FORT KENT, Maine — The Fort Kent boys and girls ski teams once again claimed a championship victory during the 2025 MPA Class C State Nordic Championships held in Rumford last month.
Fort Kent Community High School Nordic ski coach Carl Theriault said this is the fifth championship in a row for the girls team and the third in a row for the boys team. It is also the third state championship award for Alden Reardon.
“It’s just amazing,” Theriault said. “I never expected that kind of run at all. We’ve just had a really solid group of athletes that have worked together for several years — since they were in seventh and eighth grade.”
Reardon was named the 2025 Class C Freestyle state champion with a winning time of 13:30.7. Another Fort Kent skier, Fletcher Marquis, claimed second place with a time of 14:06.9. The third place spot was claimed by another Aroostook skier, Ben Chartier of Fort Fairfield, with a time of 14:55.2.
Clara White of Orono was named the 2025 Class C state champion for the girls freestyle with a time of 14:26.6. Rowan Tanguay of Fort Kent was second place with a time of 16:14.4. And Soren Stark-Chessa of Maine Coast received third place with a time of 16:52.9.
Next year, the Fort Kent Outdoor Center will host the next state meet. Theriault said the meet is now on a three-year rotation and that it will come to Aroostook once every three years.
Theriault said skiers on both teams are feeling both happy and satisfied that they’re bringing home another championship this year.
“They put in the hard work all year,’ he said, “and it feels so good to see it come to fruition.”
He said it’s hard to tell what’s going to happen at the state ski meet, since the skiers are strictly training in Aroostook County.
Theriault said many of the skiers in the Fort Kent program also participate in Alpine and Biathlon skiing.
“That’s the only way we can build teams up here, because we have such a small school,” Theriault said.
As a result, students in Fort Kent’s ski programs are getting plenty of training.
And when they’re not involved in Nordic, Alpine or biathlon skiing, many on the team are just skiing for fun. Theriault said they will often ski together as a group whenever they have a free weekend, just for fun.
“That’s the beauty of our sport,” he said. “It’s fun. So you don’t ever have to drag them out. They love to be there. They rarely miss a practice because it’s so fun. And that’s the key to the whole sport.”
