, beating Stearns in the quarterfinals, Katahdin in the semifinals and Bangor Christian in the regional finals. The team, coached by John Ala, fell short against Richmond in the title game, falling by a score of 11-0.
The Washburn softball team and the Fort Fairfield baseball team were recognized by the Maine Principals’ Association with Good Sportsmanship Awards in Class D.
Todd Albert, who coached the girls’ soccer team at Caribou High School for 17 years, announced he was stepping down from the position. Albert’s 2010 team won the Class B regional title and lost to Falmouth in the state game, 1-0.
Caribou High School seniors Gabrielle Marquis and Evan Desmond were named Maine Sports Legends – Northern Region Scholar-Athletes. The duo also captured Outstanding Athlete Awards for the 2017-18 school year, as announced during the school’s spring sports awards program.
July
Members of the Caribou tennis teams received some recognition by the Penobscot Valley Conference. Gabrielle Marquis was honored as girls’ Player of the Year, Parker Deprey captured boys’ Player of the Year honors and John Habeeb was named Coach of the Year for both girls and boys
Thomas Beckum of Caribou earned the top national ranking in the 40-44 year-old age group in the 3,000-meter steeplechase for USA Track and Field.
Andrew Bouchard of Caribou took the men’s and overall title and his wife, Julie, was the women’s winner in the Spud Cycle Classic 25-mile bicycle race held as part of the Maine Potato Blossom Festival in Fort Fairfield.
A field of 53 runners competed in the annual Maine Potato Blossom Festival 5-Miler road race, which was held in Fort Fairfield. P.J. Gorneault of Caribou and Tracy Guerrette of Bangor were the overall champions.
Jeff Ashby, Paul Burtchell, Stephanie Fields Beaulieu, Andrew Lynch, Mark Sprague and Stephen Thibeau were inducted into the Fort Fairfield High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
August
Police stopped Sleepers, two games to none, to capture the Caribou Little League playoff championship for the second consecutive year. Police finished the season with a 16-0 record.
James “Chico” Hernandez of Washburn hauled in five medals at the Maine Senior Games track and field championships. The 64-year-old placed second in both the javelin and shot put, was third in the long jump and fourth in both the discus and 50-meter dash in his age division. The meet was held at Scarborough High School.
The Caribou Parks and Recreation Department tennis teams were dominant once again at the Northern Maine Community Recreation Association singles and doubles tournament and captured the team championship.
Katie Malone of Caribou was the female champion in the inaugural Big Run Around the Mountain Half Marathon held at Bigrock Ski Area in Mars Hill.
Dwight Hunter, the longtime athletic administrator at Caribou High School, was inducted as a “Legend of the Game” by the Maine Basketball Hall of Fame. Hunter led the CHS athletic department from 1967 until his retirement in 2002.
September
Carlin Dubay, the most accomplished athlete in Caribou wrestling history, was inducted into the Maine Amateur Wrestling Alliance Hall of Fame. Dubay wrestled from 2004-07 at CHS and was the New England champion as a senior.
The Special Olympic soccer team, the Grasshoppers, completed its third season. Twenty seven players competed and Carl Michaud is the team’s head coach.
P.J. Gorneault of Caribou and Gabby Wheeler of New Sweden were the winners in the annual Caribou Labor Day 8K Road Race.
October
Gabe Rand and Libby Boone were the Presque Isle golf team’s qualifiers in the Class B state championships after making the cut during the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class A championships held at Natanis Golf Course in Vassalboro. Rand is a senior at Caribou High School.
From left, Searra Herbert, Madison Doucette and Hope Shea are former Caribou girls’ varsity soccer teammates now playing for the University of Maine at Fort Kent Bengals. (Contributed)
The Caribou boys’ soccer team completed a tremendous season, making it all the way into the Class B North semifinals. The Vikings, under coach Scott Hunter, went 13-2-1 overall, which was Caribou’s best record in school history. They ended up No. 1 in the standings and beat Mount Desert Island in the quarterfinals before falling to Washington Academy in the semis.
Dylan Marrero of the Caribou Vikings placed sixth at the Class B state meet held in Belfast. The senior ran a time of 16 minutes and 42.93 seconds on the five-kilometer course and qualified for the New Englands in Manchester, New Hampshire.
November
Caribou senior Alex Ezzy was named Player of the Year in the Penobscot Valley Conference for Class B boys’ soccer and his coach, Scott Hunter, garnered Coach of the Year honors.
James “Chico” Hernandez captured a bronze medal in the World Masters Sambo Championships held in Casablanca, Morocco. The 64-year-old Washburn resident, who coaches wrestling in Caribou, competed in the 100 kilograms and over weight division in the 60-64 age division.
Hope Shea of Caribou made a mark in her first season of collegiate soccer. The University of Maine at Fort Kent freshman was honored by the United States Collegiate Athletic Association as a Div. I second team All-American. Her Bengals finished as the runners-up in the USCAA national tournament.
Kenzie Worcester was named Husson University’s Athlete of the Year. Worcester, who is from Washburn has been a standout basketball player for the Eagles.
Dylan Marrero was the men’s winner at the Turkey Trot 5K Road Race, held the Saturday after Thanksgiving in Caribou.
Andrew Bouchard of Caribou cruised to the title in the Maine Potato Blossom Festival Spud Cycle Classic bicycle race held Sunday. (Staff photo/Kevin Sjoberg)
December
Caribou High School senior Alex Ezzy was named to the All-Region soccer team which represents the New England states. Only eight boys from Maine were selected and the announcement was made at the Maine Soccer Coaches All-Star Banquet in Bangor.
The Maine School of Science and Mathematics girls’ soccer team won the Maine Principals’ Association Good Sportsmanship Award for Class D soccer.
Parker Deprey scored 41 points to lead Caribou to an 81-61 victory at Fort Kent. The victory was the first for new head coach Kyle Corrigan.
The Washburn boys’ basketball team ended a 25-game losing streak thanks to a buzzer-beating jump shot by Colby Hewitt, which helped the Beavers top Madawaska at home, 47-46. The team followed that up with another win over Wisdom two nights later.
