Southern Aroostook has enjoyed great success in schoolgirl athletics as of late, with a pair of Class D state soccer championships.
The Warriors’ girls basketball team has also been a consistent visitor to the Bangor Auditorium this decade.
That’s something Cliff Urquhart is hoping to continue as he takes over as the Dyer Brook school’s girls basketball coach this winter.
“I just want to come in and continue the success that Southern Aroostook basketball has had over the years,” said Urquhart, who replaces Jessica Porter, who resigned.
Urquhart has plenty of coaching experience at Southern Aroostook as he has coached boys soccer for the Warriors the last four seasons while assisting Murray Putnam on the baseball diamond during that same span.
A native of Eastport who played soccer, basketball and baseball at Shead High School, Urquhart went on to play baseball and soccer at Husson University in Bangor.
He is certainly familiar with the style of basketball generally known in Aroostook County.
“I’m from Washington County so I like to get up and down the court,” he said. “You see the Cimbollek style of play down in the south more than you do up here and down in Washington County.”
He was referring to former high school basketball coach Bob Cimbollek, who was known for his deliberate and methodical style of offensive basketball.
The numbers are certainly impressive this winter, as 27 athletes will be suited up in Warrior colors – most of them having tasted championship success.
“I think that 18 or 19 of them come from the soccer team, so the athletes are here,” Urquhart said.
In fact, a lot of the Warriors’ key contributors also played such roles in soccer.
Urquhart will have a talented senior class at his disposal, led by guards and twins Evangeline and Elizabeth Goodall in the backcourt and center Lauren McGary, who is recovering from an injured foot on which she played the entire soccer postseason on.
“She’s the type of kid who wasn’t going to miss that,” Urquhart said.
Juniors Janel and Jasmine Rockwell will add depth to the backcourt, along with classmate Emily Cummings, while Shelby Hartin, also a junior, should complement McGary well up front.
Hartin stands 5-feet-11 while McGary is 5-10.
Urquhart, who teaches physical education and health at Southern Aroostook, isn’t thinking too big early in the preseason.
“I don’t think it’s really healthy to have huge expectations,” he said. “I think that puts a lot of pressure on kids. Our goal is to just keep getting better and play the way that we can play.”
That said, Southern Aroostook will certainly be in the mix in Class D this w inter.
“There are a few teams you could [also] put at the top, you can put Fort Fairfield up there,” Urquhart said.
Mt. Blue runners to put on 5K
Eastern Maine Class A cross country champion Melody Lam and Mt. Blue of Farmington teammate Addie Cullenberg, both members of the Augusta-based Lakers Track Club, have earned a trip to the USA Track and Field National Championships in Reno, Nevada, in December, and they need some help to get there.
The two runners are collaborating to raise funds for their trip by putting on a road race in Farmington on Saturday, Dec. 4.
Lam’s Lakers’ squad, which also includes Melissa Dellatore, Morgan Beede, Lauren Fecteau and Brenda McCarthy, qualified in the young women division with a second-place finish in Sunday’s Region I championships at Cony High School in Augusta while Cullenberg qualified individually with a third-place run in the inter-mediate class.
The race, dubbed the Winter Dash 5K and one-miler, will be held along the Whistle Stop Trail in Farmington, with registration tables opening at 11:30 a.m. The one-mile race will go off at 12:30 p.m. and the 5K at 1.
Awards and prizes will be up for grabs, and hot beverages and snacks will be available after the race.
Class A state champions Emily Durgin of Cheverus and Will Geoghegan of Brunswick will both be running.
Registration fees are $5 for the one-mile race, $10 for the 5K, or if you’re ambitious and want to run both, it’ll cost $12.
T-shirts will also be available for $8 apiece, and runners who would like one should email Lam by Sunday.
To register or to obtain for additional information, contact Lam at runlikeanasian@hotmail.com, with “Winter Dash 5K” as the subject line.
Those who are ordering T-shirts should include sizes.
Local players honored
Three local field hockey players were recognized by the state’s coaches association for their performances in the classroom, as well as on the field.
Emily Chick of Bangor, Tracie Goldsmith of Central of Corinth and Angela Patterson of Brewer, all seniors, were named to the association’s All-Academic squad.
Chick was a key cog to a Bangor squad which won its first postseason game since 1981 in advancing to the Class A semifinals while Brewer’s Patterson gave top-ranked Skowhegan all it could handle in a quarterfinal match.
Goldsmith helped lead Central to the Class C semifinals.
