CARIBOU -- Caribou High School boasts one of the top cross country courses in the state, and the Vikings certainly didn't disappoint a rainy throng of hometown supporters Saturday afternoon.
The Caribou boys kicked off their postseason on a high note, as the defending Class B state champions used their home-course advantage to edge Ellsworth 41-46 in the PVC Large School championship meet.
Joining Caribou in the winners' circle were the MDI and Orono girls and Bangor Christian boys.
In the boys' large-school race, Dan Curts of Ellsworth raced to the individual win in 16:23.8, but his Eagles couldn't overcome the Vikings' pack.
Caleb Chapman, Ron Lund, Ryan Washington and Lucas Kinney finished 4-5-8-10 for Caribou, while Brendan Wood rounded out the scorers with a 14th-place effort.
John Bapst finished in third place, followed by MDI and Presque Isle.
In Class C, Bangor Christian won its second straight team title despite missing top runner Brad Wilcox.
Nonetheless, the Patriots tucked four runners in the top 10 and five in the top 15 to cruise to a 38-54 victory over runner-up Orono, while Mattanawcook Academy, led by top Class C man Matt Guiod, was third.
For the girls, second-ranked MDI continued its hot streak, edging defending state champ John Bapst 36-39, while Caribou finished third, Ellsworth fourth and Presque Isle fifth.
Ellsworth's Aleta Looker completed the 3-mile course in 19:18.8 to take the individual title.
MDI's pack was led by the 4-5-6 effort of Maggie Painter and twin sisters Olivia and Isabel Erickson.
In the small-school race, Rowan Wilson and Jordan Richards finished 1-2 to lead Orono, as the Red Riots posted a team score of 26 points, with Bucksport taking second with 55.
Recap by Ryan McLaughlin
Boys Large School
Dan Curts (Ellsworth) cruised in wet weather to capture the top spot in the PVC Large Schools race. (Photo by Leo Kashian)
Top 10
1 Dan Curts SO Ellsworth 16:23.8 1 2 Matt Eager SR Presque Isle 16:55.5 2 3 Alex Beals SR John Bapst 16:57.4 3 4 Caleb Chapman SR Caribou 17:06.8 4 5 Ron Lund JR Caribou 17:16.3 5 6 William Fletcher FR MDI 17:22.2 6 7 Connor Wagner SO John Bapst 17:46.3 7 8 Ryan Washington SO Caribou 17:53.1 8 9 Kody Holmes JR Ellsworth 17:53.7 9 10 Lucas Kinney SO Caribou 17:56.2 10
Top 5 Teams
1 Caribou High School 41 4 5 8 10 14 22 28
Total Time: 1:28:36.20
Average: 17:43.24
2 Ellsworth High School 46 1 9 11 12 13 16 18
Total Time: 1:28:43.50
Average: 17:44.70
3 John Bapst Memorial HS 66 3 7 15 17 24 27 38
Total Time: 1:31:07.40
Average: 18:13.48
4 Mount Desert Island HS 108 6 20 23 29 30 33 39
Total Time: 1:34:52.40
Average: 18:58.48
5 Presque Isle High School 148 2 34 35 37 40 41 47
Total Time: 1:37:29.20
Average: 19:29.84
Girls Large School
Aleta Looker (Ellsworth) repeated as the PVC Large school champion covering the 3 mile course in 19:18.8 (Photo by Leo Kashian)
Top 10
1 Aleta Looker SO Ellsworth 19:18.8 1 2 Mackenzie Belyea JR Caribou 19:45.4 2 3 Adrienne Carmack JR John Bapst 20:21.6 3 4 Maggie Painter SO MDI 20:35.8 4 5 Olivia Erickson SO MDI 20:52.2 5 6 Isabel Erickson SO MDI 20:55.4 6 7 Mary Carmack SR John Bapst 20:55.6 7 8 Seraphina Provenzano FR John Bapst 21:01.6 8 9 Amanda Lalime SR John Bapst 21:19.8 9 10 Malia Demers JR MDI 21:23.1 10
Top 5 Teams
1 Mount Desert Island HS 36 4 5 6 10 11 14 19
Total Time: 1:45:24.40
Average: 21:04.88
2 John Bapst Memorial HS 39 3 7 8 9 12 13 31
Total Time: 1:45:17.90
Average: 21:03.58
3 Caribou High School 76 2 15 16 20 23 25 27
Total Time: 1:49:25.70
Average: 21:53.14
4 Ellsworth High School 79 1 17 18 21 22 24 30
Total Time: 1:49:46.80
Average: 21:57.36
5 Presque Isle High School 157 26 28 32 33 38 39 42
Total Time: 2:04:33.60
Average: 24:54.72
Boys Small School
Top 10
1 Matt Guiod SR Mattanawcook 16:51.3 1 2 Tyler White JR Orono 17:29.8 2 3 Sam Proctor JR Bangor Christian 17:43.5 3 4 Schuyler Collett JR Orono 17:45.5 4 5 Zac Palmeter SO Bangor Christian 17:47.6 5 6 Josh Wheeler JR Mattanawcook 17:54.8 6 7 Taylor Lee SR Sumner 17:54.8 7 8 Dylan Merchant JR Bangor Christian 18:04.4 8 9 River Ploufe Vogel SR GSA 18:13.1 10 Seth Pearson FR Bangor Christian 18:17.8 9
Top 5 Teams
1 Bangor Christian Schools 38 3 5 8 9 13 20
Total Time: 1:31:22.90
Average: 18:16.58
2 Orono High School 54 2 4 10 16 22 26
Total Time: 1:34:54.50
Average: 18:58.90
3 Mattanawcook Academy 66 1 6 14 18 27 34
Total Time: 1:35:54.20
Average: 19:10.84
4 Sumner Memorial HS 94 7 11 19 28 29 33 36
Total Time: 1:41:07.70
Average: 20:13.54
5 Lee Academy 107 12 17 23 25 30 31
Total Time: 1:44:11.61
Average: 20:50.32
Girls Small School
Top 10
1 Rowan Wilson SO Orono 20:50.1 1 2 Jordan Richards SO Orono 21:37.8 2 3 Nelly Winship SR Bucksport 21:45.4 3 4 Marina Mann SR Lee 22:33.4 4 5 Kaisa Huotari JR Orono 22:47.7 5 6 Olivia Ekelund SR Bucksport 23:04.1 6 7 Nicole Bakeman SR GSA 23:05.4 7 8 Anna Ellis FR Orono 24:08.3 8 9 Avalon Langevin SR Bucksport 24:12.6 9 10 Libby Spencer SO Orono 24:24.2 10
Top 5 Teams
1 Orono High School 26 1 2 5 8 10 11 22
Total Time: 1:53:48.10
Average: 22:45.62
2 Bucksport High School 55 3 6 9 18 19 20
Total Time: 2:00:41.60
Average: 24:08.32
3 George Stevens Academy 61 7 12 13 14 15 16 21
Total Time: 2:01:00.80
Average: 24:12.16
4 Lee Academy 93 4 17 23 24 25
Total Time: 2:15:36.90
Average: 27:07.38