CARRABASSETT VALLEY — The conditions were soft as temperatures soared into the 50s by the start of the Nordic ski races Friday morning at at the Sugarloaf Outdoor Center.
But Maranacook High skied tough, sweeping the girls’ and boys’ titles at the Class B Nordic state championships for the first time since 2009.
The Maranacook girls ended Yarmouth’s six-year reign, scoring 43 points to the Clippers’ 55 in the two-day event. The two teams tied during Friday’s 5-kilometer freestyle race, but Maranacook held the overall edge after winning Thursday’s classic race. Freeport was third with 111 total points.
In the boys competition, Maranacook had 45 to Freeport’s 60. Yarmouth was third with 128 points.
Yarmouth’s Grace Cowles won the girls’ freestyle race in a 17 minutes, 11.3 seconds. Yarmouth’s John Lane won the boys’ race in 14:07.
“We had individuals who won both races, and in the girls’ championship we tied (Maranacook) in the (freestyle). You can’t do much better than that,” said Yarmouth Coach Bob Morse. “And we had four girls in the top 10. That’s amazing.”
For the Maranacook girls, it was a hard-fought victory that required individuals to dig deep – and the team to dig deep into the lineup. They got a lift from freshman Maura Taylor, who placed third among the Black Bears skiers and seventh overall (18:07.4).
Junior Laura Parent led Maranacook with a second-place finish in the freestyle (17:15.1) and a first place finish in the classical on Thursday.
Abigail Despres, the second skier in for the Black Bears, placed fourth in the freestyle (17:56.6) and Madison Taylor finished 12th (18:48.4) for a team total of 25 points Friday.
“This is the first time I’ve ever raced in a T-shirt, but we are pretty good skiing in adverse conditions,” Parent said of the soft snow. “I thought it was tough. I know I’m strong in classical, but I knew I had to ski really well today. We’ve been working super hard for this title for years.”
After Parent the squad has shared scoring duties swapping places through the season, said
Maranacook Coach Steve DeAngelis sweeping the girls’ and boys’ state titles was special.
“We knew we’d be good,” said DeAngelis, now in his 34th year coaching Maranacook. “But last year the girls put four in the top 10 and we still didn’t win.”
In the boys race, Maranacook again got a lift from a freshman. Carter McPhedran, Maranacook’s fourth skier, placing eighth in the freestyle (15:26.5).
“That’s hard for a freshman to do. And he’s (a skinny) guy,” DeAngelis said. “We ended this season with a lot of kids improving.”
The boys team was led by Zach Holman, who took second in the freestyle (14:16.7) after winning the classical race on Thursday.
Mark McLaughlin was Maranacook’s third scorer in the freestyle, taking seventh overall (15:24.4).
“A day like this is hard if you don’t have people to support you,” DeAngelis said. “You have to want to do it for the team. These teams have supported each other all season.”
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