WATERVILLE — John Wooden, the Hall of Fame basketball coach at UCLA, created an entire pyramid of success.

Clair Polfus, coach of the Mt. Blue Nordic team, prefers something a bit more simple.

“We have a three-point philosophy,” she said, and proceeded to list each point.

1. Smile.

2. Ski hard.

3. Pass the person in front of you.

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Oh, and for championship meets, there’s an addendum.

Glitter. Dab some above each cheek bone like football eye black to allow sunlight to sparkle off a radiant face.

“That’s like the extra special jet fuel that pushes them down the trail,” Polfus said.

Friday morning at Quarry Road Trails, no other team covered the trails faster than the school from Farmington, whose boys and girls each won a second straight Class A Nordic state championship.

Seniors Tucker Barber and Julia Ramsey took home individual honors in Friday’s freestyle competition after each won Thursday’s classical race over the same 5-kilometer rolling course that included two loops with a steep hill near the end.

“It was a lot faster,” Barber said after finishing in 15 minutes, 8.0 seconds to lead a Mt. Blue contingent that also placed third (Isaiah Reid), fifth (Nolan Rogers) and 15th (Samuel Smith). “But still hot, though.”

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Indeed, morning temperatures climbed above 50 degrees for a second day as zinc oxide and sunglasses replaced hand warmers and balaclavas. Mt. Blue’s two-day total score of 41 points easily outdistanced that of runner-up Falmouth at 109. Oxford Hills was third at 127, followed by Leavitt (142), Deering (143), Portland (206), Fryeburg Academy (216) and Greely (337).

Barber sported a dab of yellow glitter under his left eye and blue glitter under his right. He said he regretted not wearing the stuff Thursday.

“The girls are all into it,” he said. “It’s hard to turn down that much enthusiasm. I figured it’s the last state race of my career, might as well make it glittery.”

Caleb Niles of Deering was second with a time of 15:13.4.

“The snow was pretty good at first,” said Niles, whose team required a ghost skier to fill out its score, “but as it got worn down from everybody skiing on it and the sun hit it, it got a little bit sloppier.”

The girls’ race started an hour after the boys, at 11 a.m. Ramsey completed two circuits in 18:57.6 to win Class A and Morse High sophomore Jenny Wilbraham was second in 19:05.0. Meghan Charles was third, Gretchen Huish seventh and Grace Andrews 11th to give Mt. Blue a freestyle score of 22 and a two-day total of 35 points. Runner-up Deering finished with 88 and Fryeburg Academy was third at 101, followed by Leavitt (184), Falmouth (234), Camden Hills (249), Oxford Hills (252), Greely (292) and Edward Little (313).

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“Going up all these hills twice (Thursday) and having to do it another time (Friday), you start to feel the burn,” Ramsey said.

On Thursday, the fastest individual times belonged to Barber and Ramsey. On Friday, a pair of Class C skiers earned that distinction.

Waynflete senior Willson Moore skated through two loops in 14:39.4, with Maine Coast Waldorf teammates Tucker Pierce (14:45.4) and Nick Neveu (15:04.4) taking second and third, all three in times quicker than that of Barber.

“That was definitely my goal coming in (Friday),” said Moore, who was third overall in classical, first in Class C. “In the past, I’ve been stronger in classic, but over the end of this season, I’ve started putting in better performances in skate.”

Completing Maine Coast’s scoring were Dylan Wu (13th) and Eli Gundersen (14th) for a freestyle total of 32 and a two-day score of 51 that resulted in the small New Gloucester school’s fifth consecutive state title. Fort Kent was second at 96, followed by Telstar (125), Orono (154) and six other teams.

Maine Coast junior Olivia Skillings turned in the fastest time for any girl on Friday, 18:26.9, nearly a minute ahead of Class C runner-up Isabelle Jandreau (19:23.3) of Madawaska. Louise Ahearne (third), Fiona Libby (eighth) and Wilson Haims (12th) completed the scoring for Maine Coast, which extended its Class C Nordic winning streak to seven years.

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“We’re a really close-knit team, which makes such a huge difference,” Skillings said. “And our coach (John Tarling) keeps it really fun and relaxed, so everyone actually enjoys what they’re doing instead of being like, ‘Oh shoot, I have to go race again.’ “

Glenn Jordan can be contacted at 791-6425 or:

Gjordan@pressherald.com

Twitter: GlennJordanPPH


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