County Cross Country Shines at PVC Championships With Three Team Titles, Two Individual Wins and Three Coaching Honors

Aroostook County had plenty to celebrate Saturday at the Penobscot Valley Conference Cross Country Championships in Old Town.

Three team championships, two individual victories and three PVC Coach of the Year honors highlighted an outstanding afternoon for County athletes and coaches.

Houlton/GHCA captured the Small School Boys championship, Presque Isle won the Large School Girls title, and Caribou finished first in the Large School Boys competition.

Caribou's Pierce Gorneault and Emma Graves added individual championships, while two County coaches received recognition for their work throughout the season.

Caribou's Thomas Beckum was named PVC Girls Large School Coach of the Year, Presque Isle's Dylan Marrero earned PVC Boys Large School Coach of the Year honors, and Houlton's Chris Rines was named PVC Boys Small School Coach of the Year.

From the front of the varsity races to the junior varsity competition, County runners turned in strong performances across the board.

County Coaches Earn PVC Coach of the Year Honors

It wasn't just the runners bringing home recognition Saturday.

Caribou's Thomas Beckum was selected as the PVC Girls Coach of the Year, while Presque Isle's Dylan Marrero received the PVC Boys Coach of the Year award.

Both honors add to an impressive championship weekend for the County's cross country programs.

Beckum's Caribou girls finished third in the Large School team competition, led by individual champion Emma Graves. The Vikings also placed Jenna Strid and Isabella Albert among the top ten.

Marrero's Presque Isle boys finished third in one of the closest team races of the afternoon. Just six points separated the top three Large School Boys teams, with the Wildcats finishing behind Caribou and John Bapst.

The two coaching awards were another highlight of a day that saw County programs bring home championships in three of the four varsity divisions.

PVC Small School Boys: Houlton/GHCA Captures Team Championship

Houlton/GHCA put together one of the day's most impressive team performances, winning the Small School Boys championship with 36 points.

The Shires placed three runners among the top four and four among the top eight, finishing ahead of George Stevens Academy with 45 points and Orono with 47.

Malachi Witmer led Houlton/GHCA with a second-place finish in 17:16.06.

Brayden Drake finished third in 17:18.52, followed almost immediately by Wyatt Quint in fourth at 17:18.58. Only six-hundredths of a second separated the two teammates.

Logan Witmer added an eighth-place finish, while Stephen Cormier completed the Shires' scoring five.

Orono's Brady Cox won the individual championship in 17:11.53.

County Individual Results: Small School Boys

Houlton/GHCA | 1st Place, 36 Points

• 2nd: Malachi Witmer, 17:16.06
• 3rd: Brayden Drake, 17:18.52
• 4th: Wyatt Quint, 17:18.58
• 8th: Logan Witmer, 17:40.39
• 23rd: Stephen Cormier, 20:09.02
• 29th: Lucas McPhee, 21:13.60

Fort Kent

• 27th: Jaxson Saucier, 20:46.31

PVC Small School Girls: Houlton/GHCA Finishes Fifth

Orono captured the Small School Girls championship with 34 points, followed by George Stevens Academy with 53 and Calais with 72.

Houlton/GHCA finished fifth in the team standings with 98 points.

Charlotte Estabrook led the Shires with a 16th-place finish in 24:02.59, while Isabella McCarthy finished 22nd.

Woodland's Harlow Crowe also had a strong afternoon, finishing 13th in 23:43.11.

Orono's Ellie Arsenault won the individual title in 21:00.15.

County Individual Results: Small School Girls

Houlton/GHCA | 5th Place, 98 Points

• 16th: Charlotte Estabrook, 24:02.59
• 22nd: Isabella McCarthy, 25:46.55
• 27th: April Mazur, 26:24.03
• 30th: Dalylah Mincey, 28:14.12
• 40th: Kaley Whitman, 30:23.32
• 41st: Alaina Locker, 30:59.14

Woodland

• 13th: Harlow Crowe, 23:43.11
• 34th: Sonya Lombardo, 29:29.42

Schenck

• 39th: Summer Rivas, 30:20.91

PVC Large School Girls: Presque Isle Wins Championship, Graves Takes Individual Title

Presque Isle's girls continued their impressive fall by winning the PVC Large School championship with 40 points.

The Wildcats finished ahead of Mount Desert Island, which scored 50 points, and Caribou, which placed third with 64.

Presque Isle placed two runners among the top four and three among the top eight.

Lillian Johnson led the Wildcats with a third-place finish in 19:58.47. Aleah Rideout followed in fourth at 20:08.49, while Taylor York finished eighth in 20:44.17.

Marie Johnston and Abra Connell rounded out Presque Isle's scoring five with 12th- and 14th-place finishes.

Caribou's Emma Graves was the individual champion, crossing the finish line in 19:12.65.

Graves finished more than eight seconds ahead of Mount Desert Island's Kulani Granholm, who placed second.

The Vikings also received top-ten performances from Jenna Strid, who finished sixth, and Isabella Albert, who placed ninth.

County Individual Results: Large School Girls

Presque Isle | 1st Place, 40 Points

• 3rd: Lillian Johnson, 19:58.47
• 4th: Aleah Rideout, 20:08.49
• 8th: Taylor York, 20:44.17
• 12th: Marie Johnston, 22:02.37
• 14th: Abra Connell, 22:15.16
• 23rd: Jade Clayton, 23:50.19
• 32nd: Lydia Bragdon, 25:01.94

Caribou | 3rd Place, 64 Points

• 1st: Emma Graves, 19:12.65 — PVC Individual Champion
• 6th: Jenna Strid, 20:26.87
• 9th: Isabella Albert, 21:15.07
• 27th: Gloria Dionne, 24:08.52
• 29th: Anna Haley, 24:23.20
• 35th: Brianna Kendall, 25:44.22
• 37th: Elizabeth Robbins, 27:19.95

PVC Large School Boys: Caribou Wins Close Team Race

The Large School Boys championship was one of the closest competitions of the afternoon, with Caribou coming out on top.

The Vikings finished with 45 points, narrowly defeating John Bapst, which scored 47. Presque Isle was right behind in third with 51.

Only six points separated the three teams.

Caribou's Pierce Gorneault led the way with an individual championship performance of 16:26.22, the fastest varsity boys time of the day.

Peyton Gorneault finished sixth in 17:52.02, followed by Tewolde Stewart in seventh at 17:52.69.

Isaac Brissette and Alex Searles completed Caribou's scoring five.

Presque Isle also put together a strong performance, led by Paxton Darrell's third-place finish in 17:36.09.

Jeremy Charette finished ninth, Geonni Guevara was 12th, Connor Meile placed 16th and Henry Clayton finished 19th.

The Wildcats' third-place finish came on the same afternoon that their coach, Dylan Marrero, received PVC Boys Coach of the Year recognition.

County Individual Results: Large School Boys

Caribou | 1st Place, 45 Points

• 1st: Pierce Gorneault, 16:26.22 — PVC Individual Champion
• 6th: Peyton Gorneault, 17:52.02
• 7th: Tewolde Stewart, 17:52.69
• 20th: Isaac Brissette, 19:17.54
• 25th: Alex Searles, 19:38.89
• 26th: Isaac Goodwin, 20:02.46

Presque Isle | 3rd Place, 51 Points

• 3rd: Paxton Darrell, 17:36.09
• 9th: Jeremy Charette, 18:03.79
• 12th: Geonni Guevara, 18:29.80
• 16th: Connor Meile, 18:59.99
• 19th: Henry Clayton, 19:16.44
• 40th: Matthew Demarest, 24:49.67

County Runners Also Shine in Junior Varsity Competition

The varsity championships weren't the only highlights for Aroostook County.

Caribou's Micah Menifield won the junior varsity boys race in 19:47.29, leading a strong showing by the Vikings.

Caribou placed five runners among the top ten, with Wesley Thomas fourth, Emerson Langworthy sixth, Jimmy Norelli eighth and Andrew Hewitt tenth.

Presque Isle had an equally impressive performance in the JV girls race, placing three runners among the top five and five in the top ten.

Macyn Morton led the Wildcats with a third-place finish, followed by Ashton Hughes in fourth and Kai Huntington in fifth.

JV Boys: County Individual Results

Caribou

• 1st: Micah Menifield, 19:47.29
• 4th: Wesley Thomas, 22:06.28
• 6th: Emerson Langworthy, 22:11.15
• 8th: Jimmy Norelli, 24:11.81
• 10th: Andrew Hewitt, 25:19.38

Presque Isle

• 18th: Leo Stacey, 30:35.99

Schenck

• 14th: James Matarazzo, 27:32.67

JV Girls: County Individual Results

Presque Isle

• 3rd: Macyn Morton, 25:13.73
• 4th: Ashton Hughes, 26:23.67
• 5th: Kai Huntington, 27:15.21
• 8th: Ellie Blackstone, 28:41.94
• 10th: Grace Hilton, 30:08.69

Houlton/GHCA

• 11th: Sandra Quinlan, 36:50.75

Schenck

• 12th: Isabella Queen, 37:39.05

County Programs Head Toward Regionals With Plenty of Momentum

Saturday's PVC Championships provided another strong showing for Aroostook County cross country.

Houlton/GHCA's boys, Presque Isle's girls and Caribou's boys all won conference team championships.

Caribou's Pierce Gorneault and Emma Graves added individual titles, while Micah Menifield gave the Vikings another victory in the junior varsity boys race.

And with Caribou's Thomas Beckum and Presque Isle's Dylan Marrero earning the conference's Girls and Boys Coach of the Year awards, the recognition extended beyond the runners themselves.

Three varsity team championships, two varsity individual titles and two coaching honors made it an outstanding championship Saturday for the County.

Now the attention turns toward regional competition, where County runners will look to carry that success into the next stage of the postseason.

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