Leif Harvey, Greely junior: After placing third in the Class A classical race, Harvey won the freestyle title and finished second in pursuit. He swept all three disciplines in the Western Maine Conference Nordic championships and placed fourth in the Sassi Memorial Classic. He was the third qualifier among Maine public high school skiers for the Eastern high school championships.
William Jordan, Deering senior: Jordan was runner-up in Class A classical and third in pursuit at the state meet at Titcomb Mountain in Farmington. He was the second qualifier from Maine among public high school skiers for the Easterns squad, and fifth overall. He also finished second in the Sassi Memorial Classic, among a field of 174.
Killian Lathrop, Cape Elizabeth senior: A former two-time Class B slalom state champion, Lathrop won giant slalom this winter by a combined time of nearly two seconds over his brother, Tiernan. In Class B slalom, Killian finished second by .41 seconds to his brother. Killian was Maine’s top finisher at Easterns in both giant slalom (fifth overall) and slalom (eighth).
Tiernan Lathrop, Cape Elizabeth sophomore: Improving from last year’s fifths in both disciplines, Lathrop won the Class B slalom state title and finished second to his brother, Killian, in giant slalom. At the Easterns Alpine meet at Cannon Mountain in New Hampshire, Tiernan placed third among Maine skiers in slalom (12th overall) and ninth in giant slalom (60th overall).
Sean Maguire, Marshwood junior: The 2019 Class A champion in slalom and giant slalom, Maguire finished second this winter in slalom (by 0.78 seconds) and third in giant slalom. At the Easterns Alpine meet, Maguire placed 11th in slalom (the second finisher from Maine) and 13th in giant slalom (third from Maine).
Carter McPhedran, Maranacook senior: McPhedran swept the Class B classical, freestyle and pursuit titles. He was the only skier in any class at the state meets to break 15 minutes in classical (14:23), and his winning pursuit margin was more than three minutes. He also won the Sassi Memorial Classic and was Maine’s second qualifier for Easterns, one second behind Gould Academy’s Nate Livingood.
Liam Niles, Portland senior: Niles won the Class A classical and freestyle pursuit titles and placed second in freestyle to help the Bulldogs finish second behind two-time Nordic champion Falmouth. He joined McPhedran as the only skiers from any class at Titcomb Mountain to break 30 minutes in pursuit. Niles also won the pursuit title as a sophomore.
A.J. Noyes, Falmouth junior: Noyes swept the Class A slalom and giant slalom titles at Shawnee Peak to help Falmouth win a fourth consecutive Alpine state championship. He also claimed the top position in the Maine Shootout, the series of qualifying races to determine the state’s 13-member Easterns squad. As a freshman, he won his first Class A slalom title.
Miguel Sanclemente, Fort Kent junior: A repeat All-State selection, Sanclemente won the Class C freestyle and pursuit titles, the latter by edging Mt. Abram sophomore Alex Hemingway by four tenths of a second in the day’s most dramatic finish. Sanclemente was the fifth Maine qualifier among public high school skiers for the Eastern championships.
Colby Van Decker, Oxford Hills senior: Van Decker finished 10th in giant slalom among a field of 132 at the Easterns Alpine meet at Cannon Mountain, second among Maine skiers. At the Class A state meet, he placed fifth in slalom and turned in the second-fastest first run in giant slalom before falling on his second run. Still, he hiked up to complete his run despite winding up 86th.
Coach of the Year
Ronn Gifford, Maranacook Alpine
Gifford led a sweep of the Class B Alpine titles for the Black Bears, whose boys dethroned two-time state champion Cape Elizabeth. After stumbling to third in giant slalom, Maranacook trailed Fort Kent by 36 points and Yarmouth by 14, but wound up with the overall title by 25 points over runner-up Lake Region, thanks to a stellar performance in slalom. “They were lights out, skied exactly as they needed to and finally had a race where our top three boys all had strong finishes, a first for the season,” Gifford said. “It all came together at the right time, on the right day.” In 16 years at the Readfield school, Gifford has guided Maranacook to eight state championships, split evenly among boys and girls.
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