OLD TOWN, Maine — The Houlton/GHCA Shiretowners began the cross country postseason on Oct. 17 with a bang by capturing a second consecutive Penobscot Valley Conference championship. The boys brought home a second consecutive Small School boys title won in a field featuring both the Large and Small School competitors.
The Shires finished with 36 points, edging George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill (45) and Orono High School (47) in a closely contested championship. Houlton placed four runners among the top eight overall, including three consecutive finishers in second, third and fourth place.
Orono’s Brady Cox claimed the individual championship in 17 minutes, 11.53 seconds, followed by Houlton seniors Malachi Witmer (2nd, 17:16.06) and Brayden Drake (3rd, 17:18.52). Sophomore Wyatt Quint (4th, 17:18.58) crossed the line just six hundredths of a second behind Drake. Bucksport’s Connor Kedzierski rounded out the top five in 17:26.09.
Sophomore Logan Witmer (8th, 17:40.39) gave the Shires an impressive fourth finisher inside the top 10. Freshman Stephen Cormier (23rd, 20:09.02) completed Houlton’s championship scoring five, while fellow freshman Lucas McPhee (29th, 21:13.60) rounded out the varsity lineup.
Boys team standings: 1. Houlton/GHCA 36; 2. George Stevens Academy 45; 3. Orono High School 47; 4. Washington Academy 108; 5. Sumner Memorial High School 145; 6. Calais High School 152; 7. Dexter Regional High School 183; 8. Central High School 202
Bucksport, Machias, Fort Kent and Bangor Christian also had individual competitors but did not field enough runners to register a team score.
The Houlton/GHCA girls delivered another encouraging performance, finishing fifth overall with 98 points in a competitive field that offered an early look at many of the teams they will face at next weekend’s regional championship.
Freshman Charlotte Estabrook led the Shires with a 16th-place finish in 24:02.59, followed by Isabella McCarthy (22nd, 25:46.55) and April Mazur (27th, 26:24.03). Senior Dalylah Mincey (30th, 28:14.12) and junior Kaley Whitman (40th, 30:23.32) completed the scoring five, while sophomore Alaina Locker (41st, 30:59.14) rounded out the Houlton lineup.
Several Shiretowners turned in personal-best performances, continuing a trend of improvement as the championship portion of the season approaches. The girls have steadily narrowed the gaps to competitors who were well ahead of them just weeks earlier, providing encouraging momentum heading into the regional qualifier.
Orono’s Ellie Arsenault won the individual girls championship in 21:00.15, followed by teammate Ruby Beane (21:11.27), George Stevens Academy’s Paige Carter (21:24.52) and Ripley King-Ofsiany (21:36.33), and Dexter’s Ella McClintock-Hatch (21:42.08).
Girls team standings: 1. Orono High School 34; 2. George Stevens Academy 53; 3. Calais High School 72; 4. Narraguagus High School 78; 5. Houlton/GHCA 98.
Dexter, Bucksport, Bangor Christian, Woodland, Sumner Memorial, Washington Academy and Schenck also had individual competitors but did not register team scores.
With the boys looking to carry their championship momentum forward and the girls continuing to gain ground on their competition, both teams will compete for an opportunity to advance to the Class C championships, scheduled for Oct. 31 at Cony High School in Augusta. The team will travel to Troy Howard Middle School in Belfast on Saturday, Oct. 24, for the Class C North championships. The varsity boys race begins at 12:20 p.m., followed by the varsity girls at 2 p.m.
