OLD TOWN, Maine — The 72nd running of the Old Town Sectional Invitational held Monday, Sept. 26, proved to be a successful outing for many Aroostook County athletes.
The Houlton/GHCA girls placed second in the event, falling just seven points behind first-place finisher Mount Desert Island (a Class B school). Not to be outdone, the Shire boys varsity squad also had a strong showing, placing eighth against much larger competition.
“Our boys team is still rebuilding and growing week after week,” coach Chris Rines said. “The girls faced their hardest competition yet in perennial powerhouse Mount Desert Island.”
Other schools competing on the day were Ellsworth, Presque Isle, John Bapst, Caribou, Dexter, Brewer, Mattanawcook, Central, Orono, Schenck, Foxcroft and host Old Town. The Wildcat girls placed sixth, while the Caribou boys were fourth in their respective races.
“This is the flattest course we’ve been able to race on so far this season,” coach Rines said. “I know it can retain some water and get pretty muddy, making for unusually slow times given the difficulty level of the route, but it is nice for our kids to start seeing some lower times associated with more favorable terrain. There were a lot of positives from today that will carry us into the Festival of Champions this Saturday and the quickly approaching cross country postseason.”
Shire Teanne Ewings continued her undefeated streak this season as she was able to sneak out the win over MDI’s Amelia Vandongen in the final stretches of the course. Ewings finished with a time of 19 minutes, 46.13 seconds, which was about a minute and a half faster than Vandongen.
Her running mates Natalie Johnson and Leanne Ross also finished inside the top 10.
OLD TOWN, Maine — September 26, 2022 — Joelle Hanscom of Houlton/Greater Houlton Christian Academy races along the course of the Old Town Invitational cross country meet. Hanscom placed fourth. (Photo courtesy of Teagan Ewings/ me.Milesplit.com)
The individual results for girls Shire runners were: 1, Ewings, 19:46:13; 4, Johnson, 22:23.09; 7, Leanne Ross, 22:53.55; 15 McKenna Phillips, 24:12.30; 18, Andrea Ross, 24:26.09; 29, Victoria Ervin, 26:56.33; and 35, Amelia Drake, 27:41.68.
Results for Presque Isle girls runners were: 5, Anna Jandreau, 22:36.39; 38, Charli Cassavant, 28:12.60; 44, Emerson Miller, 29:03.23; 45, Brooklyn McIntyre, 29:05.67; 48, Julia Bartley, 33:09.77; and 51, Brynna Fox, 37:07.46.
Results for Caribou girls runners were: 26, Madison Thibault, 26:21.56; and 37, Caela Day, 28:07.23.
In the girls junior varsity race, Houlton/GHCA’s Joelle Hanscom placed fourth (26:55.29), while Charlotte Hanscom was sixth (27:30.88); Stephanie Tuttle was 10th (30:30.28); and Danlen Espenscheid was 15th (33:02.81).
Other County runners in the JV girls race were: 12, Katherine Bechtel, Caribou, 30:42.47; 14, Liberty Herweh, PI, 31:43.27; 16, Melonie Lapointe, Caribou, 33:37.12; 18, Olivia Goodine, PI, 39:22.75; and 20, Jayla Keegan, Caribou, 44:49.23.
In the boys competition, Caribou’s Ephraim Willey was the top County runner, placing fifth at 18:15.42, while Viking George Ferland was 10th at 18:43.44. Other Viking results were: 28, Jacob Violette, 20:36.54; 36, Scott Stubbs, 21:39.09; 43, Harrison Landes, 22:18.30; 46, Robert Demerchant, 22:42.98; and 60, Nick Ancerson, 25:05.37.
Individual results for the Houlton/GHCA boys were: 14, James Brady, 19:35.89; 31, Jack Philbrook, 20:48.82; 38, Colton Simoes, 21:50.47; 40, Philip Espenscheid, 21:55.31; and 58, Kristian Kellerhals, 24:37.60.
Results for Presque Isle boys were: 49, Ryder Chandler, 23:06.69; 57, Valentyn Pickens, 24:34.77; 70, Noah Parmelee, 29:01.38; and 73, Teddy Bemis, 31:34.36.
In the junior varsity boys race, Caribou’s Braden Frakes finished seventh (23:41.99) and Houlton/GHCA’s Ethan Casale was 16th (46:47.91)
