The regular season begins this weekend for most winter sports teams around central Aroostook County, so teams have been preparing by taking part in a number of tournaments held over the past several days.
In Mars Hill Friday and Saturday, four local boys basketball teams converged for the Central Aroostook Preseason Tournament. On Friday, Washburn took down Ashland, 80-36, while Central Aroostook bested Easton, 67-47.
In Saturday’s action, Easton topped Ashland, 66-30, while the Beavers of Washburn knocked off the host Panthers, 59-47.
An all-tournament team was announced at the conclusion of the tourney. Those named to the elite team included Jonah Bacon of Easton, Kenny Tarr of Ashland, Mitchell Worcester and Jordan McLaughlin, both of Washburn; and Caleb Kelly and Brendan York, both of CA.
Caribou and Presque Isle both hosted weekend tourneys as well. On Friday in Caribou, the Viking girls defeated Carleton North of Bristol, New Brunswick, 63-37, while Winslow defeated the host Viking boys.
On Saturday, the Caribou girls made it a sweep by coming from behind to defeat Waterville, 45-32, while the Vikings got past the Winslow boys in the second game of the day.
In Presque Isle Friday, the Wildcat girls easily beat Waterville, 56-26, while the PI boys bested Waterville, 68-28. The following day, Presque Isle rolled past Carleton North in girls play, 88-32, while the PI boys defeated Winslow, 69-50.
A tournament was also held in Fort Fairfield Friday and Saturday featuring teams from Limestone-MSSM, Greater Houlton Christian Academy, Easton and Fort Kent as well as the host Tigers. Scores were not kept in the abbreviated contests.
Washburn is hosting the final night of its preseason girls tournament tonight, with Central Aroostook playing Madawaska at 5:30 p.m. followed by Washburn against Ashland at 7 p.m. Last night, CA took on Ashland and Washburn squared off against Madawaska. An all-tournament team will be announced following tonight’s contests.
The basketball teams have not been the only ones honing their skills. The Presque Isle Wildcat hockey team competed in the John Bapst Invitational Tournament in Bangor Nov. 26 and 27. The Wildcats ended up 2-1-2 in the round-robin portion of the tourney, falling to Brewer, 5-0; tying John Bapst, 2-2; losing to Houlton, 11-1; and stopping Old Town, 4-3. In the championship game, PI lost to Houlton by a score of 7-0.
