Two hundred and ninety six youngsters from 10 communities converged on the Caribou High School track last Tuesday to compete in the Northern Regional Finals of the Hershey Youth Track and Field Games.
It was a bittersweet day, as noted by the retiring Kathy Mazzuchelli, Caribou’s superintendent of parks and recreation who has run the meet for 35 years. She noted that Hershey Foods Corporation has changed the format of its track and field program and will no longer be running the popular Hershey Youth Track and Field Games after this year.
The Hershey Games has been a national/North American event for the past 29 years. Initiated as a playground track and field program in 1975 in Charleston, West Va. by Dr. Donald P. Cohen, Hershey Youth Track and Field Games has become the largest youth sports program of its kind in North America.
The program was offered on a statewide level in West Virginia in 1976, became a 10-state regional event in 1977 and was offered nationally in 1978. The program expanded to a North American Final in 1996.
Meets are held in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the 10 provinces and three territories of Canada and recently Puerto Rico.
State/provincial finalists are eligible for selection to Regional Teams. Region Six is comprised of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland. Once the scores from each state and province are tabulated, a regional team is formed for the National Finals.
To ensure fair representation of participants from all states, districts, territories and provinces, a minimum of five finalists are selected from each state/province group to be part of the regional team that will attend the North American Final. Several Aroostook County youth have traveled to the National Finals of the program and enjoyed an all-expenses paid trip, which includes a day at Hershey Park.
This year the top four divisional winners in each event traveled to Bangor July 1 to vie for the state title and possibly a spot on the Region 6 team, which will travel to the National Finals in Hershey, Pa. July 31-Aug. 3.
The top four in individual events and relays at the Northern Regional Final results are as follows:
Girls 9-10
50-meter dash: first, Samantha Johnson, Houlton, 8.42 seconds; second, Natalie DeLucca, Houlton, 8.48; third, Maddie Marino, Houlton, 8.62; and fourth, Mia Theriault, Caribou, 8.67.
100-meter dash: first, Ashlyn Bouchard, Caribou, 15.59; second, Sadie Thompson, Houlton, 16.73; third, Nancy Martin, Fort Kent, 16.78; and fourth, Kayley Bell, Caribou, 17.38.
200-meter dash: first, Anna Jandreau, Caribou, 34.65; second, Theriault, 35.19; third, Elena Ardell, Houlton, 36.5; and fourth, Isabella Ardell, Houlton, 37.22.
400-meter dash: first, Jandreau, 1:18.7; second, Bouchard, 2:21.7; third, Martin, 1:27.8; and fourth, Bell, 1:32.2.
4×100-meter relay: first, Caribou A (Bouchard, Marienna St. Peter, Jandreau and Theriault), 1:09.9; second, Houlton C (I. Ardell, Amelia Botting, Marino and Drew Warman), 1:12.5; third, Houlton B (Abby Fitzpatrick, Paige Royal, Hope Royal and Thompson), 1:12.8; and fourth, Presque Isle A (Piper Galipeau, Gabryel Caron, Chacity Gendreau and Elizabeth McCrum), 1:19.9.
Softball throw: first, Camryn Ala, Fort Fairfield, 89 feet, 9 inches; second, Liberty Fulton, Mars Hill, 75 feet, 8 inches; third, P. Royal, 67 feet, 1 inch; and fourth, Warman, 67 feet, 1 inch.
Standing long jump: first, Bouchard, 6 feet, 1 inch; second, Johnson, 5 feet, 11 inches; third, I. Ardell, 5 feet, 11 inches; and fourth, Martin, 5 feet, 10 inches.
Boys 9-10
50-meter dash: first, Sam Cullins, Fort Fairfield, 8.17 seconds; second, Colin Poitras, Caribou, 8.38; third, Ryan Austin, Caribou, 8.45; and fourth, Benjamin Nissenbaum, Fort Kent, 8.5.
100-meter dash: first, Cullins, 15.48; second, Austin, 15.81; third, Nissenbaum, 16.0; and fourth, Alexander McBreairty, Fort Kent, 16.38.
200-meter dash: first, Gavin McNaughton, Fort Kent, 34.7; second, Cameron Desrosier, Madawaska, 34.84; third, Quinn DeMerchant, Presque Isle, 35.01; and fourth, Lucas Haines, Mars Hill, 35.06.
400-meter dash: first, Poitras, 1:19.5; second, McNaughton, 1:21; third, Desrosier, 1:24.8; and fourth, DeMerchant, 1:27.2.
4×100-meter relay: first, Presque Isle A (Evan Chapman, DeMerchant, Xavier McAtee and Caleb Levesque), 1:09.6; second, Caribou A (Austin, Poitras, Caleb Finelli and Jude Shea), 1:12.9; third, Fort Kent A (Alexander McBreairty, Nissenbaum, McNaughton and Andre Sirois), 1:14.3; and fourth, Caribou B (Cameron Belanger, Jaden Picard, Landon Thompson and Jacob Walton), 1:23.1.
Softball throw: first, Thompson, 95 feet, 2 inches; second, McAtee, 92 feet; third, Levesque, 90 feet, 7 inches; and fourth, Cullins, 90 feet, 1 inch.
Standing long jump: first, McNaughton, 6 feet, 1 inch; second, Christopher Tardie, Washburn, 5 feet, 5 inches; third, Gavin Dunleavy, Presque Isle, 5 feet, 4 inches; and fourth, Austin, 5 feet, 3 inches.
Girls 11-12
100-meter dash: first, Breann Bradbury, Mars Hill, 14.94 seconds; second, Paige Espling, Caribou, 15.0; third, Emma Hixon, Caribou, 15.17; and fourth, Rhylee Kinney, Presque Isle, 15.51.
200-meter dash: first, Dolice Tanguay, Fort Kent, 30.74; second, Bradbury, 32.17; third, Lacy Pelletier, Fort Kent, 32.38; and fourth, Hixon, 32.7.
400-meter dash: first, Espling, 1:16.7; second, Lacy Pelletier, Fort Kent, 1:18.6; third, Gabrielle Martin, Fort Kent, 1:20; and fourth, Kinney, 1:21.3.
800-meter dash: first, Tanguay, 2:48.1; second, Jessica Halsey, Fort Fairfield, 2:58.8; third, Taylor Skidgel, Caribou, 3:06.3; and fourth, Edie Shea, Caribou, 3:20.1.
4×100-meter relay: first, Fort Kent A (Tanguay, Martin, Amanda Thibeault and Pelletier), 1:01.8; second, Fort Kent B (Breanna Beaulieu, Lyndsey Ouellette, Brice Carson and Taylor Soucy), 1:07.4; third, Caribou A (Espling, Skidgel, Hixon and Shea), 1:07.6; and fourth, Houlton B (Alyssa Abbotoni, Sabra Scott, Khaitlynn Prosser and Lena Carver), 1:09.4.
Softball throw: first, Bradbury, 123 feet, 8 inches; second, Ouellette, 119 feet, 1 inch; third, Hixon, 107 feet, 9 inches; and fourth, Cammi King, Fort Fairfield, 105 feet, 9 inches.
Standing long jump: first, Espling, 7 feet, 1 inch; second, Martin, 7 feet; third, Tanguay, 6 feet, 8 inches; and fourth, Kinney, 6 feet, 1 inch.
Boys 11-12
100-meter dash: first, Noah Roy, Presque Isle, 15.23 seconds; second, Carter Belanger, Caribou, 15.51; third, Zack O’Leary, Mars Hill, 15.53; and fourth, Hayden Kingsbury, Mars Hill, 15.56.
200-meter dash: first, Jacob Devine, Presque Isle, 33.16; second, Ethan Pryor, Mars Hill, 33.65; third, Jonathan Nissenbaum, Fort Kent, 33.77; and fourth, Bryan Anthony, Mars Hill, 33.77.
400-meter dash: first, Braydon Bradbury, Mars Hill, 1:12.5; second, Jonah Roy, 1:13.1; third, Nissenbaum, 1:17; and fourth, Stetson Nicholas, Mars Hill, 1:19.1.
800-meter run: first, Pryor, 2:56.6; second, Bradbury, 3:02.5; third, Holden Stoutamyer, Presque Isle, 3:04.7; and fourth, Ari Plante, Caribou, 3;14.1.
4×100-meter relay: first, Presque Isle A (Gage LeTourneau, N. Roy, J. Roy and Devine), 1:07; second, Caribou B (Belanger, Ezra Judd, Ethan Holmquist and Plante), 1:07.6; third, Caribou A (Jack Budzinski, Tyler Soucy, Jordan Duplessis and Malachi Willey), 1:11.4; and fourth, Fort Kent A (Devin Gagnon, Andrew McNaughton, Noah Martin and Nissenbaum), 1:12.8.
Softball throw: first, Bradbury, 133 feet, 5 inches; second, J. Roy, 114 feet, 9 inches; third, Hunter Stubbs, Caribou, 114 feet, 9 inches; and fourth, Cody McCrum, Mars Hill, 113 feet, 6 inches.
Standing long jump: first, Stoutamyer, 7 feet; second, McCrum, 6 feet, 10 inches; third, Anthony, 6 feet, 8 inches; and fourth, Budzinski, 6 feet, 7 inches.
Girls 13-14
100-meter dash: first, Bailey Bellefleur, Fort Kent, 13.88 seconds; second, Simone Martin, Fort Kent, 14.47; third, Kassie Blanchette, Madawaska, 14.73; and fourth, Libby Moreau, Presque Isle, 14.73.
200-meter dash: first, Bellefleur, 30.78; second, Martin, 30.93; third, Isabelle Jandreau, Madawaska, 31.98; and fourth, Kassie Blanchette, Madawaska, 32.09.
800-meter run: first, Alexis Rodriquez, Caribou, 2:42.5; second, Jenna Dugal, Madawaska, 3:02.9; third, Dixie Grady, Fort Fairfield, 3:29.9; and fourth, Ashleigh Craig, Caribou, 3:59.6.
1,600-meter run: first, Dugal, 6:27.9; second, Adessa Judd, Caribou, 6:28.1; third, Madison Jandreau, Caribou, 6:42,1; and fourth, Isabelle Jackson, Presque Isle, 6:48.3.
4×100-meter relay: first, Caribou A (Judd, Rodriquez, Amber Moir and Willow Whitten), 1:01.4; second, Caribou B (Margeaux Beaulieu, Jandreau, Erin Jandreau and Olivia Picard), 1:04.1; and third, Houlton A (Maddie Grant, Alana Mullen, Samantha Condon and Abbie Worthley), 1:07.9.
Softball throw: first, Rodriquez, 140 feet, 6 inches; second, Bellefleur, 140 feet, 3 inches; third, Dugal, 120 feet, 8 inches; and fourth, Worthley, 117 feet, 9 inches.
Standing long jump: first, Martin, 7 feet, 9 inches; second, Maranda Anthony, Mars Hill, 6 feet, 6 inches; third, Kayla Martin, Mars Hill, 6 feet, 4 inches; and fourth, Beaulieu, 6 feet, 2 inches.
Boys 13-14
100-meter dash: first, Jovanni Taveras, Washburn, 12,52 seconds; second, Trace Cyr, Presque Isle, 12.65; third, Caleb Libby, Caribou, 12.85; and fourth, Brandon Thibeault, Fort Kent, 13,54.
200-meter dash: first, Cyr, 26.56; second, Libby, 26.78; third, Taveras, 27.32; and fourth, Maxwell Ouellette, Fort Kent, 27.62.
800-meter run: first, Dustin Alward, Presque Isle, 2:28.9; second, Joshua Stanley, Fort Kent, 2:37.1; third, Niko Naranja, Fort Kent, 2:37.5; and fourth, Malcolm Langner, Fort Fairfield, 2:37.6.
1,600-meter run: Stanley, 5:38.6; second, Caleb McNaughton, Fort Kent, 5:42.3; third, Ethan Carver, Houlton, 6:08.4; and fourth, Cody Johnson, Fort Kent, 6:25.3.
4×100-meter relay: first, Fort Kent A (Zack Nadeau, Alex Nissenbaum, Naranja and Ouellette), 53.86 seconds; second, Presque Isle A (Alward, Garrett Morneault, Cyr and Tommy Popov), 58.74; third, Houlton A (Carver, Cole Winslow, Nate DeLucca and Dylan Jurson), 1:02.2; and fourth, Fort Kent B (Cole Bennett, Thibeault, Johnson and Reece Voisine), 1:02.5.
Softball throw: first, Winslow, 180 feet, 6 inches; second, Libby, 177 feet, 2 inches; third, Camden Jandreau, Fort Kent, 150 feet, 10 inches; and fourth, Reece Pelletier, Fort Kent, 146 feet. 6 inches.
Standing long jump: first, Winslow, 7 feet, 11 inches; second, Taveras, 7 feet, 11 inches; third, Cyr, 7 feet, 4 inches; and fourth, Stanley, 7 feet, 4 inches.
