FARMINGTON — The Mt. Blue girls and Maranacook boys ran away from the field, sweeping every event, to win overall titles at the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference championships Saturday at Titcomb Mountain.
The Mt. Blue girls won the top three spots and the eighth-place spot in the slalom race to win the Alpine title 35-72 over Edward Little. Their Nordic team was equally impressive, winning the title 50-80 over Maranacook. The Cougars won the overall title with 85 points, well ahead of Edward Little (176).
“Everybody on our team skis really well, so when we have someone fall it doesn’t affect the team score,” said Mt. Blue’s Eliza Richard, who won the slalom race. “What really matters for us is for the team to finish first.”
Richard, third after the first run, blistered the Otter Slide course in 37.11 seconds on her second run to overtake teammate and French exchange student Margot Heraud for first place. Heraud finished second, eight-tenths of a second behind, while teammate Heather Farrington placed third.
“Winning the race makes me feel really good, because it shows how much I’ve improved,” Richard, a senior, said. “When I first started as a freshmen, I didn’t even score for the team.”
After a fourth-place finish in Wednesday’s freestyle Nordic race, Mt. Blue’s Hannah Allen turned up her pace a notch in the classical, beating Maranacook’s Abby Mace by a slim three seconds. Mt. Blue’s Emily Ramsey finished third.
“My plan was to go all out the entire course,” Allen said. “It’s a big advantage skiing on your home course.”
Added Mace, who won the freestyle race at Black Mountain: “I knew Hannah and Emily would be there. I went really hard on the first 3K, which is almost all uphill, then it is all downhill.”
Tyler DeAngelis used the same strategy as Mace in the boys race to become the overall Nordic champion in the KVAC, winning both the freestyle and classical titles. Knowing the Titcomb course was an uphill battle early in the race, DeAngelis attacked the hills with strength and power, building speed on the downhills and through to the finish.
“What a great course. I love skiing here,” DeAngelis said. “There are a lot of hairpin turns on the course that you have to take with caution. I went out pushed it early and then was able to coast on the downhills.”
Hampden Academy’s Ethan Burke finished second, 55 seconds behind DeAngelis, while Maranacook teammate Walker Thompson turned finished third.
Maranacook made it a clean sweep in the slalom race. Freshman Alec Daigle finished second for Maranacook, behind first-place finisher James Jackson of Edward Little. Jackson was the only skier to break 31 seconds, hitting 30.95 on his second run Saturday.
The Skowhegan boys’ bid to overtake the Black Bears in the slalom race fell short due to early falls. Konnor Therriault attempted to lift Skowhegan back into contention by taking the lead after one run, but dropped to third after Jackson and Daigle turned in near perfect runs.
“It was nice to be first after the first run,” Therriault said. “I had one bobble on the second run and it cost me. As a team, we are happy to be where we are and accomplish what we did.”
Maranacook won the overall Alpine title with 82 points followed by Edward Little (96) and Skowhegan (100).
MVC championships
The Luce sisters, Erin and Elise, along with Sadie James continued their dominance in the Mountain Valley Conference, leading the Mt. Abram girls to the overall title Saturday at Black Mountain. Mt. Abram beat Mountain Valley 64-190 for the overall title.
The Mt. Abram girls placed four skiers in the top five to win the classical race and three in the top five to claim victory in the slalom race.
After winning the freestyle championship Thursday, James captured the classic title by just over a minute, defeating teammate Annah Houston, who finished second. Emma Houston finished third and Holly Thomas fifth.
Erin Luce won the girls slalom race, edging Elise by one-tenth of a second. Emily Listowish was fifth.
The Mt. Abram boys won the Nordic title but failed in the bid for an overall championship when the Alpine team failed to register a score in the slalom race. The Roadrunners edged Telstar 57-58 in the classical race, placing three finishers in the top four.
Jay Chenard led the Roadrunners with a second-place finish, followed by Nick Carlton (third) and Trent Rosenburg (fourth).
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