Two weeks have passed since Maine crowned its high school state champion skiers. Even so, some of the best are still going strong.
Two big events for Maine high school skiers take place this weekend. Black Mountain in Rumford will host the Eastern J2 Championships for elite 14- and 15-year-old Nordic athletes, and Attitash Mountain (Bartlett, N.H.) will host the Eastern High School Championships (EHSC) for elite Alpine racers from 14 states.
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Today is a training day for the Alpine racers and the first of three days of competition for the Nordic skiers. The J2 championships include skiers from Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Colorado and Wisconsin as well as Maine.
“It’s a great opportunity for these kids to see some higher-level competition,” said Kalie Dunn, a coach at North Yarmouth Academy and a member of the Maine staff.
Freestyle races of 5 kilometers are scheduled for this afternoon, classical races of the same distance are Saturday morning, freestyle sprints are Saturday afternoon, and a mixed medley relay (two boys and two girls, with one classical and one skate skier of each gender) are Sunday morning.
Maine skiers born in 1996 or 1997 qualified for the J2 Championships by placing among the top 20 in their age group at the Sassi Memorial, a classical race at Black Mountain in late January. A handful also qualified for the Eastern High School Nordic championships, scheduled for next weekend at the Mountain Top Resort in Chittenden, Vt., and open to all Maine high school athletes.
The double dippers are Sam Alexander and Braden Becker of Yarmouth, Marcello Deluca of Gould Academy, Sarah Wade of Mt. Blue, Elizabeth Martin of Freeport, Dana Hatton of Cape Elizabeth and Emma Houston of Mt. Abram.
“It’s a prestigious thing,” said Yarmouth Coach Bob Morse. “To be part of a team of kids from Maine and go against teams from other states, that’s kind of a unique experience.”
In order to qualify for the Alpine championships, Maine skiers first had to finish among the top 10 in slalom or giant slalom at their state meets, then be among the top 12 at a special shootout last weekend at Black Mountain.
“It’s always been competitive,” said Mt. Blue Coach Mark Cyr, who leads the Maine contingent. “But in the past few years it seems like kids during the regular season and even during the state championships, they’ve got this in the back of their minds.”
Mt. Abram sophomore Elise Luce and Cape Elizabeth senior Sam Barber were the top qualifiers, but Barber pulled out after learning he had also qualified for a higher-level FIS race at Whiteface Mountain in Lake Placid this weekend.
Falmouth sophomore Leika Scott and Mt. Blue senior Lucas Bonnevie, who was second to Barber at the shootout, are also among the 24 Mainers who will race at Attitash. They finished first and second, respectively, in overall competition at the USSA Eastern finals earlier this week at Okemo Mountain in Ludlow, Vt.
Scott won giant slalom, was runner-up in slalom and placed fourth in super-G against J1 and J2 racers.
“They’re building bonds with each other that will last forever,” Cyr said. “They’re going to see each other on mountains all over the state for the rest of their lives.”
Staff Writer Glenn Jordan can be contacted at 791-6425 or at:
gjordan@pressherald.com
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