The Greater Houlton track and field program completed the highest-stakes competitions of the season so far last week, sending athletes to the Penobscot Valley Conference junior varsity championships at Hampden Academy on May 27 and the PVC small school championships at Old Town High School on May 29. The Shires delivered several podium finishes, individual titles and a strong presence in the final team standings.
The JV squad traveled to Hampden for the junior varsity meet, where athletes focused on setting personal marks in a large, multi-class field. Unlike the varsity championships that are divided up into large school (Classes A-B) and small school (Classes C-D) divisions, the JV meet combines athletes from all PVC member schools into one single unified championship. Athletes are allowed to compete in two events that they have previous marks in from the season and an additional one if it is a relay event.
Full results are at https://me.milesplit.com/meets/743456-pvc-jv-championship-2026/results.
The Greater Houlton JV girls were led by a standout performance in the 1,600 race walk, where Faith Schools captured a silver medal with a second-place finish in 13 minutes, 23.62 seconds. Schools also competed in the javelin, marking 31 feet, 7 inches.
In the field events, Hannah Kowalski led the Shire throwers with a mark of 41-01 in the javelin, followed by Shiloh Richardson (33-00) and Mercadys Gilman (18-07). Richardson also competed in the shot put, recording a throw of 12-02.
On the track, Kaley Whitman showed endurance in both the 400 dash (1 minute, 37.13 seconds) and the 800 run (3:44.01) while Sandra Quinlan competed in the 100 (23.70) and the javelin (14-09).
The JV boys were represented by Alex Santiago, who competed in both track and field disciplines. Santiago sprinted to a time of 16.10 seconds in the 100 and recorded a mark of 15-06 in the shot put.
Greater Houlton returned to Old Town for the small school championships, where the team’s top-seeded athletes battled for regional honors and state qualifying marks. Athletes are only allowed to enter up to four events that they may have previously hit a qualifying standard in during any number of the regular season meets.
Full results are at https://me.milesplit.com/meets/743457-pvc-small-school-championship-2026/results.
Senior captain Andrea Ross fueled the girls’ scoring with two runner-up finishes, taking second place in the 1,600 (5:36.20) and 3,200 (12:15.14). Ross also secured points in the high jump, tying for fifth place with a leap of 4-04.
The sprint and hurdle events were contested by Greta Kenney and April Mazur. Kenney reached the podium in the 400 dash, taking sixth place in 1:05.93 and narrowly missed the finals in the 100 with a prelim time of 14.16 seconds. Mazur reached the finals in the 100 hurdles, finishing seventh overall in 19.42 seconds and she took ninth in the 300 hurdles (57.83).
In the field events, Isabella McCarthy earned eighth place in the discus with a mark of 76-03. Dalylah Mincey was also active in the girls shot put, throwing 22-9.25 for a 13th place finish.
The Shire boys dominated the distance events, highlighted by individual titles for the Brady brothers. James Brady captured the PVC title in the 1,600 with a winning time of 4:42.59. The win compliments his Aroostook County League championship in the same event from a week prior.
The effort led a deep Shire pack that included Nathan Brady (second, 4:43.18), Wyatt Quint (sixth, 4:55.76), Malachi Witmer (eigth, 4:57.12) and Logan Witmer (ninth, 5:00.41).
Later in the meet Nathan Brady claimed his own title, winning the 3,200 in 10:39.22, followed immediately by Quint in second (10:40.69) and Logan Witmer in seventh (11:10.32).
Freshman Isaac Watson had a career day in the jumps, taking second place in the long jump with a leap of 19-05 (which breaks his own current program record) and tying for third in the high jump at 5-06. He also ran strong in the 200, placing eighth in 25.36.
Brayden Drake added to the tally with a third-place finish in the 400 (54.32) and a seventh-place finish in the 800 (2:15.64). The boys scoring was rounded out by a silver-medal performance in the 4x400m relay (3:49.92), a seventh-place finish by James Brady in the javelin (128-8) and ninth-place finishes from Micah Gilmour in the pole vault (8-00) and the 4x100m relay.
Boys team scores: 1. Bangor Christian 102 2. Narraguagus 88 3. George Stevens 70 T4. Bucksport, Houlton/GHCA 64 6. Central 63 7. Dexter 50 8. Orono 33 9. Penquis 14 10. Washington Academy 13 11. Mattanawcook 10 12. PCHS 8 13. Fort Kent 5 14. Searsport 4.
Girls team scores: 1. Orono 146 2. George Stevens 105.50 3. Bangor Christian 90 4. Bucksport 61 5. PCHS 53 6. Central 35.50 7. Dexter 20 T-8. Houlton/GHCA, Narraguguas 18 10. Washington Academy 17 11. Searsport 8 12. Jonesport-Beals 7 13. Penquis 6.
JV meet photo album – https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1018769554024668&type=3. Varsity photo album https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1018803170687973&type=3.
