Late for a dryland ski practice in December, Greely High senior Jessie Hoffman had just concluded a college interview by phone when an email arrived from Tufts University congratulating her on early decision admission.

Bolting through the hallways and down Main Street trying to chase down her teammates, Hoffman barely even broke a sweat.

“I was so excited,” she said. “I must have looked like a crazy person. That was probably the only day running wasn’t tiring.”

Hoffman could use another boost of adrenaline this week at the Class A state championship ski meet. A four-year skimeister, Hoffman will race slalom at Mt. Abram in Greenwood on Tuesday and giant slalom on Wednesday morning. During each afternoon, she’ll race 5 kilometers at Starks Hill in Fryeburg, with classical technique Tuesday and freestyle Wednesday.

“I’m going to be tired,” she said.

Unlike in previous years, with four events spread over three days, the current format makes for a greater physical and logistical challenge.

A similar schedule is planned for the Class B and C state meets, held together Monday and Tuesday in Presque Isle (Nordic Heritage Center) and Mars Hill (Bigrock Ski Area).

The venues in Class B are about 30 minutes apart. In Class A, the shuttle will take at least an hour.

“This isn’t new to me, but it’s going to be difficult,” Hoffman said. “We’re staying in a house that’s really close to the Alpine events, so I can get up and go right to them. Lunch will be on the way to Starks Hill. Honestly, the only way to prepare is to get a lot of sleep during February vacation and then kind of go with it.”

Even hauling all her gear can be tiresome. Hoffman has a different pair of skis for all four events and two different pairs of Nordic boots. Even the socks are different, with Nordic shorter than Alpine.

“During the peak season, at the end of January, I ask myself if this is worth it,” she said. “But I’ve come back every year. It’s a huge time commitment and everything but I can’t imagine dropping one or the other. I have too much fun. I love both my teams.”

Here’s a look at each of the three state meets:

CLASS A: The Falmouth girls and Mt. Blue boys are defending overall champions and both will present a healthy defense. Junior Krysia Lesniak, fresh off Western Maine Conference individual titles in slalom and giant slalom, leads a solid Alpine quintet for Falmouth’s girls. Senior Anna Morin and junior London Bernier lead a Nordic team ready to defend its title.

Falmouth’s boys also won the Nordic crown last year, and seniors Gabe Mahoney and Ethan Cantlin spearhead the effort to retain it.

The 2012 and 2013 overall champion, Falmouth can’t compete with Mt. Blue or Leavitt because the Yachtsmen have only two Alpine skiers.

CLASS B: Yarmouth girls and Maranacook boys are defending overall champions. The Clippers are bidding for their ninth straight state title with a Nordic team that tied Merriconeag for the WMC crown and an Alpine squad that is solid if unspectacular.

Yarmouth’s boys are low in numbers this winter, so Maranacook’s chief competition is likely to come from Freeport in its second year since moving up from Class C. The Falcons won their first WMC titles earlier this month, tying Merriconeag in Nordic and crushing the field in Alpine.

“I think we’re in pretty good position on the boys side,” said first-year Nordic Coach Dan Smith, whose top four skiers are three sophomores (Kyle Dorsey, Yacob Olins, Bennett Hight) and a junior (Nathan Smail). “They’re going up against kids who are older and more experienced but they’ve shown they can hold their own.”

By contrast, Freeport’s top three Alpiners – Ryder Bennell, Blake Enrico and Caleb Abbott – are seniors. Each placed among the top five in both slalom and giant slalom at the conference meet.

“I’ve always said that every race we do before states is just training for states,” said Freeport Coach Jay Thomas. “It all comes down to that one.”

For purely Alpine, the Cape Elizabeth girls look to defend their state title and are hungry after a one-point loss to Greely in the WMC meet.

CLASS C: Fort Kent’s girls and boys are the defending overall champions. With Freeport gone to Class B, Fort Kent is likely to continue its overall dominance.

In Nordic, however, Merriconeag is fresh off a pair of WMC titles, tying Freeport’s boys and Yarmouth’s girls. Merriconeag’s girls are trying to extend their Nordic state title streak to five years while the Merriconeag boys seek their third in a row.

Senior Samantha Pierce will defend her classical title. Junior Forrest McCurdy is a threat to win both freestyle and classic.

Holding both state meets concurrently mean organizers are preparing for up to 130 skiers per event.

Yarmouth Nordic Coach Bob Morse told his girls they might want to consider headlamps in races whose first competitor isn’t schedule to hit the trail until 4 p.m.

“The sun sets in Aroostook County before it does in Cumberland County,” Morse said. “After 5 here, I can still go out and get some wood. But up there, the sun has left them in the dark. I told my girls you have to ski fast so they don’t get left in the dark.”