Over the river and through the woods

Photograph courtesy of East Grand School staff and volunteers
CROSSING — East Grand student Alex Brittain crosses Hot Brook Stream, while Chase Collett and Brandon Smith of Orono High School look on during last Saturday’s East Grand Adventure Race. See story and more photographs in Sports Section.
    The East Grand Adventure Race surpassed last year’s field by 23 participants, as 63 challengers took on the rugged terrain.     Still the underscores go on with this year’s race, as organizer Dave Conley pointed out that 13 East Grand students participated and more than 40 volunteers from the Danforth area gave their time to help, including the Danforth Fire Department overseeing safety on all legs of the 20-mile race.
    Southern Aroostook students Nick Tarr (Oakfield) and Morgan Gustin (Merrill) entered the mixed division and finished third in a field of 14 in the boys High School division, with a time of 3:33:38.
     The winners of the High School boys’ division were Mark Rowe and Dan Lesser of Orono, with a time of 3:04:37, followed by their schoolmates Schuler Collett and Alex Introne with a time of 3:10:46.
    Finishing out the High School boys division were: fourth, Andrew Holt, Orono and Jacob Brooks, Greenbush, 3:46:30; fifth,  Andrew Gilman and Aaron Henn, Danforth, 33:50:22; sixth, Andrew Smith, Stacyville and Gabriel Schenk, Island Falls, 4:02:27; seventh, Ethen Boss, Milford and Yuval Boss, Orono, 4:07:31; eighth, Carle Zurhorst, Rumford and Jordan Theriault, Mexico, 4:18:15; ninth, Sam Stewart, Weston and Neal Noble, Weston, 4:58:20; 10th, Chase Collett, Orono and Brandon Smith of Greenbush, 5:03:22; 11th, Mitchell Bartlett, Weston and Alex Brittain, Danforth, 5:12:25; 12th, Clay White, Brookton and Mitchel Spear, Baileyville, 5:32:12; 13th, Cleve Kenyon and Jon Wright, Weston, 5:44:43 and 14th, . Paul Robinson and Laurie Hamilton, Orono, DNF.
DOWN THE HILL – Nick Tarr and Morgan Gustin of Southern Aroostook Community School come down Stetson Mountain on mountain bikes during the Adventure Race.
    The top three teams in the High School girls division were: first, Molly White of Brookton and Taylor Cochran, Topsfield, 4:10:56; second, Armella Glazier, Rumford and Kym Couch, Mexico, 4:12:17 and third, Sharlene Maynard, Lincoln and Kaitlyn Beaudoin, Brookton, 4:43:44.
    The top finishers in the Adult category were Micheal Dowell and Phil McPail of Lincoln, with a time of 3:19:10, followed closely by Mark Doty and Jon Doty of Madison with a time of 3:21:07.
    Finishing third, Chris Mejias and Joel Sweetser, Rumford, 3:25:21; fourth, James and Andrea Kneeland, Lincoln, 3:30:41; fifth, Chris Lyford, East Machias and Corey Schwinn, Marshfield, 3:35:03; sixth, Austin Ross and Derek Rowe, Caribou, 3:48:51; seventh, Tammi Matula, Orient and Shaunna Beaudoin, Brookton, 4:01:47; eighth, Nick Chambers, Smyrna and Matthew Scott, Oakfield, 4;04:06; ninth, John Simko, Greenville and Mark Young, Dover-Foxcroft, 4:04;13; 10th, Shaunda Stevens, Philadelphia, and Ben Stevens, Jr., Indian Township, 4:10:14; 11th, Greg Palm and Mandy Putnam, Presque Isle, 4:14:07; 12th, Liz Gilman, Danforth and Naomi Gillette, Bangor, 5:00:10; 13th, Adam Murchison and Vicky Ouellette, Mapleton, 5:21:24 and 14th, Ben Latvis, Orient and Kenneth Winiarski, Forest City, 5:35:53.
Photographs by East Grand School staff and volunteers
ON THE MOVE – East Grand students Aaron Henn and Andrew Gilman, left canoe, get ready to overtake Carle Zurhorst and Jordan Theriault of Mountain Valley High School of Rumford during Saturday’s East Grand Adventure Race.
    The Solo racing division was won by Jeff Owen,  president of the Maine Canoe and Kayak Racing Organization, Orono, 2:51:53.
    The Adventure Race is hosted by the East Grand High School Outdoor Education Program and sponsored in part by First Wind and Ski Rack Sports.
At right, Matt Scott of Dyer Brook, approaches the compass run to bike transition point on Stetson Mountain.