FARMINGTON — Hundreds of skiers may have competed in the Nordic ski championships Monday at Titcomb Mountain. But by the end of the day, two skiers — Emma Charles of Mt. Blue and Carter McPhedran of Maranacook — were the top standouts.
Charles, a sophomore, put forth a dominant performance, cruising to the girls Class A Classical title with a time of 16 minute, 42 seconds. Making her feat more impressive is the fact that Charles had spent the previous two days qualifying for the junior national team.
“I had two days of racing before today,” Charles said. “I was pretty tired before today, but I was just riding the high (of qualifying). I think that creates another energy.”
The Cougars put themselves in excellent shape to take home the girls Class A Nordic title on their home course. Brynne Robbins (17:36) took second, while Bridget Reusch (18:49) came in seventh and Kamryn Joyce (19:45) finished 12th.
“We’re pretty ready for (Tuesday) already,” Charles said.
Day 2 of the Nordic state championships is Tuesday, with the freestyle races. Overall team titles will be decided then.
Maranacook put forth a strong effort in Class B, with Sophie O’Clair finishing fourth (19:28), Maura Taylor finishing ninth (20:19) and Cambelle Nutting (21:20) finishing 15th. The Black Bears will have to have an excellent showing Tuesday to overtake Yarmouth, led by Madeline Marston, who took home the Class B Classical title (17:43). The Clippers also placed third (Anne Bergeron), sixth (Mary Psyhogeos) and seventh (Sadie Cowles) in the event.
Dolcie Tanguay of the Maine School of Science and Mathematics (18:52) won the Class C title. Winthrop’s Samantha Allen (20:35) finished fifth, while Mt. Abram’s Emily Kidd finished 10th.
McPhedran, a senior, took home the Class B boys classical title with a time of 14:23. Not only was it the fastest time in Class B (by 1:48), it was the fastest time of any skier in any class at the race. The closest to the mark was Class A champion Liam Niles of Portland, who finished at 15:10.
“I was really pumped to hear we were doing all the classes together (for classical) this year,” McPhedran said. “I’ve always wanted to see — I mean, I always have my results in Class B, but how would I have done with everyone?
“I was really excited about that. It’s really cool just to be compared to (other skiers from other classes), because there’s a ton of skiers in Class A and C, too, that you don’t ski against in Class B. It’s fun to ski against them. It was kind of a goal to be at the top of all of them in this race. (On Tuesday), they separate us (by class), and I really wanted to get (the win) today.”
Skiers in all three classes raced together for the boys and girls races using interval starts, with a new skier hitting the course every 15 seconds.
McPhedran was the second skier to begin the boys race, gave an early glimpse of his performance by exploding out of the start in a near full sprint.
Niles started third, right behind McPhedran, helping to keep a good pace throughout.
“When I saw the start list and Liam right behind me, I was super pumped,” McPhedran said. “Going out first for my team, I could be anywhere from the first person out, to like, 29th or 30th. I could have had no one near me. It was really nice to have him right behind me, so I could get splits off of him. My coaches could tell me, ‘You’re beating him,’ or, ‘You’re behind, you’ve got to pick up (the pace).’ That was good to have him behind me and really help me push for sure.”
The defending Class B champion Black Bears will have a hard time overcoming Freeport, which took four of the top 10 places, led by Caleb Hunter (16:11) who finished in second place.
Mt. Blue’s Evan Hornbach (15:56) finished sixth in the Class A classical race, while teammate Samuel Judkins finished 14th at 16:32.
Alex Hemingway of Mt. Abram took the Class C title, finishing with a time of 15:53. Teammate Cameron Walters finished fifth (17:06).
Teams will be back on the course Tuesday for the final day of the championships, wrapping up with boys and girls freestyle races.
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