After his sophomore ski season, Miles Pelletier had a decision to make. Until that point, Pelletier competed in both alpine and Nordic events, chasing the Skimeister title.
“Anybody who does (Skimeister) is shortchanging themselves,” Mt. Blue alpine ski coach Mark Cyr said. “When Miles decided to concentrate on alpine, it was amazing.”
A Mt. Blue High School senior, Pelletier completed a strong senior season, placing first in the slalom at the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference championship, and placing fifth in the giant slalom at the Class A state championship meet. Choosing to focus on alpine skiing worked out.
“I think I just had a lot more fun doing it,” Pelletier said. “The bottom line is, we do sports for fun.”
For his efforts on the slopes this season, Miles Pelletier is the Morning Sentinel Boys Alpine Skier of the Year.
As an offensive tackle for Mt. Blue’s football team, the 6-foot-2, 210-pound Pelletier was a second-team all Pine Tree Conference selection last fall. Cyr said Pelletier compares favorably for Jordan Stevens, a 2005 Mt. Blue graduate who also was a football/skiing standout. Like Stevens, who went on to captain the University of Maine football team as an all-conference defensive lineman, Pelletier is able to use his size and experience in the weight room to attack the course, particularly the giant slalom, and generate speed.
“I use Jordan as the example all the time for the advantages of weight training,” Cyr said. “Miles is such a strong kid. When he comes down, all the other coaches are watching. He’s creating G forces, and he can handle it.”
Pelletier, who also plays baseball for the Cougars, said his work in the weight room has made him a better skier.
“I lift quite a bit. It really helps all the the sports I play,” Pelletier said. “A lot of guys, they go around a corner, and they don’t have the strength to really dig into the snow… If you save two-hundreths of a second on every turn, it adds up.”
Pelletier and Cyr both think the giant slalom is Pelletier’s stronger event, and he showed it in the Class A state meet at Mt. Abram. Pelletier ran two strong runs in the GS, 46.6 seconds and 48.16 seconds to earn fifth place.
In taking first place in the slalom at the KVAC meet at Titcomb Mountain, Pelletier said conditions were not ideal, with the race coming on the heels of a heavy snowfall.
“It required a little more technical work than normal,” Pelletier said.
Pelletier’s final high school ski race was set to come in the Eastern high school championships at Attitash in New Hampshire, March 10-12. Prior to the event, Pelletier looked forward to the competition.
“Some of thos guys are incredible skiers,” he said.
Pelletier plans to study engineering in college, and is leaning towards attending the University of Maine.
Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242
tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM
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