Annesley Black, Cheverus senior: Black capped a sterling Alpine career by winning both the Class A slalom and giant slalom state titles for the third year in succession. She also was Maine’s top finisher at the Eastern high school championships, with an eighth in giant slalom and 18th in slalom against fields of more than 100 skiers.
Emma Charles, Mt. Blue freshman: In her first high school season, Charles was the state’s dominant Nordic skier. She won the Sassi Memorial classical race in late January, swept the classical, freestyle and pursuit titles at the Class A state championships in February and was the top qualifier for the Easterns from Maine.
Emily Gerencer, St. Dominic senior: Gerencer was the Class A runner-up in classical, freestyle and pursuit. She also was Maine’s fifth-best qualifier in the selection meet for the Eastern championships in Fort Kent. In the Sassi Memorial, Gerencer finished as the runner-up to Charles by three seconds.
Elizabeth Hanson, Greely sophomore: At the Class A Alpine state meet, Hanson placed fifth in giant slalom and eighth in slalom. She was among a dozen qualifiers for the Easterns and finished second among Mainers in the giant slalom at Attitash (60th overall) and third in slalom (51st overall).
Lily Horne, Freeport senior: Horne won the Class B classical and pursuit titles, and placed second in freestyle to help the Falcons earn runner-up honors, only five points behind Yarmouth. She also placed third at the Sassi Memorial and was the seventh Maine qualifier for the Easterns.
Isabelle Jandreau, Madawaska senior: For the second year in succession, Jandreau swept the Class C titles in classical, freestyle and pursuit, winning the latter by 1 minute, 45 seconds. She was the state’s second Easterns qualifier, with a freestyle time only three seconds behind that of Charles.
Brooke Juneau, Fryeburg Academy senior: Juneau was runner-up in Class A giant slalom and placed sixth in slalom – moving up from 12th after a first-run fall to post the fastest second run. She shared top honors with Black in the Alpine Shootout and was the only skier in the regular season to beat her in a race in which Black didn’t fall.
Ellie Pelletier, Mt. Blue senior: Pelletier placed fourth in the Class A giant slalom after falling in the slalom. She was the third-best qualifier in the Alpine Shootout and second among Maine skiers in the Easterns slalom at Attitash, finishing 38th among a field of 118. She won KVAC titles in slalom and giant slalom.
Eliza Skillings, Maine Coast Waldorf sophomore: Skillings won the Class B freestyle title by five seconds after placing third in classical. She improved to second in pursuit and was the ninth Maine qualifier for the Easterns. She placed 13th at the Sassi Memorial.
Abbie Tyler, John Bapst senior: Tyler won the Class B slalom championship and placed sixth in giant slalom. She also qualified fourth in the Alpine Shootout. At the Eastern meet at Attitash Mountain, she was Maine’s third finisher in giant slalom (61st overall) and fourth in slalom (55th overall).
COACH OF THE YEAR
Jodd Bowles, Edward Little Alpine: In his sixth year as head coach, Bowles guided the Red Eddies to the Class A girls’ Alpine title, their fifth overall and first since 2004. Runner-up finishes in the team scoring in both slalom and giant slalom allowed consistency to triumph in the two-day event at Shawnee Peak, as Edward Little beat defending champion Fryeburg Academy by seven points. In challenging weather conditions, “We kind of kept it together better than anybody else,” Bowles said.
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