In parallel dominating performances, the Caribou and Houlton/Greater Houlton Christian Academy boys cross-country teams both brought Northern Maine Regional titles back to Aroostook Country over the weekend.
Caribou, led by freshman Pierce Gorneault’s 16:40 first-place finish over the 5K course, posted a mere 33 points to stand atop the Class B podium at Troy Howard Middle School in Belfast Saturday.
“I feel like I competed pretty well,” Gorneault said Monday. “I stuck with the race plan pretty well. About at the mile I was with everyone and then I started pulling away [around] a mile and a half.”
Senior Scott Stubbs and juniors Tewolde Stewart and Xander Jamieson followed in fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively, all dipping below 17:45, while sophomore Timothy Danse’s 18:29 performance rounded out the Vikings’ scorers in 15th.
The next closest team, MDI, finished with 63 points.
“It’s clicking. They’re starting to believe in the program,” said first-year head coach PJ Gorneault, who is Pierce Gorneault’s father. “One through seven is like that. They are all just putting in the work and they’re getting rewarded for it.”
It’s not a position the Vikings thought they would be in this fall, losing three of their top four runners from last year’s state championship runner-up performance and a few other athletes to boot.
“Starting off the season, it didn’t seem like we were going to be a winning, competitive team, but it played out different,” Stewart said. “Just growing over the past eight weeks, 10 weeks, really grinding away, having our four, five and six runners really stepping up big — them stepping up has really run us up overall.”
If Caribou found success with pack running in their victory, Houlton perfected it. The Shires, competing on the same course, brought all five scoring runners home in succession, taking fourth through eighth place in the Class C race to finish with just 25 points.
Second-place Orono scored 65 points.
Junior Malachi Witmer was the low stick for the Shires, running 17:12, but just 24 seconds separated him from the team’s fifth runner. Sophomore Nathan Brady, senior James Brady, junior Brayden Drake and freshman Wyatt Quint all came in within 17:36 or less.
Houlton’s sixth runner, freshman Logan Witmer, finished in 10th place in 17:39, putting every Shire in the top 10.
“Unlike their typically aggressive early pacing, the Shire men took a more calculated approach through the first mile, holding back just enough to conserve for a decisive finish.” head coach Chris Rines said in a release sent to news outlets Monday. “By the final stretch, the familiar black jerseys surged forward, reclaiming the front of the pack in convincing fashion.”
Both teams will compete in their respective state championship meets on Saturday at Cony High School in Augusta.
Caribou, runner-up to Class B champion Freeport in 2024, is looking for its first state championship since 2010. This year, the Falcons again stand in the Vikings’ way, coming off a second-place finish in the Class B South Regional. As will south champion Yarmouth, which put five runners in the top 17 to take the regional crown.
“I told them today at the start of practice that we’re going to dream a little bigger than we have,” PJ Gorneault said. “The way they’re trending with all the recent performances, a top three finish would be unbelievable. Southern Maine is great right now. They are tough … if we have a really good day and do what we’re supposed to, maybe we move up a little higher.”
Houlton/GHCA has never won a state title. Saturday’s win was its first regional title in the MPA era. The Shires — who finished third in the Class C championship meet a year ago — have, however, competed and won on the state championship course this fall.
The Shires took down a field of Class A and B schools at the Cony Homecoming Meet in September, a preview of the crowded field that awaits them Saturday, headlined by Winthrop and Lisbon out of the south.
Both the Caribou and Houlton girls programs will also compete in Augusta thanks to third and fourth-place qualifying finishes in their respective regional championships.
Presque Isle, one of two other County schools fielding a full cross country team this season, is headed to the state championships as well. The Wildcats earned the final team qualifiers in the Class B boys (sixth place) and girls (fifth place) northern regionals.
Fort Kent senior Alden Reardon (3rd in Class C boys regional) and Fort Fairfield sophomore Ben Chartier (20th), along with Washburn freshman Eleanora Streeter and sophomore Yrah Tismo (21st and 29th in the Class C girls regional) each punched individual tickets to the state meet.
