They weren’t imagining things.
The Red Eddies’ girls, paced by a sixth-place finish from Brooke Lever, are one point in front of Camden Hills, 47-48, after the giant slalom event, with Saturday’s slalom event at Titcomb Mountain in Farmington left to race.
“To have all four in the top 20, that’s amazing,” EL coach Tara Eretzian said. “I think overall, we’re a better team in the slalom, but Camden has some great skiers, too. It’s going to be a knock-down, drag-out fight on Saturday.”
According to her coach, Lever, a sophomore, came out of her shell this season and has catapulted up the standings.
“Right now, she’s competing at a high level,” Eretzian said. “She’s had a phenomenal season and she’s been pulling out top-notch finishes.”
Maranacook sits in third place, lurking close with 54 points.
The top local KVAC racer was Annika Kahkonen of Oxford Hills in second position. Evelyn Thompson of Hampden Academy won the KVAC race with a combined time of 1:44.04.
Mallory Parker of Mt. Blue placed fourth, and teammate Katerina Bessey placed ninth, but they were the only two Mt. Blue skiers to compete, leaving the Cougars without a team score.
Erin Guilmet was the top racer for the Black Bears in sixth position.
In the KVAC boys’ race, Maranacook ruled the hill, placing four skiers among the top 12 times to earn a scant 25 points, 14 better than Mt. Blue in second position.
Alec Daigle was the top skier for the Black Bears, posting a second-place finish in a time of 1:35.67.
Mike Miller of Skowhegan won the race in 1:35.50.
Kyle Farrington led the way for the Cougars with a third-place run, while Maranacook also placed Matt Delmar (fifth) and Kelby Mace (sixth) in the top 10.
Lewiston’s Reilly Bolduc, competing as an independent, placed seventh, while EL’s top skier, Tanner Dillingham, rounded out the top 10.
Mountain Valley tops in MVC
The Mountain Valley girls’ and boys’ alpine ski teams are well on their way to an MVC crown after a solid first day of competition at Black Mountain.
The boys dominated their race, placing all six of their skiers in the top 10 and piling up just 15 points.
Nick Newman led the way for the Falcons with a first-place finish, clocking in at 1:38.14. Andrew Arsenault (third), Chris Bourret (fourth) and Nate Legere (seventh) also scored in the win.
Spruce Mountain’s boys’ squad is in second place after Wednesday’s giant slalom, led by Devan Pomeroy in fifth position. Telstar, Mt. Abram and Winthrop round out the MVC teams.
In the girls’ race, the Falcons have more points, but also have a bigger lead.
Sarah Klein and Katie Collette went 2-3 for Mountain Valley in a 20-point effort, good for a 26-point advantage over Mt. Abram, despite a first-place finish from the Roadrunners’ Elise Luce.
Luce’s time of 1:38.21 was more than five seconds better than Klein’s, and would have placed her first in the KVAC girls’ race, and second in the MVC boys’ race.
Spruce Mountain sits third in the girls’ team event, with Telstar in fourth.
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