RUMFORD – Three weeks from now, six teams – three boys’ and three girls’ – will wear the mantel of 2008 state nordic ski champion. They’ll have picked the right wax, started well and overcome one of the meanest hills around, Black Mountain’s feared High School Hill.

To put it simply, they’ll have earned it.

Saturday, the best teams from across the state gave skiing enthusiasts a dynamic preview of what could be in blustery conditions at the Sassi Memorial Race at Black Mountain.

Winthrop’s Danny Soltan and Justin Carpenter finished 1-2 in the boys’ race to lead the Ramblers to a fifth-place finish, while Mt. Blue locked horns with Class A newcomer Greely for the boys’ team title.

On the girls’ side, Waynflete’s Adele Espy bested the field by more than 36 seconds, but Class B Cape Elizabeth skied off with the team title by nine points over Leavitt. Again, Greely had a strong showing, placing third, 10 points back of the Hornets.

Healthy competition

Soltan and Carpenter are close. They’re friends, yes. But their times are also nearly identical. They have been all year.

“It’s great to have that on the team, that healthy competition,” Soltan said.

The seniors haven’t always been on par with each other. Soltan has been one of the top skiers for Winthrop for four years, while Carpenter has worked his way to that point this year.

“I remember coming to (the Sassi Memorial Race) the last few years and finishing in the middle or near the bottom,” Carpenter said. “It’s nice that I was able to come here this year and finish near the top.”

Near the top, but not quite on top. Carpenter led through the first 60 or so skiers to cross the line, but Soltan crossed with a time just four-tenths of a second faster. The pair’s times held up through the rest of the 231 starters, though, giving the tandem a 1-2 finish, and giving the Ramblers high hopes as they head into MVCs next week and, in three weeks, the state meet.

“It’s great that we went 1-2 here, and it really helps our team,” Soltan said, “but this doesn’t guarantee anything at states. We’re still going to have to work hard, plus we’ll have freestyle, too, and that’s a whole other type of race.”

Weather or not …

The wind whipped through the open trails at the base of Black Mountain, causing spectators lining the deck and bridge to shiver and dance to keep warm.

During the races – during the girls’ race in particular – several skiers fell or went off balance because of the whipping wind.

“It’s hard, because you never know which direction it’s going to come from, or how exactly it’s going to affect you,” Leavitt coach Dustin Williamson said. “It can grab your pole and turn it while its in the air, or even catch you the right way and make you stumble.”

The snow that fell Friday night into Saturday, and the subsequent sleet that fell on top of it, did more than just delay the start by one hour. It also forced some teams to make last-second decision on waxing.

“Greely looked like they hit it just right,” Maranacook coach Steve DeAngelis said. “They were flying.”

“The snow was really sugary out there,” Leavitt’s Justin Fereshetian said after his ninth-place finish. “At parts, it was fast and icy, and then on the downhills you had to get out of the tracks because the snow was so abrasive.”

‘The real states’

To a person Saturday, the atmosphere was a lot less stressful than it will be in three weeks at states, but the results, they said, truly labeled the better teams.

“This is the legit state championship,” Van Tassel said.

“This is the biggest race of the year, even now, for me,” Cape Elizabeth coach Deven Morrill said. “You get to see who everyone is in A, B and C. You’re really going against the best of the best.”

Of the teams with enough skiers to score – 24 boys’ teams and 23 girls’ teams – nine of each compete in Class A, seven in Class B and six in Class C. Gould Academy and Hyde School also raced Saturday, but do not participate in MPA events.

Class B Cape Elizabeth (42 points) beat out Class A Leavitt (51) and Class A Greely (61) on the girls’ side, with Class C Waynflete right behind with 64 points.

On the boys’ side, Greely (54), Mt. Blue (54) and Leavitt (58), all Class A schools, dominated the race, though Class C Winthrop (74) finished tied with Gould in fourth.