Foxcroft Academy Athletics: A Week in Review

Basketball teams each
pick up another win

    The Foxcroft Academy boys’ basketball team fell to unbeaten Old Town 71-36 on the road last Monday but bounced back nicely with a 70-36 win over visiting John Bapst on Saturday. Hunter Smith and Drew Dankert, who are both among the top 10 scorers in the Big East Conference, combined for 34 points to lead coach Dave Carey’s team to the win.

    The Ponies will play at 7-1 PCHS Wednesday at 7 p.m., will host 2-5 MDI Thursday at 7 and will play at 1-7 Presque Isle Saturday at 4:30.
    Coach Blake Smith’s improving girls team defeated visiting Old Town 46-33 on Tuesday and came within a point of upsetting 6-1 John Bapst at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor Friday night.
    On Tuesday, the Ponies trailed 18-13 at the break but exploded for 33 second-half points to come away with a comfortable win, their second of the 2014-15 campaign. Alli Bourget paced the offense with a career-high 13 points while Madison Chadbourne — who ranks among the Big East leaders in points, rebounds, field goal percentage, and free throw percentage — scored 10. Abigail Simpson, the conference’s No. 2 rebounder with more than seven per game, had nine points while Grace Bickford added six.
    On Friday, the Ponies battled back from an 11-point deficit at the break and scored five points in the closing seconds (three pointer from Liz Richard followed by a Chadbourne steal and Bickford layup) to bring the final tally to 52-51. Chadbourne finished with a game-high 21 points while Bickford scored 12 of her 18 points in the final frame. Richard and Alli Bourget chipped in five points a piece.
    The Ponies, who are now 2-7 and in 14th place in the Class B Eastern Maine Heal Point standings (top 13 qualify for postseason play), have a tough week ahead. They will journey to Presque Isle on Saturday to battle the 8-1 Wildcats at 3 p.m.

Nelson proving to be one
of league’s top distance runners

    The boys’ indoor track team scored 24 points to finish sixth at the season’s second PVC-Eastern Maine Indoor Track League meet held at the New Balance Field House in Orono on Saturday.
    Cooper Nelson won the mile run with a blistering 4:46.96, the second fastest time in the EMITL this season, and also finished third in the 800. Gabe Piquette placed fourth in the 2-mile and teamed with Paul Birtwistle, Kohei Kotani, and Taylor Smith to take fourth in the 4?800 relay.
    On the girls’ side, Desirae Brawn took third in the shot put to capture six points while Virginia Macomber earned four points with a fourth-place finish in the 2-mile run.
    Both teams were shorthanded with several key contributors away for break. “With some of our top athletes gone, I was excited to see some of our less experienced runners step up,” said coach Graham Pearsall. “I was very impressed by Jason Eubanks (first season of track), who just missed the finals in the 55 and led the team in the 200.”
    The Ponies expect to be back at full strength for meet No. 3 on Saturday at 10 a.m. in Orono.

Clukey sets school record
in 500-yard freestyle

    Freshman Jenna Clukey established a new school record in the 500-yard freestyle at Hampden Academy on Saturday. Her time of 5:42.58 was 0.39 seconds better than the mark set by Marley Clark in 2008. Clukey also cruised to victory in the 200-yard freestyle and was a part of two winning relays.
    Julia Annis won the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard backstroke, Avery Carroll won the 200-yard IM and the 100-yard butterfly, and Jil Annis won the 100-yard freestyle for coach Jody Annis’s Ponies, who were edged out by Hampden’s deeper squad. The Annis sisters partnered with Clukey and Chloe Waugh to win the 200-yard medley relay and with Carroll and Clukey to win the 200-yard freestyle relay.
    The shorthanded boys’ team was led by Clay Carroll, who swam to victory in the 100-yard freestyle and the 100-yard breaststroke.
    The Ponies will next compete in Caribou on Saturday.