TURNER - Nordic skiing is one of high school's most ruggedly individual sports. Explore the trophy case at Leavitt for longer than a minute or two, though, and you'll discover that cross country ski racing is its consummate team sport.

Perhaps no athlete in the state is a more worthy poster child for that delicate balance than Justin Fereshetian.

Leavitt landed the Class A team championship each of his first three seasons. On the heels of third-place finishes in both the classical and freestyle races last February, Fereshetian is primed to add at least one individual gold medal to his prize closet.

If he were forced to accept one without the other, there would be no hesitation and no contest.

"From my freshman year to my junior year, we've been state champs. None of us want to leave that at three. We want to take it to four," Fereshetian said. "It's a great reward, but there's a lot of pressure that comes along with it."

After some mixed results at the start of the latest title defense, the Hornets appear to be hitting a mid-winter stride. On the strength of a late-race pass by Fereshetian, Leavitt's top four skiers edged Mt. Blue at Saturday's Telstar Relays.

"Each year he's had different goals," Leavitt coach Dustin Williamson said of his senior anchor. "This year he has some great goals: Making the Junior Nationals and becoming a state champion. But the team is really important for him. You need the team."

Born into an athletic family - his father, Al, is a longtime running coach at Bates College - Fereshetian first put on a pair of cross country skis in third grade and began racing a year later.

Asked what element of the sport hooked him in a world where basketball and hockey seem to offer more immediate applause and gratification, Fereshetian's answer is simple and revealing: "Everything."

"The thing about skiing is it's not just how good you are," he continued. "There's a talent component, which is important, but there's also a technique component, a scientific component with waxing, and an equipment component. All those factors make it exciting."

And yes, there's a team component.

With fellow seniors Danny Pellerin, L.T. Sierra and Drake Smith and juniors Lauren Turner, Harry Wiegman and Nate Theriault jockeying for position behind Fereshetian in every race, there is no shortage of candidates to score points and help Leavitt hold off nearby nemesis Mt. Blue and newcomer Greely at next month's Class A showcase.

"We've had a really good focus on what we want to accomplish in the state and the KVAC. The senior boys don't let (the streak) get to them," said Williamson. "They know what to do to be in position for it. They work with each other and push each other."

Fereshetian leads that dogged pursuit by example, running year-round and watching skiing videos to improve his technique even in the heat of summer.

Bates and the University of Maine at Presque Isle top Fereshetian's list of college choices. While waiting to hear back from both schools, he hasn't stopped trying to pad his resume.

"I think in his focus, in his self-determination, he's really gotten better from his freshman year to this year," said Williamson. "He came to me before the season and I could see it in his eyes the way he told me: 'I really want to be a state champion. I really, really want to be a state champion.' "