Foxcroft Academy sports update: Brock is latest to reach 100 wins, basketball team stays hot, and more news…

brandon brock gets 100

Brock wins 100th as Ponies surge toward postseason

Foxcroft Academy junior Brandon Brock became the fourth active Pony wrestler to top the 100-win mark in Caribou on Saturday. Brock, who reached the milestone when he defeated Dexter’s Daniel Wallace in his first match, joins Brooks Law, Eli Olson, and Tino Ayala as members of the prestigious club. (Senior Isaac Whittemore has 99 and will be looking for number 100 when the Ponies compete at the PVC Championship Meet at Mattanawcook Academy on Saturday.) “It’s always a great pleasure to recognize one of our wrestlers for his 100th win,” said Coach Luis Ayala. “It’s not an easy accomplishment and it says a lot about Brandon. He has worked hard to get to this point. I am very proud of him for reaching this milestone.”

The Ponies finished in first place at the Caribou meet, with six individual champions and two runners-up. Tino Ayala (120), Eli Olson (126), Conner Johnson (132), Billy Brock (170), Brandon Brock (182), and Connor Holmes (285) won their brackets while Brandon Weston (106) and Michael Pendriss (195) were defeated in the finals. “This was our last tune-up before the PVC tournament,” said Coach Ayala. “I was very pleased with the results today.”

On Wednesday, the Ponies traveled to Dexter for their final dual competition of the year, where they ran the table against Ellsworth, Dexter, PCHS, PVHS, and Mattanawcook Academy to improve their mark in dual meets to a perfect 16-0. “You always need to have goals to motivate you,” said Ayala. “Our goal coming in today was to leave undefeated. It was not easy because Ellsworth and Dexter have very good teams.”

Ayala noted that injuries and illnesses have taken their toll on every team this year, and Wednesday was no exception, as both Dexter and Ellsworth were not at full strength. He cited Conner Johnson’s 4-0 victory over Ellsworth’s Josh Wright, an opponent he’d lost to previously, as one of the highlights of the day. “This was one of his better matches of the year,” said Ayala. “It gives [Johnson] a lot of confidence heading into tournament time.” Another great match was at 285, where Connor Holmes defeated Howland’s Richard Woodward. “This was a crucial win for Connor because it was for seeding purposes,” said Ayala. “By defeating [Woodward], he will now be seeded one at the PVCs. Connor has been working hard on his conditioning and moves, and he showed today that he will be a force to reckon with come tournament time.”

Now close to full strength, the Ponies have high expectations for the PVC meet on Saturday. “This week we are going to have to step up our conditioning and just refine our moves,” said Ayala. “The key for us is to get everybody healthy and ready to go in Lincoln if we want to win the conference championship. This is going to be a very close race with Ellsworth and Dexter battling us for the title. It’s going to be very exciting.”

Photo taken by Christine Brock.

sean cody

Ponies look to stay hot with three huge home games this week

The Foxcroft Academy boy’s basketball team started on fire and then withstood a furious comeback to pick up their fourth straight victory, a 54-50 win over #5 Ellsworth in Dover-Foxcroft on Wednesday. Coach Dave Carey’s Ponies are now 7-6 and have climbed to 10th in the Class B East Heal Point standings.

Hunter Smith led the way against the Eagles with an efficient 22 points (7-13 from the floor and 5-6 from the line), eight rebounds, four steals, and two assists. Drew Dankert knocked down three trifectas on his way to a 13-point, four-rebound effort; Sean Cody finished with nine points and nine rebounds; Nick Clawson had six points and three assists; and Dylan Harmon-Weeks had seven rebounds and three assists.

The Ponies now face a huge challenge with three excellent opponents coming to town this week. They’ll battle the 10-3 Hermon Hawks (who handed Old Town their first loss on Thursday) tonight at 7 pm, host 13-2 PCHS Wednesday at 7 pm, and welcome 14-1 Old Town Friday at 7 pm.


Coach Blake Smith’s girls’ team performed solidly on the road last week, falling victim to a buzzer-beating layup from Sammy Mason in a 37-35 loss at #7 Ellsworth on Tuesday before picking up a quality 49-37 road win at #11 Hermon on Friday. The Ponies are now 4-11 on the year and 15th in Class B East. They are scheduled to host 13-2 PCHS Tuesday night (odds are good that this one will be postponed) and play at 4-11 Old Town Saturday at 7 pm.

Photo taken by Holly Ly ’15. Click here to see more from the Ellsworth game.

runners take off

Nelson, Morrison win events at indoor track meet

The Foxcroft Academy boys’ indoor track team scored 46 points to place fifth at the season’s fifth PVC-Eastern Maine Indoor Track League Meet at New Balance Field House in Orono on Saturday.

Cooper Nelson took third in the 800-meter run and exploded for a 30-second last lap to move from third place and 30 meters down to a convincing win in the mile (4:43.93). Pete Boyer established a new season’s best in the shot put (44-03.75), good for second in the event; Justin Diamond was runner up in the 200-meter dash; and Edison Chen broke 18 feet in the long jump for the first time, finishing third. Jason Eubanks earned a point with a sixth-place finish in the 55-meter dash, and Julian Zepeda did the same in the 200-meter dash. In relay action, Zepeda, Eubanks, Dylan Richards, and Diamond placed third in the 4×200.

The girls’ team scored 18 points to finish in sixth place. Fern Morrison raced to victory in the 800 less than half an hour after finishing third in the 400-meter dash. Desirae Brawn secured two additional points for the team with a fifth-place showing in the shot put.

The Ponies will be back in action at the New Balance Field House Saturday at noon, their final tune-up before the PVC championships on February 7. “We are trending in the right direction as we approach championship season,” said Coach Graham Pearsall.

Photo taken by Camille Bozzelli ’17. Click here to see more from the meet.

julia annis

Swimmers split in Ellsworth, have final home meet this Friday

The Foxcroft girls’ swimming team earned a 51-41 victory over Ellsworth and fell 49-44 to George Stevens at a three-team meet in Ellsworth on Friday.

Julia Annis continued her winning ways with two individual victories (100-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke) and two more as a member of the 200-yard IM relay and the 200-yard freestyle relay. Jenna Clukey finished first and second in her individual events (50-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly) and was also a part of the two winning relays. Avery Carroll contributed to both relay victories and swam to two second-place finishes in the 200-yard IM and the 100-yard backstroke. Jillian Annis was the fourth member of the two relay wins and also won the 100-yard breaststroke. Chloe Waugh placed second in the 500-yard freestyle, narrowly missing the state qualifying time.

Clay Carroll finished second in the 200-yard IM and the 100-yard breaststroke for the shorthanded boys’ team. The Ponies will host Washington Academy at the PRYMCA on Friday at 6:15 pm.

Cheerleaders close season with best routine of the year

The Foxcroft cheerleading team closed out their season by placing a solid ninth out of 14 teams at the Regional Cheering Championship at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor on Saturday. “The girls performed their best routine to date with so much energy and passion,” said Coach Chelsey Curtis. “I am extremely proud of all the hard work the girls have done this season and am looking forward to what the future brings us.”

Jessica Moore ’17 submitted the video above, which can also be viewed at this link. Mike Fagan ’15 took photos at the competition, and we plan to post those later this week.

Toby Nelson

About Toby Nelson

I am the Director of Communications at Foxcroft Academy.