AUBURN – Chill. Relax. Ski hard – but have fun.

Not the usual attitude one might expect from the defending state Class A alpine champion.

“These guys are just so laid back,” coach Tara Eretzian said. “It’s so fun coaching them.”

Edward Little is hardly the usual team.

Three years removed from a return to prominence in the high school alpine skiing world, the Eddies are on the doorstep of another milestone: A third Class A alpine title in four years.

The team’s relaxed attitude has helped, the skiers said. There’s no pressure, even in bigger meets.

“It’s very relaxed,” sophomore J.J. Jackson said. “It’s nice to know that you have people behind you, to pick you up, just in case. You feel much more comfortable in the start gate when you go. That’s pretty much how we are.”

Things haven’t always been so comfy, even during the team’s current run. In 2006, the Eddies completed the perfect run: Four skiers stayed on their feet for two complete runs in each discipline. There was no room for error, and they made none.

“In ski racing, you always want everyone to stand, but with this group, we have some buffers,” Eretzian said. “It’s a great competition among the team, who’s beating who.”

That, the skiers agreed, was a heck of a lot more nerve-wracking than this year’s edition. Mitch Snowe, now a senior, was a freshman on that team.

“I still want to do well, but there’s less pressure,” Snowe said. “You can make a little mistake, and there’ll be someone out there to pick up the slack for me.”

Now in his final season, Snowe uses that lesson at every meet. First place is important, he said, but the team comes first.

“I want to win, of course, but I also want the team to win,” Snowe said. “I’m not going to push it my hardest if I don’t have to.”

“They all are realizing that,” Eretzian said. “They don’t need to ski out of their heads, they just have to ski and have fun.”

As usual, the conference champion’s primary competition comes from a fellow KVAC school: Mt. Blue. The Cougars have been close to Edward Little all season, and more so in the slalom than in the GS.

But put together, EL is going to be tough to beat.

“Watching them ski, it’s just been miles,” Eretzian said. “They’ve skied, and skied, and skied, and skied. They’re there, they’re ready, and they’re pumped.”

Rinse, wash, repeat

On the girls’ side of things, Mt. Blue clearly has the edge over Edward Little, though the Eddies are making noise in the girls’ alpine competition for the first time in a while. EL finished second at the KVAC meet this season.

But the day belonged to the Cougars, and their alpine teams are one big reason why the team is again favored to earn the overall title.

Class B is on its way north. The WMC powerhouses will join Mountain Valley, Mt. Abram and a host of Aroostook County schools at this year’s Class B state meet at Big Rock and Nodric Heritage Center in Presque Isle.

Mt. Abram created waves last season with dominance on the hill in the girls’ competition, and Yarmouth celebrated an overall title. The Clippers were the class of the competition at the WMC meet this winter, and should again be favored for the overall title.

Class C remains one of the deeper races in the state. Fort Kent is traditionally strong in the Nordic events, and Madawaska has the same tradition in the alpine disciplines. Both of those schools travel south this season and bring John Bapst with them to test Telstar, Jay, Winthrop and the rest of the MVC powers at Sunday River and Black Mountain.

From the WMC, Freeport has been a team to tangle with in recent years, too, and the competition the Falcons see all winter make them an instant contender.