PRESQUE ISLE and MARS HILL, Maine – Area hotels and restaurants were once again booked up as the local ski areas hosted a two major events. The high school ski season wrapped up over the week with the Class C high school state championships in Alpine and Nordic skiing and lots of local athletes were on hand to enjoy the festivities.
The Central Aroostook boys’ team won the Alpine championships with 109 combined points in slalom and giant slalom events. Following were Fort Kent with 123 points and Telstar of Bethel with 151 points.
Leading the way in slalom was Derek Smith in seventh place with a two-run combined time of one minute and 17.43 seconds. Following for the Panthers were Travis McDonald in 13th at 1:22.07; Ethan Garrison in 14th at 1:22.60; Gregory Cousins in 26th at 1:29.89; and Caleb Jewett in 49th at 1:52.30.
Smith also led the way in the giant slalom event with a two-run combined time of 1:25.14, good enough for second place. Following were Garrison in eighth at 1:28.26; McDonald in 17th at 1:30.24; Matt Graves in 22nd at 1:32.16; Cousins in 23rd at 1:32.21; and Ethan Stiles in 38th at 1:35.83.
Fort Fairfield fielded one competitor for the Alpine events. Mitchell McLaughlin took 10th in the slalom with a time of 1:19.83 and 18th in the giant slalom with a time of 1:30.30.
Brendan McLaughlin led the way for the Tigers in the classical cross-country skiing event with a second-place finish and a time of 16:46. Following were Mitchell McLaughlin in 15th at 18:49.54; Ian Towle in 27th at 20:01.93; Patrick Kinsey in 39th at 21:15.97; and Noah Rush-Mabry in 43rd at 21:34.86.
Central Aroostook finishers included Garrison in 30th at 20:12.54; Graves in 49th at 22:40.89; and Smith in 61st at 26:18.36.
Brendan McLaughlin led the Tigers in the freestyle event as well with a seventh-place finish and a time of 16:06.31. Following were Mitchell McLaughlin in 15th at 17:07.87; Towle in 36th at 18:51.33; Rush-Mabry in 38th at 18:53.83; and Kinsey in 58th at 23:35.24.
Garrison led Central Aroostook in 23rd at 17:39.71. Following were Graves in 29th at 18:25.11; and Smith in 53rd at 22:33.97.
On the girls’ side, the Lady Panthers finished sixth in the Alpine events with a combined team total of 201 points. Telstar took the team title with 35 points followed by Fort Kent with 123.
Leading Central Aroostook in the slalom event was Brooke Smith with a two-run combined time of 1:23.58, good enough for second place. Following were Nicole McQuade in 17th at 1:35.36; Lauren Antworth in 34th at 1:51.01; and Amanda Sam in 42nd at 2:03.18.
Smith led Central Aroostook in the giant slalom as well with a fourth-place finish at 1:30.52. Following were McQuade in 21st at 1:43.27; Antworth in 30th at 1:50.36; and Sam in 50th at 2:43.87.
Fort Fairfield’s Hilary McNamee took the individual title in both the classical and freestyle cross-country skiing events.
In Classical McNamee led the pack with a time of 18:00.31. Following for the Lady Tigers were Rose-Mary Williams in 11th at 20:52.49; Shannon Towle in 24th at 24:00.71; and Sadie Ayoob in 35th at 25:48.71.
In the freestyle event, McNamee earned the win with a time of 16:14.67. She was followed by Williams in 9th at 18:59.46; and Towle in 30th at 23:43.84.
McQuade and Smith were the only two competitors for Central Aroostook. McQuade finished 29th in the classical event at 24:57.44 and 23rd in the freestyle at 22:52.84. Smith finished 43rd in the classical at 27:40.80 and 41st in the freestyle at 25:50.11.
