Foxcroft Academy sports update: track impresses in opening meet, baseball picks up fourth win, tennis teams win first match…

Hunter Smith (web article)

27 athletes score points at opening track meet

The Foxcroft Academy boys’ outdoor track and field team opened its season at home on Friday with an impressive 173-point output that included wins in seven events and scoring contributions from 19 different athletes. The Ponies finished first in total points, outlasting Hermon, John Bapst, Dexter, Penquis, and Greenville.

Hunter Smith won both the high jump and long jump and placed fourth in the 100-meter dash; Julian Zepeda won the 100-meter dash, was runner-up in the 400-meter dash, and took sixth in the 200-meter dash; and Pete Boyer won the discus throw and the shot put.

Also scoring points for the Ponies were Sebastian Zepeda (second in the 100-meter dash, third in the 200-meter dash), Edison Chen (second in the 300-meter hurdles, sixth in the long jump), Cooper Nelson (second in the 1600-meter run), Brandon Brock (third in the discus and the shot put), Gabe Piquette (third in the 1600-meter run), Kohei Kotani (third in the 800-meter run, sixth in the 1600-meter run), Cody Strout (fourth in the discus and the shot put), James Smith (fourth in the 400-meter dash), Harry Gong (fourth in the 300-meter hurdles), Kelly Erickson (fifth in the 800-meter run and the 1600-meter run), Justin Diamond (fifth in the 200-meter dash, sixth in the 100-meter dash), Jason Eubanks (fifth in the 100-meter dash), and Nathnael Feleke (sixth in the 400-meter dash).

Nelson, Feleke, Paul Birtwistle, and Piquette won the 4×800-meter relay; Eubanks, Dylan Richards, Diamond, and Sebastian Zepeda won the 4×100; and Julian Zepeda, Sebastian Zepeda, James Smith, and Hunter Smith were runners-up in the 4×400.

“This was a high point-scoring output and one of the more impressive home wins in many years,” said Coach Rob Weber. “We’ve waited a long time for good enough weather to have our first track meet, and the kids showed up ready.”

The girls’ team scored 63 points to finish third. Fern Morrison led the way with victories in both the 800 and 1600-meter runs, and Annie Rich won the javelin throw.

Jen Clawson (second in the 800-meter run and fourth in the 1600-meter run), Camille Bozzelli (third in the 100-meter hurdles), Alisha Thomas (fourth in the 200-meter dash), Jordan Thomas (sixth in the 200-meter dash), and Avery Nelson (fifth in the javelin) all scored points for the Ponies in individual events while Rich, Alisha Thomas, Jordan Thomas, and Erika Chadbourne took second in the 4×100-meter relay.

“We couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season,” said assistant coach Graham Pearsall. “We came out firing on all cylinders, with very strong contributions from the sprinters, distance, hurdlers, throwers, and jumpers. It was a well-rounded onslaught. 27 different athletes scored points, which is just ridiculous.”

The Ponies will compete at Bangor on Tuesday and at MDI on Saturday.

Photo of Hunter Smith taken by Isaac Whittemore ’15. Click here to see more from the meet.

baseball team running off field

Baseball moves to 4-1 with win over John Bapst

The Foxcroft baseball team bounced back from a disappointing 12-3 loss to Old Town on Tuesday with an 8-1 win over visiting John Bapst on Friday. The Ponies are now 4-1 and ranked third in the Class B East Heal Point standings. They’ll travel to PCHS on Tuesday in advance of major tests against unbeaten Hermon at home on Wednesday and at Ellsworth on Friday.

Abe Simpson picked up the win on the mound against John Bapst to improve to 2-0 with a 1.55 ERA. Nate Church continues to pitch very well out of the Pony bullpen, notching eight strikeouts in 6.33 scoreless innings spread out over four appearances.

Clay Carroll (.462, four stolen bases), Simpson (.412, five RBI, five runs, five steals), Church (.375, five runs, four steals), and Dylan Huff (triple, .667 OBP in nine plate appearances) had productive weeks at the plate for a Pony offense that has now scored 39 runs in five games.

Photo taken by Daniil Grishko ’16. Click here to see more of his photos from the Old Town game,

jenna clukey pitching

Softball remains near top of Class B East

The Foxcroft softball team fell 15-4 to unbeaten and top-ranked Old Town at home on Tuesday and lost 4-2 to sixth-ranked John Bapst back in Dover-Foxcroft on Friday. Despite the setbacks, Coach Scott Anderson’s 3-2 Ponies are still an impressive third in the Class B East Heal Point standings heading into a big week that includes games at 3-0 PCHS on Tuesday, vs 2-0 Hermon (defending state champs) on Wednesday, and at 0-3 Ellsworth on Friday.

Avery Carroll (.500, nine stolen bases, six runs) and Grace Bickford (.450, four extra base hits, seven runs) continue to lead the Pony offense while Brittany Adkins and Jenna Clukey have handled all 40 innings on the mound.

Photo of Jenna Clukey taken by Daniil Grishko ’16. Click here to see more of his photos from the Old Town game.

fernando caceres

Tennis teams sweep Dexter for season’s first victories

Both the boys’ and girls’ tennis teams dropped matches to John Bapst Tuesday and Wednesday before rebounding with 5-0 victories over visiting Dexter on Thursday. Each team stands at 1-2 heading into Tuesday’s home match with Hermon.

Coach Ryan Dankert’s #1 singles player on the boys’ side, sophomore Fernando Caceres, won two of his three matches for the week. Bram Dennis and Nick Boyd won their singles matches against Dexter, Robert Atherton and Dexter Canning picked up wins in doubles on Wednesday and Thursday, and Quinn Chase/Kevin Kim won on Thursday.

For Coach Dankert’s girls’ team, Madison Fadley, Ricky Chen, and Jen Boyer all won singles matches on Thursday while the tandems of Jen Clawson/Lexi Raymond and Sophia Kurzius/Hannah Vainio won doubles matches on both Wednesday and Thursday.

Photo of Fernando Caceres taken by Youjin Choi ’16. Click here to see more of her work from the Dexter match.

Toby Nelson

About Toby Nelson

I am the Director of Communications at Foxcroft Academy.