RUMFORD — Thomas Rabon broke the stick at the start 30 seconds behind Kelton Cullenberg of Mt. Blue in the staggered start, pursuit format of the classical race at the Class A Nordic skiing championships at Black Mountain.

His Leavitt squad began the day with a 12-point cushion in the Nordic race after a 26-point performance in Tuesday’s freestyle race.

With Cullenberg, Mt. Blue’s top skier, in his sights, Rabon set out to help his Hornets at least maintain their advantage to earn the Nordic title.

Mission accomplished.

Leavitt bettered Mt. Blue by 14 points Thursday, earning a 26-point victory over the Cougars to win the Class A Nordic skiing title.

“When I got to high school hill (a famed, steep climb about four kilometers into the 5-kilometer race), I just gave it all I had,” Rabon said. “At the top, that’s when I caught (Cullenberg).”

Rabon and Cullenberg dueled to the finish line, but with Cullenberg’s head start, Rabon’s time was 30 seconds better – good enough to win the race, his second victory of the week.

“He’s amazing,” Leavitt coach Dustin Williamson said. “Two state championship race wins under his belt as a sophomore. I can get into all kinds of words in the dictionary to describe him, but he was just amazing.”

Rabon led the squad in first, while Dylan Chase and Derek Drouin took eighth and ninth and Travis Adams rounded out the top four Hornets’ skiers in 12th.

“We came into today like it was tied,” Williamson said. “I’ve seen teams come in with leads like that and it diminish real fast. Our mental thought process was that we were tied, and we needed to ski like we wanted it.”

The Cougars knew ahead of time they had a hard task ahead.

“We had a lot of ground to make up,” Mt. Blue coach Dave Nordstrom said. “I think a lot of it was their top skier. He wasn’t feeling well, he’s been ill, and we haven’t seen what he can do all season. We’re very happy for him; he skied very well.”

Cullenberg, meanwhile, finished fifth to lead Mt. Blue to a second-place finish in the Nordic events. Brody Hines also placed in the top 10, while Richie Brooks and Nick Wilkins rounded out the Cougars’ top four.

The consolation for the Cougars’ squad, though, isn’t half bad.

With a second-place finish in the Nordic events (82 points), and a win on the hill earlier in the week, Mt. Blue took home another Class A overall ski title, its ninth in 11 years.

“There are two sides coming into the race, to win a Nordic title for ourselves, but also to help the team win the overall,” Nordstrom said. “Some years, the alpine is helping us out, sometimes we’re helping them out. It’s really great we’ve been keeping this up for so long. It’s really all about our community, all of the volunteers that keep it going.”

Greely, Fryeburg and Oxford Hills rounded out the top five in the Nordic competition, while Leavitt placed second in the overall competition. Greely was third, followed by Oxford Hills, Fryeburg and Hampden.

Class B

Justin Greeley of Maranacook was 17 seconds better than the rest of the field as he won the Class B classical race in Rangeley on Thursday. Teammate Tyler DeAngelis scampered home in fifth position, and the Black Bears won the event. The victory was also enough for the Black Bears to overtake Falmouth for the Class B Nordic title.

Falmouth began the day with a four-point advantage.

The Yachtsmen still managed to hang on to the Class B overall title, beating out WMC rival Yarmouth by just two points. Maranacook finished fourth in the overall, Mountain Valley claimed the sixth spot and Gray-New Gloucester came in ninth.

Class C

Nicholas Michaud of Fort Kent placed second in Thursday’s classical race and Freeport’s Henry Loughlin paced his team in fourth. Loughlin’s finish, though lower, helped Freeport make up a three-point difference as the Falcons rallied on Thursday to beat the Warriors by three to earn a share of the Class C Nordic championship at 10th Mountain Center in Fort Kent.

Fort kent held on in the overall race, though, and earned the Class C skiing title with a 122-219 win over Freeport. Livermore Falls placed third, followed by Winthrop and Telstar.