FARMINGTON — Maranacook’s Nordic boys’ skiing team came out with a bang Monday on the first day of the Class B/C state meet.

Carter McPhedran, Gabe Fein and Luke Bartol finished 1-2-3 in the 5-kilometer classical race at Titcomb Mountain, and the Black Bears had five skiers in the top 12 as they put themselves in position to win a third straight Nordic team championship.

McPhedran’s time of 16 minutes, 39 seconds gives him an 18-second advantage over Fein going into Tuesday’s 5K freestyle pursuit. Bartol will start nine seconds behind Fein.

Maranacook Coach Steve DeAngelis said the results were a product of the team’s training together all season.

“They tried really hard and work together really well,” DeAngelis said. “They always finish in a different order, so you can never tell who is going to finish first, second or third.

“It’s an individual sport when you’re in a race, but when you’re training, it’s not. They’re three of the best skiers in the state and they get to ski together every day, and when you train with the best in the state, it makes you really good.”

Freeport was also strong, as Martin Horne (17:38) and John Giddens (17:58) finished fourth and fifth. Five Freeport skiers were in the top 15.

Places 9-12 could be crucial Tuesday in deciding the team title. Those racers are separated by a total of 14 seconds and include two skiers each from Maranacook and Freeport – Thomas Robinson and Elias Dorsey of Freeport are sandwiched between Maranacook’s Bryce Trefethen and Tate Mendall.

“Bryce finished ninth and was just 10 seconds away from sixth,” DeAngelis said. “He’s close for the pursuit race. We had a great day.”

In Class C, Miguel Sanclemente of Fort Kent took the classical title in 18:34.

On the girls’ side, Freeport took three of the top four places in Class B. Lily Horne won in a time of 19:54, followed by teammate Allison Greuel in 20:33.

Eliza Skillings of Maine Coast Waldorf finished third in 20:40, and Freeport’s Jane Dawson was fourth in 21:01.

Maine Coast Waldorf had four finishers in the top 20, including sisters Emma and Wilson Haims (15th and 18th).

“They’re a very young girls’ team and we lost a lot of our skiers from last year,” Maine Coast Waldorf Coach John Tarling said. “They’re not contending, there are other better schools, but they’re young, and for a young group they did really well.

“I wasn’t expecting them to do too much. I was pleasantly surprised with how well they did. It was a good day. The new snow added a new dimension to the waxing. It’s a little tricky on the high school level, and it’s a little challenging to get the right combo.”

While Freeport had a strong top three, Yarmouth had five of the next six finishers and eight of the top 16, led by Isabel Brennan in fifth place (21:12).

In Class C, Isabell Jandreau of Madawaska placed first with a time of 19:53.

CLASS A: Roy Varney of Leavitt and Emma Charles of Mt. Blue won individual titles, and the Falmouth boys and Cheverus/Deering/Portland girls took the lead in the team standings on the opening day of the Class A Nordic state championships at Stark’s Hill in Fryeburg.

Varney completed the 5-kilometer classical race in 15 minutes, 32.6 seconds, winning the event for the second straight year. He’ll start the 5K freestyle pursuit on Tuesday with a 19-second advantage over Falmouth’s Nate Livingood, who was one of four Yachtsmen in the top 20. Falmouth’s Ethan Livingood, last year’s freestyle champion, finished third in classical and will start 42 seconds behind Varney.

Falmouth goes into the freestyle race with a five-point lead over Cheverus/Deering/Portland, whose top finisher was William Jordan in fourth place (16:27.7).

Charles dominated the girls’ race – her time of 17:25.8 was more than a minute faster than runner-up Emily Gerencer of St. Dom’s (18:39.0).

Cheverus/Deering/Portland has a three-point lead over Mt. Blue in the team standings after putting four skiers in the top 11, led by Grace Tumavicus in sixth place (19:56.6).