RUMFORD – The bright pink frisbee turned end over end as it crashed down into the sow, eventually rolling to a stop next to a snowmobile a staffer at Black Mountain was trying to back into its parking space.
“What a shot!” came the cry from the far end of Broomhall Stadium. “Parents, grandparents and friends of the Mountain valley skiers playing in the makeshift game of frisbee stood above the stadium, recording all of it.
Hours earlier, on that very stretch of track, Tyler Jasud had chugged home in sixth place. Teammate Josh Burke made it home in the No. 20 position, and Dylan Cayer and Jon Gamble finished 32nd and 40th respectively. The numbers were not spectacular and, in fact, were good only for a sixth place finish in the event.
But overall, the numbers were more than enough for the Falcons to soar past Yarmouth, Fryeburg and Maranacook to claim the Class B state skiing title.
“The strategy today was to try and finish ahead of each of the team’s other skiers,” said coach Al Cayer. “We didn’t quite do it, but we came close – close enough. We had a lot of glide on the track today and we placed two skiers in the top 20, which is fantastic.”
And while math is sometimes a sticking point for high schoolers, the members of the team had no problem figuring out how many points the team had tallied by the order of finish. While the Alpine team, which wrapped up a win in its competition Tuesday, played video games inside the waxing building after showing up to support the Nordic team, the Nordic skiers tallied the points. One skier rushed back into the building, which emptied out as they all let out a triumphant yell.
“No one crashed (in the alpine events),” said downhill skier Matt Papsadora. “All year we’ve had problems with people crashing in the top six, and this time, no one fell in two days.”
“We had faith in the cross country racers,” said Tristan LaPointe, also a downhill skier. “We just knew they’d be able to hold on, to pull through.”
Jasud, meanwhile, led the charge, as he has all season.
“We just never really got stressed out today,” said Jasud. “We didn’t think about where we were, but just skied the best we could. My goal all year was to try and get to the top three. There, I am a bit disappointed, but sixth isn’t bad, and the team won.”
The Falcons’ overall title is their first since winning back-to-back Class A state titles in 1996-97.
Overall, Fryeburg leapt over both Maranacook (third) and Yarmouth (fourth) to claim runner-up honors. The Raiders started slowly when a fall in the giant slalom Monday slid them back to sixth, but solid runs in the slalom followed by a third place overall finish in the Nordic events brought them back.
Maranacook had a line on the overall title, as well, but two skiers falling Tuesday in the slalom pushed them out of contention, too. Yarmouth lost the most Wednesday, dropping from second to fourth after finishing fifth in the classical event.
Caribou, meanwhile, demolished the field in the classical race Wednesday, putting up just 15 points, 47 better than second-place Maranacook In the two-event Nordic combined competition, Caribou bested Cape Elizabeth by 73. Maranacook tied with Fryeburg for third in Nordic combined, while Yarmouth rounded out the top five.
Russell Currier, the race winner Wednesday, was one of five Caribou racers in the top nine. Ben Knowles of Greely took second.
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