FARMINGTON — Mt. Blue was right at home Thursday, and it showed.
Sking on the familiar snow of Titcomb Mountain in Farmington, the Mt. Blue Nordic ski teams jumped out ahead of the field at the Class A state championships in the classical discipline.
Tucker Barber led the charge in the boys’ race, earning a first-place finish to lead the Cougars to a 34-point day and a 10-point lead over Leavitt headed into Friday’s freestyle race.
Liam Welch, Thomas Wing and Dominic Giampietro finished 10-11-12 as the Mt. Blue pack showed its strength.
Jarod Farrar was Leavitt’s top skier in third position. Carter Veilleux also carved out a top-10 with a seventh place finish for the Hornets.
Noah Lind (13th) and Jason Labbe (21st) rounded out Leavitt’s scoring. Falmouth, Oxford Hills and Fryeburg rounded out the top five boys’ teams. Nathaniel McNutt was the Vikings’ top finisher in ninth.
In the girls’ race, the Cougars hold a 14-point cushion over Falmouth. Meghan Charles was the top Mt. Blue skier in fifth position, while Kayla White, Miriam Cohen and Grace Andrews finished 9-10-11.
Deering, Fryeburg and Leavitt rounded out the top five teams. Emily Thibodeau paced the Hornets in seventh position. Tyme Finnerty of Edward Little placed 16th, and Oxford Hills’ Olivia Swift slid in at No. 38.
Class B Nordic
FARMINGTON — Nobody was catching Kaelyn Woods in the Class B girls’ classical race Thursday, and the Yarmouth boys and Freeport girls are doing their best to run away and hide in the team competition.
Woods navigated the Titcomb Mountain course in 15:23.3 Thursday, 25 seconds faster than Lily Johnston of Freeport to earn the state classical title.
Yarmouth placed four girls in the top eight, however, to build a substantial lead heading into Friday’s freestyle race. Sophia Laukli paced the Clippes in third position. Maranacook, led by Abigail Despres in sixth, is 12 points back. As a team, Gray-NG is in fifth position. Spruce Mountain is in seventh, and Mt. Abram in eighth.
In the boys’ race, Freeport placed three in the top five, but no one could catch Luca DeAngelis of Maranacook, whose 13:19.5 was 32 seconds better than the field.
The Falcons’ lead over Caribou is 11 points, 22-33. Maranacook, Yarmouth and Mt. Abram round out the top five boys’ teams. Spruce Mountain is in eighth.
Class C Nordic
RUMFORD — Maine Coast Waldorf asserted its perennial dominance at the Class C state Nordic ski meet Thursday, with Fiona Ahearne and Tucker Pierce earning individual freestyle titles while leading their teams into the lead of the overall Nordic race at Black Mountain of Maine.
Ahearne’s time of 17:51.6 was 24 seconds faster than teammate Olivia Skillings, who placed second in the girls’ race. Louise Ahearne and Fiona Libby completed the scoring for Maine Coast Waldorf in 10th and 17th, respectively. The team’s 30 points are 13 better than second-place Madawaska. Isabelle Jandreau led the Owls’ efforts with a third-place finish.
Carla Boyle-Wight of Telstar finished in fourth, while Kents Hill’s Anne McKee rounded out the top five.
Kents Hills is also in third behind Madawaska in the team competition. Fort Kent and Waynflete rounded out the top five in the freestyle event. Monmouth, Telstar and Dirigo are sixth, seventh and eighth, while Winthrop is in 10th position.
In the boys’ race, Keenan Martin of Dirigo was the top local finisher in sixth position. Kellen True of Telstar earned a ninth-place finish, while Benjamin Buck of Dirigo slid into 10th.
Fort Kent is in second position in the C boys’ race, as well, a scant seven points back of Maine Coast Waldorf. Orono, Dirigo and Madawaska round out the top five, with Telstar right behind in sixth.
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