RUMFORD — Yarmouth’s Eli Anderson was jubilant when he finished his second slalom run in an upright position during the Class B boys’ Alpine skiing state championships at Black Mountain on a frigid Wednesday afternoon.

Anderson knew a wipeout would hurt his team, which is in second place heading into Thursday’s giant slalom races.

“Both runs were really fun,” said Anderson, who finished 16th. “I was just happy to be standing up.”

Abbie Tyler of John Bapst keeps her focus while competing in the Class B slalom. Tyler’s two-run time of 1 minute, 34.52 seconds was good enough to beat Telstar’s Abby Landry by .16 seconds. Sun Journal photo by Daryn Slover

The Clippers, though, are chasing Cape Elizabeth, which got top-five finishes from its three Lathrop brothers. Killian Lathrop won for the second year in a row with a two-run time of 1 minute, 24.55 seconds, followed by Devon in fourth place (1:27.31) and Tiernan in fifth (1:28.58). The Capers scored 781 points and take a 29-point lead into giant slalom.

Yarmouth, meanwhile, was led by Thomas Morris (1:28.85) in sixth and Asher Lockwood (1:31.53) in ninth.

“The boys did great,” Yarmouth assistant coach Peter Glass said. “They really skied within themselves. They held it together. We had a good team game plan, and it looks like everything came to fruition.

Killian Lathrop of Cape Elizabeth competes during his first run of the Class B slalom championship. Sun Journal photo by Daryn Slover

Maranacook’s Robbie McKee finished third with a time of 1:26.39.

“My first run was a lot better. It was just a wild ride,” McKee said. “The course is fast … you have to be on top of it. It was awesome, and tomorrow we are on for the GS.”

Some skiers took a spill on a course that was fast and sometimes unforgiving.

Winthrop’s Maguire Anaszewski, who finished 31st with a time of 1:47.32, had a rough second run.

“Not my best race. Not exactly what I was looking for,” he said. “The first run went pretty well.”

Fort Kent and Maranacook were tied for first in the girls’ standings with 743 points apiece. Yarmouth (717), Telstar (716) and Spruce Mountain (714) rounded out the top five.

Tiernan Lathrop of Cape Elizabeth clears a gate during his second run of the Class B slalom championship. Sun Journal photo by Daryn Slover

“Again, all of them, they just pulled together,” Fort Kent Coach Leslie Marquis said. “When one goes down and one bobbles, the next one knows they need to pull in the reins a little bit, and they did that. They ski as a team, not as individuals.”

Fort Kent’s Riley Sibley (fourth, 1:37.92) and Lyndsay Ouellette (eighth, 1:41.30) turned in top-10 performances.

“I was just really focused on my team and I had to stay up for our team, and I was just focused on making it to the bottom,” Sibley said. “I think my first run was better, but I am happy with everything. I am excited for our team.”

Abbie Tyler of John Bapst posted the fastest time in the first run and held on in the second round to edge Telstar’s Abby Landry by .16 seconds, finishing with an aggregate time of 1:34.52. Spruce Mountain’s Julia Pomeroy was third (1:37.11), Cape Elizabeth’s Dana Schwartz placed fifth (1:38.33), and Yarmouth’s Eleanor Donahue finished sixth (1:41.26).

“The morning was really nice. It was really sunny, but the afternoon, it was kind of ruddy,” Donahue said. “It was sunnier, and I think I was less tired.”

The Yarmouth girls are in third place, 26 points behind Fort Kent and Maranacook.

“The girls were great, too,” Glass said. “We have a small girls’ team this year, so without a lot of depth, they had to stand up and manage themselves and ski within themselves. They all had a fantastic day, too, so it has been a good series of events for us today.”

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