Cape Elizabeth’s Killian Lathrop finished first Wednesday in giant slalom at the Class B Alpine state championships at Black Mountain in Rumford. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal Buy this Photo
RUMFORD — Cape Elizabeth senior Killian Lathrop didn’t care much for the fresh powder that fell from Tuesday’s snowstorm, especially after his first run Wednesday at Black Mountain.
By the time the boys began their second run, the course was packed down, and Lathrop whizzed down the course in a time of 52.60 seconds as he won the Class B giant slalom with a two-run time of 1:45.39.
Yarmouth’s Eleanor Donahue won the girls’ race.
The boys’ race played out similarly for Cape’s Lathrop brothers – Killian and Tiernan. Tiernan finished second in 1:47.23.
“(The fresh snow) was not ideal,” Killian said. “The powder kind of scares me … but I kind of just made do. The course maintenance (workers) did an awesome job. They cleared it right out, so that wasn’t a problem.
“But the second run, the firm snow, love it. It was fast.”
Fort Kent leads the boys’ team standings with 753 points, followed by Yarmouth (731), Maranacook (717), Gray-New Gloucester (711), John Bapst (707) and Lake Region (701).
The top five girls’ teams heading into Thursday’s slalom races are Maranacook (765), Fort Kent (748), Cape Elizabeth (743), Yarmouth (727) and Rangeley (713).
Cape Elizabeth isn’t in contention for the boys’ team title because two of its five skiers were unable to finish both giant slalom runs, but the Lathrops put on an impressive display.
“There is a little sibling rivalry going on there,” Cape Elizabeth Coach Jen Lakari said. “The rivalry between them works really well because they feed off each other, but it is fun.”
The Lathrops were followed by Wisdom’s Sam Roy (1:47.41), Lake Region’s Logan Davis (1:49.94), and Yarmouth’s Killian Marsh (1:50.27) and Asher Lockwood (1:50.46).
Fort Kent was led by Griffen Sibley, who finished eighth at 1:52.33. Three teammates placed in the top 16.
“It’s a mental game, too, right,” Fort Kent Coach Leslie Marquis said. “They did really well mentally at the top. Everyone was having a really good time. Their focus came together when they got into starting position, so I think that really paid off for them today.”
In the girls’ competition, Donahue posted a combined time of 1:51.09. Cape Elizabeth’s Anya Monson (1:53.00) and Dana Schwartz (1:54.43) followed in second and third.
Maranacook’s Anna Erb, Dana Reynolds and Caroline Welch finished fifth, sixth and seventh.
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