There’s often a mentality among siblings that connotes rivalry.

“Anything you can do, I can do better,” a popular company’s advertising campaign once squawked, referring to the rise of women’s athletics and their ability to play alongside their male counterparts.

Siblings often take that competition to heart, and often, it makes them better at what they do.

For the Luce family of skiers at Mt. Abram, that inner competition has extended well beyond their biological family, and it has helped the small school gain plenty of notoriety along the way.

“There’s the competition, of course,” Bob Luce, who wears hats as both coach and father, said. “But they have a lot of fun doing it. There are a lot of friendships formed in ski racing, and while you’re always out there to compete and to do your best, it’s such a unique setting that you get to do it among friends, not one team against another.”

This year, Emily and Erin Luce have epitomized that relationship, helping to lead the Mt. Abram girls to a second-place finish in the Class B alpine races.

“Emily gives Erin someone to chase,” Bob Luce said. “And Emily has her own set of motivators. But it’s a friendly competition to them.”

Emily, a senior, was golden on the slopes this winter. She won both the slalom and giant slalom at the Class B state championships at Saddleback in Rangeley. She was the top qualifier for the Maine team competing in the Eastern Regional championships in early March, and there she placed third in the giant slalom.

At states, after one run of the giant slalom, it was Erin, a sophomore, getting the better of her older sister, blazing the fastest time of the morning session to take the early lead.

“It would have been a longer ride home if that result had held,” Bob said. “To have both of them on the podium, though, that was great to see.”

Erin wound up in second by 0.11 seconds, while she fell back a bit to third in the slalom, though still just 1.23 seconds behind.

But Erin still has a couple of years left at the high school level.

Both skiers got a taste of an even higher level of skiing at the Eastern Regionals, where both had solid efforts over the three-day event.

For all of their accomplishments on the slopes this winter, Emily and Erin Luce of Mt. Abram are the 2010 Sun Journal girls’ alpine skiers of the year.

 First team

 Emily Blackwood, Edward Litte

Abbi Davis, Mt. Blue

Lindsey Jacques, Jay

Emily Luce, Mt. Abram*

Erin Luce, Mt. Abram*

Sam Largess, Telstar

 Second team

 Phoebe Chamberlain, Edward Little

Emily Deane, Mt. Blue

Heather Farrington, Mt. Blue

Allarie Lever, Edward Little

Kera Miller, Mountain Valley

Jayde Purrington, Livermore Falls