When Lauren Turner skated through the finish line at the Class A Nordic freestyle championships, he knew his time was solid.

"Everyone around me was saying, 'Oh my God that was a great finish,'" Turner said. "I knew it was a fast track, and I was feeling great that day."

Last week at the Junior Olympic qualifier event in New Hampshire, when he slid across the line in 20th, he wasn't so sure.

And he was far more exhausted.

But it was worth it.

"That's a whole different competition, so to finish 20th, that's great," Turner said. "In my previous race in Presque Isle, I was nowhere near that time."

Turner, a junior at Leavitt Area High School, is one of 22 Nordic skiers from around New England chosen to represent the region at the United States Ski and Snowboard Association's Junior Olympics in Anchorage, Alaska.

"I'm pretty pumped for it," Turner said. "I'm excited to be there with the other guys from Maine, and from New England."

Turner's Leavitt teammate Justin Fereshetian is a second-alternate for the races, which run March 10-15 at Kincaid Park in Anchorage.

"Both of them are so motivated," Leavitt coach Dustin Williamson said. "All season, at the Junior Olympic qualifying races, they were back and forth in the points."

"Training with a partner helps," Turner said. "It's great to have someone out there pushing you, and it was great we went 1-2 in both state events."

The pair never missed important school-related races, and even skipped an event or two in the qualifying series to be there with the team at the KVAC championships and at the state meet.

While in high school races, athletes compete on 5-kilometer courses, Turner and Fereshetian get into 10- and 15-kilometer races at the larger events.

"It takes more training, more finesse," Williamson said. "It takes a different kind of athlete to do well at the Junior Olympic qualifiers."