Hometown proud with Caribou Vikings championship effort

Episode 305

March 1, 2020

My Hometown, Alma Mater, and former employer Caribou Vikings win State Basketball title

Caribou Vikings senior captain Parker Deprey with three-year old Nolin Jepson at the Gold Ball Reception at Caribou High School gym Sunday afternoon. Crowd was estimated to be between 400 and 500 people. Most went home with an autographed photo of the 2020 State Champions. (Jepson Family photo)

Yes I know, what in the world does basketball have to do with motorsports? Great question which I will not even attempt to answer. I am so excited to see this group of student athletes accomplish something which brought this small city in northern Maine some hope and joy.

What I experienced first hand at the Cross Center in Bangor was a huge crowd of Viking supporters (as well as Maranacook supporters) who wanted, without coercion or shame, to show their support for some hard-working young men, coaches, cheerleaders, and band members. And what a night it was indeed.

I want to commend the Maranacook Black Bears for a display of basketball prowess nothing short of amazing. Cash McClure and friends rained threes and never came close to giving up! Then their display of sportsmanship post game, went beyond what I thought any team would do. Great job and THEY will be back.

I know these team members are not angels and have their own faults and shortcomings, however, for a brief time they provided some things which are the intangibles to their community.

As a pre-teen, I remember watching high school baseball games through the backstop fence at the old Caribou High School. Names like Myron Bjork, Dickie Fournier, Jerry Carstensen, Jim Saucier, and others made me dream someday to grow up and play Viking baseball. (I eventually did make the Varsity team as a catcher and was privileged to help coach at the high school level for several years)

I say all that because I know there are many youngsters looking at that basketball team saying, “I want to be just like______ (you fill in the blank)”. That puts hope into their hearts and puts a bunch of responsibility on the team players, coaches, as well as the community to recognize the necessity of maintaining a program with integrity, responsibility, good work ethic, and yes, clean living.

I can only hope that the motorsports community can understand and duplicate the attitude of teams like the Vikings, Black Bears, and others who exhibit good characteristics we all like to see. That is my challenge to fellow enthusiasts to carefully consider in all their racing endeavors in private as well as in front of the crowds.

Congratulations Caribou Vikings! State Champs!… by Tom Drew, Woodland Dairy Farmer and Caribou High School Graduate

Moments after the Parker Deprey pass to brother Sawyer who scored two points for the win, Caribou players let loose with the unfettered emotions of high school championship basketball victory. ( Photo by Lisa Prescott @ Eastern Maine Sports)

Tom Drew, a former Caribou FFA member and student of mine has an excellent way with words. I have told Tom many times he needs to be a blogger for the Bangor Daily News as well as a writer of books. Here are his words to the Caribou Vikings used with his permission:

“Thank you for representing your community with such grace and eloquence!
You have done so much more than win that gold ball…

You fellas are responsible for bringing us all together, if only for a little while!…

No matter our politics we were united!…

No matter our age we were attentive!…

No matter our status, privilege or wealth we cheered you on!…

Everything we thought separated us, was insignificant and that alone was a refreshing gift!…

You made us pay attention!…

Kept us on the edge of our seats!…

We yelled and twitched and jumped!…
We felt so alive!…

You were winners before you left for tournament!…

No matter the ending of this game, all of this had been accomplished…

The measure of the gift you have given us, will prove to be invaluable throughout time…

Thank you for that…”

Tame the Track Snowmobile Tour at Get Er Done Raceway in Skowhegan

Snowmobile racers and enthusiasts converged on Get Er Done Raceway in Skowhegan, the sixth race of the series. The oval track featured close races in icy conditions. The central Maine area did not receive the snow that northern areas of Maine had. Instead rain and ice made for tricky race day conditions.

Results: 

Dysart’s Truck Stop, Crabbie’s Racing, KLIM KIDS 120cc STOCK —
1st place Malcolm Witham Jr: Carmel, ME, Polaris
2nd place Trenton Hanscom: Benton, ME, Polaris
3rd Place Carter Boyce: NH

Recreational Motorsports & Machias Savings Bank KIDS 120cc IMPROVED/LO 206 —
1st place Aubrie Keaton: Arctic Cat
2nd place Adi Brackett: Skowhegan, ME, Arctic Cat
3rd Place Mason Lavanway: Maine

Witham’s Paving, Daigle Oil Company KIDS 120cc MODIFIED
1st place Riley Hartford: Wolfeboro, NH, Polaris
2nd place Evan Witham: Levant, ME, Polaris
3rd place Emmett Walker: New Vineyard, ME, Arctic Cat

Corinth Village Creamery & Willette’s Automotive KIDS 200 STOCK —
1st place Austin Lancaster: Skowhegan, ME, Arctic Cat
2nd place Cayleigh Rose, Jr: Turner, ME, Arctic Cat
3rd Place Kole Alexander: Hermon, ME, Arctic Cat

Casella Waste Systems/ Pine Tree Waste WOMEN’S INVITATIONAL —
1st place Haley Brownell: Center Ossipee, NH, Yamaha
2nd place Alley Ripley: Center Ossipee, NH, Yamaha
3rd place Haley Frohlich: Auburn, ME, Polaris

TNT Road Company & Last Chance Motorsports JUNIORS INVITATIONAL —
1st place Riley Hartford: Wolfeboro, NH, Yamaha
2nd place Austin Witham: Levant, ME, Yamaha
3rd place Owen Buck: Newport, ME, Yamaha

Workstore and Houlton Powersports & RV TEENS INVITATIONAL —
1st place Asa Grace: West Ossipee, NH, Yamaha
2nd place Christian Hanscom: Benton, ME, Yamaha
3rd place Kris Wheeler: Center Ossipee, NH, Yamaha

Blanchard’s Towing & VIP Tires SINGLE CYLINDER MOD
1st place Mike Morris: Turner, ME, Arctic Cat
2nd place Justin Hartford: Wolfeboro, NH, Sno Jet
3rd place Dave Panek: Ski Doo

New Hampshire’s Justin Hartford leads Fort Kent’s Joe Pelletier in the Single Cylinder Stock class 35 lap race at Get Er Done Raceway in Skowhegan, Maine Saturday February 29, 2020. (Jamie Hathcock photo)

Harry’s Motorsports & Equipment & UniFirst SINGLE CYLINDER STOCK 35 Lap Final
1st place Justin Hartford: Wolfeboro, NH, Sno Jet
2nd place Nate Alexander: Orrington, ME, Sno Jet
3rd place Joe Pelletier: Fort Kent, ME, Sno Jet
** All top 3 snowmobiles are owned by Tim Ferreira & Ron Nason of Unity, Maine.

SnowStuds, Star City Rentals & PowerMadd 340 STOCK —
1st place Daytona Gould: Dexter, ME, Yamaha
2nd place Mike Morris: Turner, ME, Arctic Cat
3rd place Christian Hanscom: Benton, ME, Yamaha

Savage Paint & Body and Dead River Company 340/440 MODIFIED —
1st place Justin Hartford: Wolfeboro, NH, Yamaha
2nd place Shawn Berry: Center Ossipee, NH, Yamaha
3rd place Matt Weeks: Carmel, ME, Polaris

Bangor Motorsports & J McLaughlin Construction 440 STOCK
1st place Justin Hartford: Wolfeboro, NH, Yamaha
2nd place Shawn Berry: Center Ossipee, NH, Yamaha
3rd place Daytona Gould: Dexter, ME, Arctic Cat

Justin Hartford in the lead on his Ronnie Weeks Crabbies Racing Ski Do with Dexter’s Daytona Gould in hot pursuit in the IFS 440 class. (Photo by Jamie Hartford)

1st Rate Bait and Pelletier Ford IFS 440 STOCK —
1st place Justin Hartford: Wolfeboro, NH, Ski Doo
2nd place Joe Pelletier: Fort Kent, ME, Arctic Cat
3rd place Daytona Gould: Dexter, ME, Arctic Cat

Mission Trailers & Briarwood Motor Inn IFS OUTLAW —
1st place Daytona Gould: Dexter, ME, Arctic Cat
2nd place Joe Pelletier: Fort Kent, ME, Arctic Cat
3rd place Matt Weeks: Carmel, ME, Polaris

Fifty-lap 600 Trail Finale at Get Er Done Raceway in Skowhegan saw Daytona Gould on an Arctic Cat leading Matt Weeks aboard his Polaris. Gould went on to win the grueling race. (Elizabeth Agnew Hartford photo)

Thundering Valley Grass Drags, FKPS Trail 600 — 50 Lap Final
1st place Daytona Gould: Dexter, ME, Arctic Cat
2nd place Matt Weeks: Carmel, ME, Polaris
3rd place Justin Hartford: Wolfeboro, NH, Ski Doo

Holeshot Award sponsored by Dawson Racing —
Justin Hartford: Wolfeboro, NH, Ski Doo
Halfway Leader sponsored by BCD Excavation —
Daytona Gould: Dexter, ME, Arctic Cat

The next regularly scheduled race is the 4th Annual “Squeeze the Throttle” –at the Penobscot Snowmobile Club in Hermon, Maine, which will be held on Saturday: March 7th during the Tame the Track Snowmobile Tour regular season schedule. Notice the start time has been moved to 10:00 am

Don’t forget to purchase your tickets for the Bangor SnoCross, which Tame the Track Snowmobile Tour will be a part of on March 14 & 15 at Bass Park in Bangor, Maine.

Go to website: www.tametracktour for rules, guidelines, schedules and more.

Dog Power on display in Fort Kent

Friends, Tom and Jane Madden, Cumberland, Maine made their trek to northern Maine to snowmobile last week. They wanted to take in the Can Am Dog Sled races on Saturday. When they invited us up, I went back into my mental archives to try to remember if I had attended any Can Am Sled Dog Races.

Somewhere in my foggy memory I recall having gone to a race many years ago. Like kids today, without pictures to prove it, I must relegate that memory to the maybe file.

I was struck with the number of spectators who lined the dog sled trail laid on the main street in Fort Kent. I am a poor crowd estimator so I will say that hundreds were in attendance.

The dogs and equipment look top-notch to this novice. It always amazes me that these dogs which are relatively small yet powerful can run as far and long as they do. There were 25 teams in the 30 mile race, 18 in the 100 mile event, and 13 in the 250 mile event which had not finished as of Sunday evening when I wrote this episode.

Katherine Langlais, Glenwood, New Brunswick, leaves the starting area on Maine Street Fort Kent and proceeds under the International Bridge to begin the Irving Woodlands 250 mile race. Results of that race were unknown as of publishing time today. (HTF Motorsports photo)

Gilles Harnois, St-Alexis des Monts, Quebec, racing his way down Main Street Fort Kent at the beginning of the Irving Woodlands 250 event. (Pete Freeman Capture 27 Photography)

Winner of the Willard Jalbert, JR 100 mile race, Sally Manikian, Shelbourne, New Hampshire at the start of her race. The bright blue booties on her dog team stood out. (Pete Freeman Capture 27 Photography)

Vintage horsepower was also on display when several antique snowmobiles drove the trail on Main Street to mark the end of the start of the dog sled race. This immaculate 1963 Polaris Sno Traveller powered by a Onan 16 horsepower twin-engine is owned by Rob and Lehrle Kieffer, Woodland. Rob remarked that he had just finished the well detailed sled about one month ago. (Jim Leighton, Black Dot Photography)

Let’s Go Racing,

Tom Hale

Soli Deo Gloria (Matthew 5:16)

 

Tom Hale

About Tom Hale

Tom wrote 14 years as freelancer for the Bangor Daily Sports covering motorsports in Maine. Now blogging and concentrating on human interest stories about people and places in racing. He races Champ Karts and owns HTF Motorsports in remote Westmanland, Maine