Editor’s note: The following is the first of two articles highlighting some of 2020’s most important sports stories. This article highlights events from January through June.
January
The Caribou Vikings faced off against the Presque Isle Wildcats in a hard-fought home game on Jan. 8, resulting in a 77-64 victory for the Caribou basketball team.
The Caribou Vikings wrestling team earned second-place at the Calais Wrestling Invitational Tournament on Jan. 4, along with nine medals. Caribou and Piscataquis Community High School were tied with 120 points, but Caribou ultimately won the tiebreaker and earned the second-place spot.
The Caribou Viking girls won a Jan. 20 home game against Foxcroft Academy by 12 points with a final score of 62-50.
February
The Caribou Vikings basketball team defeated Old Town in an away game, coming home with a 20 -point victory, 78-58.
Caribou Vikings coach Kyle Corrigan was ready for the team to win another state championship after the team finished as the top team in the Class B North division at the end of the season and headed into the postseason with a 17-1 record.
Thomas Beckum of Woodland stepped up as Caribou High School’s new wrestling coach, bringing nearly two decades of experience with him. Prior to taking on the new job, he had coached a total of 17 seasons of wrestling.
Four Caribou Viking wrestlers qualified for the Class B state championship in Freyburg after the performance during a regional tournament held at Caribou High School.
The crowd at Caribou High School showed overwhelming support for the Vikings during a March 1 reception honoring the team’s second consecutive state victory. (Chris Bouchard | Aroostook Republican)
March
The Caribou community welcomed the Vikings basketball team back to Caribou High School school on March 1 for a reception honoring the team’s second consecutive state basketball victory. The team won the Class B state championship against Maranacook in double-overtime, players scoring with just seconds left on the clock and earning a 73-71 victory.
Caribou High School boys soccer coach Scott Hunter, who guided the Vikings for nine years, announced his resignation, citing being closer to family and health concerns from a stroke suffered in 2015 as primary reasons for his departure.
The Caribou City Council recognized the Caribou Viking Nordic ski teams during a meeting on Monday, March 9. Both boys and girls Nordic ski teams ended the season as Class B state runners-up. Ski team members present included, in no particular order, from the girls team, Sage Dubay, Abigail Wimmer and Emma Hixon, and from the boys team, George J. Ferland, Malachai J. Willey, Carter Belanger, Brady Miller and Jordan Duplessie. With them are, in back, starting at second from left: George H. Ferland, Nordic ski team assistant coach; and Caribou councilors Mayor Mark Gaughan, Doug Morrell, Joan Theriault, Jody Smith and Hugh Kirkpatrick. Ski team members absent from the photo include, for the girls, Kayley Bell, Brooke Moir, Macy Wakem, Chloe Sleeper and Victoria Leavitt; and for the boys, Dakota Yakel., Alex Ring and Alden Wilcox. (Courtesy of City of Caribou)
Both the RSU 39 Board of Education and the Caribou City Council formally recognized the hard work of student athletes in Caribou throughout the winter season, including the basketball team for its second consecutive state championship victory as well as the wrestling and ski teams.
Caribou High School Junior Brady Miller, pictured here on the Mt. Katahdin summit, was among 14 percent of applicants accepted into the 2020 Maine Youth Wilderness Leadership Program at Baxter State Park. (Courtesy of Brady Miller)
April
Caribou High School Junior Brady Miller was among 14 percent of a near-record number of applicants accepted into the 2020 Maine Youth Wilderness Leadership Program at Baxter State Park. The program is an annual event that involves over a week spent in the wilderness.
May
While the COVID-19 pandemic put high school athletics on hold across the country, Caribou High School began recognizing its student athletes by shining a light on the track at 8:20 p.m. each Friday for 20 minutes. The time 8:20 p.m. is 2020 in military time — a nod to the graduating class of 2020.
The Aroostook Relay for Life — an annual event in which teams come out to the Caribou High School track to raise money for the American Cancer Society — was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with organizers opting to hold a virtual 5k race on the same June 20 date. The event would have been celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.
June
The Limestone Country Club announced that it would host the Pleasant Ridge Riders Snowmobile Club’s second annual 4-person mixed scramble golf tournament on July 18.
