Sports Editor
The second half of 2009 featured many exciting sports stories, from Little League champions to a Cinderella story by the Caribou girls soccer team. The following is a look back on some of the more notable sporting events from July to December from 2009. The first six months of 2009 appeared in last week’s edition.
Hannah Saunders and Taylor Jepson were named Caribou High School’s Outstanding Senior Athletes to highlight the CHS spring sports awards program.
Phil Pelletier of Presque Isle charged back from being down seven strokes entering the final 18 holes to take first place in the 26th annual Cary Classic Benefit Golf Tournament, held at the Caribou Country Club.
Horizons defeated Caro’s Carpentry, 5-4, in the championship game of the Caribou Parks and Recreation Department’s Mid-Summer Co-Ed Softball Tournament.
Shop ’N Save captured its third Caribou Little League championship in four years, beating Sleepers in game two of the best-of-three series, 10-5, at the Robert P. White Field.
Known as “The Mad Fisherman,” Charlie Moore made a trip to Aroostook County to fish brook trout on Prestile Stream and Three Brooks in the Mars Hill area and muskie on the Big Black River in northern Aroostook County.
Local swim teams gathered at the Presque Isle Community Pool for the annual Northern Maine Community Recreation Association, with host PI coming out on top over Caribou, Fort Kent, Fort Fairfield and Mapleton. Cassidy Coiley of Fort Fairfield and Caribou swimmers Sara Boyer, Austin Scott, Eric Lusardi and Laura Lusardi were among the high point winners.
The Northern Maine Community Recreation Association’s County Singles Tennis Tournament was held in Presque Isle. Caribou’s Ethan Plourde, Carlee Pinette, Taylor Jepson and Laura Collins won titles.
The Caribou Parks and Recreation Department hosted the County Doubles Tennis Tournament at the Teague Park and Caribou clinched its 27th consecutive summer recreation title. The Griffeth Ford men’s softball team won the Presque Isle/Caribou League playoff tournament.
The Caribou Little League 11-12 year-old all-star team won the Acadia Tournament in Bar Harbor.
The Caribou alumni 2.75-mile road race was a huge success, drawing a field of 93 runners. P.J. Gorneault won the race with a time of 14:30.
Jeff Ashby and Marie Strouse took advantage of ideal running conditions and prevailed with ease in their divisions of the annual Caribou Labor Day Road Race. Challenge Racing Series, in a time of 28 minutes and 36 seconds.
Home course proved advantageous for the Fort Fairfield golf team as the Tigers won the Aroostook County golf championship. With the victory, the Tigers qualified for the Class C state team championships at Natanis Golf Club in Vassalboro.
Limestone-Maine School of Science and Mathematics students Ty Tracy, Dylan Morgan and Nate Berube shaved their heads as part of the “Be Bold, Be Bald” campaign for cancer research.
The Caribou Vikings began the championship portion of the cross country schedule in style, tucking four runners among the top six to win the Penobscot Valley Conference Class B title in a meet held on a 3.1-mile course at Saxl Park.
Caleb Chapman of the Caribou varsity golf team earned the right to compete in the state individual golf tournament at Natanis Golf Club in Vassalboro. Chapman, the Vikes’ No. 1 golfer this season, shot a 101 at the event. He had qualified during the PVC Championships at Jato Highlands in Lincoln.
The Caribou girls soccer team enjoyed a Cinderella season on the pitch. The Vikings beat Gardiner 6-5 in the quarterfinals and pulled off a dramatic upset victory over Presque Isle in an Eastern Class B semifinal. No. 5 Caribou knocked off No. 1 Presque Isle 2-1 in a game decided on penalty kicks. With the win, Caribou advanced to the Eastern Class B championship. In the championship game, Caribou fell 6-1 to Winslow.
The Caribou boys cross country team captured its fourth Eastern Maine title in coach Roy Alden’s 17-year coaching career at Troy Howard Middle School in Belfast. Christian Sleeper finished ninth in 17:25.07; Timothy Freme was 11th in 17:36.03; Finn Bondeson was 12th in 17:42.43; and D.J. Flynn was 14th in 17:45.36. The Vikings went on to finish fifth at the state meet.
The playoff road came to an end for the Caribou boys soccer team as the No. 5 Vikings (6-6-3 overall) fell prey to No. 4 Camden Hills 6-1 in an Eastern Class B quarterfinal game played at Camden Hills Regional High School.
The Limestone-MSSM girls soccer team finished the season as the No. 6 seed and beat No. 3 Deer Isle-Stonington 3-2 in the quarterfinals. The Eagles ultimately fell 3-1 to No. 2 Ashland in the semifinals.
No. 8 Fort Fairfield fell to No. 1 Southern Aroostook 3-1 in a girls Eastern Class D quarterfinal contest.
Marie Strouse was the recipient of the Aroostook Musterds Runner of the Year Award.
Caribou’s Jenna Selander captured the Class B girls honor as Butch Shaw Award winner for being the top soccer player in Aroostook County.
The United States Collegiate Athletic Association named Zachary Dinsmore of Caribou, who played on the Northern Maine Community College golf team, to the All-Academic Team.
Caribou junior striker Jenna Selander was recognized as a member of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America’s All-New England team.
The Caribou wrestling squad hosted squads from Old Town, Fort Kent, Mattanawcook Academy, PCHS and Hermon Saturday and won four of five matches. Caribou beat Washington Academy 54-22; bested Old Town, 54-30; defeated PCHS, 54-24; beat Hermon, 60-18; and fell to Fort Kent, 43-36.
The first Nordic ski meet of the season took place at Caribou High School. The format was a dual-start and the course was three kilometers in length. The Caribou girls and boys captured the team titles.
