Adventure Race has strong turnout

Dave Conley photographs
WAITING —Waiting for the signal to go, East Grand’s Victoria Roy, left, and East Grand’s teachers Sarah Harbison, right, and Tammi Matula, stern, get ready to complete the final leg of the adventure race, which was 9.5 miles of canoeing on the Baskahegan Stream. While Matula and Harbison completed the entire course, other members of their relay team chose only to do the compass run and Mountain biking legs.
    Jeff Owen and Mark Rowe of Orono won this year’s East Grand Adventure Race with a time of 2:48:53. The pair entered the event in the open division.
    Orono High School also took top honors in the high school boys division with Yuval Boss and Cal Hamilton recording a time of 3:08:41 and Orono’s Kailey Schmidt and Sammi Nedeau took first in the girls division with a time of 4:29:53. Molly White and Taylor Cochran representing Woodland High School came in second with a time of 4:49:53.
    First place in the high school mixed division went to East Grand’s Kenneth Winiarski and Cassidy Woo with a time of 4:04:37, close behind were second-place finishers from East Grand Mitchell Bartlett who teamed up with Ashley Grenier of Danforth and who is attending Greater Houlton Christian Academy, with a time of 4:07:31 and third was East Grand’s Billy Stoddard and Chelsea Winiarski 4:24:33.
FRESH START — East Grand’s Lauren and Dustin Morse wait for members of their relay team to arrive before heading out on the biking leg of the East Grand Adventure Race.
    In the men’s division, first place went to Joel Sweetster and Brandan Tallon of Rumford with a time of 3:27:07, followed by a close second-place finish from Nate Sixberry and Aaron Henn of Danforth with a time of 3:27:41; third was Chris Irish and Jared Delaite of Wytopitlock with a time of 3:57:00 and fourth was Greg Palm and Thomas Puzewski of Presque Isle with a time of 4:20:15.
    In the adult mixed division, first place went to Scott Frazer and Stephanie Allod of Perry.
    East Grand School had 22 students taking part in this year’s race. The open division allowed racers to enter as a relay team, which gave the option to do only one or two legs of the race. The 20-mile challenge race began on Stetson Mountain and ended in Danforth on the Baskahegan Stream and included a compass run, mountain biking, canoeing, climbing wall and bog challenge.
GOOD TIME — James Berry, bow, and Chet Knights of East Grand High School paddling on the Baskahegan Stream during the East Grand Adventure Race. While the pair didn’t finish near the top in their division, they had a great time while learning to work as a team and gained a lot of outdoor skills. The pair put in numerous early morning practices before school as they prepared for the race.
    The annual event was hosted by the East Grand School’s Outdoor Education Program and sponsored in part by Ski Rack Sports of Bangor and First Wind.
    The complete results by division were:
    Boys: Yuval Boss-Cal Hamilton, 3:08:41; Chris Introne-Dan Perry, 3:11:05; Alex Introne-Schulyler Collett, 3:27:49; Jake Hoops-Clay White, 3:54:14; Paul Robinson-Andrew Holt, 3:55:24; Robert Cousins-Logan Crone, 4:03:29; Neil Noble-Samari Stewart, 4:09:48; and Chet Knights-James Berry, 5:16:56.
     High school girls: Kailey Schmidt-Sammi Nedeau, 4:29:53 and Molly White-Taylor Cochran, 4:49:53;     High school mixed: Kenneth Winiarski-Cassidy Woo, 4:04:37; Mitchell Bartlett-Ashley Grenier, 4:07:31; and Billy Stoddard-Chelsea Winiarski, 4:24:33.
    Junior/Senior: Phillip Farley-Ryan Bennett, 3:48:01; Laurie Hamilton-Fiona Sorenson, 4:05:15; and Arthur Russell-Liz Gilman, 5:54:54.
PADDLING —Ashley Grenier of Greater Houlton Christian Academy and Danforth, along with East Grand’s Mitchell Bartlett took second place in the high school mixed division of the East Grand Adventure Race. The pair finished two minutes 54 seconds behind the first place winners Kenneth Winiarski and Cassidy Woo, who both won $75 gift certificates to Ski Rack Sports.  Grenier and Bartlett won a $50 gift certificate to Ski Rack Sports.
    Open: Jeff Owen-Mark Rowe, 2:48:53; Emmanuel Boss, 2:54:06; Eliot Lamb, 4:28:26; Tammi Matula- Sarah Harbison-Emily Massey-Felicia Cowgar-Victoria Roy, 4:35:30; and Jane Cousins-Shelby Lindsay-Loren Morse-Dustin Morse-Shauna Beaudoin-Theresa Cousins, 5:05:41.
    Men’s: Joel Sweetster-Brendan Tallon, 3:27:07; Nate Sixberry-Aaron Henn, 3:27:41; Chris Irish-Jared Delaite, 3:57:00; and Greg Palm-Thomas Puzewski, 4:20:15;
    Adult mixed: Scott Frazer-Stephanie Allod, 3:26:06, Jason Neal-Katie Neal, 3:52:24; Kristen Schild-Gordon Hamilton, 4:42:32; and Naomi Gillette-John Bergman, 4:50:01.
    Next Saturday, East Grand students will be traveling to Washburn to take place in the Aroostook River Fun Race.
    East Grand is focusing on the younger students grades 6-8 for this race with high school students going along as mentors and competitors.