Alpine skiing: EL girls surprise in KVAC; Mtn. Valley leads MVC races

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.

: Mt. Blue’s Mallory Parker makes a turn on her second run in the KVAC Women’s Giant Slalom Championship Wednesday at Black Mountain in Rumford. Parker finished her day with a combined time of 1:49.93, putting her in fourth place in the conference.

: Determination is written all over the face of Mt. Blue’s Kyle Farrington as he competes in the KVAC Men’s Giant Slalom Championship Wednesday at Black Mountain in Rumford. Farrington took third in his conference.

: J.J. Jansen from Winthrop clears a gates during the MVC Men’s Giant Slalom Championship in Rumford Wednesday. Jansen took second place in his conference.

: Maranacook’s Alec Daigle took second place in the KVAC Men’s Giant Slalom Championship Wednesday in Rumford.

: Erin Guilmet from Maranacook High School in Readfield goes through a gate on the Kennebec Valley Area Conference Women’s Giant Slalom Championship Wednesday in Rumford. Guilmet placed sixth with an overall time of 1:51.13.

: Nick Newman from Mtn. Valley flies down the slopes at Black Mountain in Rumford Wednesday during the Mountain Valley Conference Men’s Giant Slalom. Newman took the top spot in his conference with a combined time of 1:38.14.

: Mt. Abram’s Emily Listowich pushes it on her second run of the MVC Women’s Giant Slalom Championship Wednesday in Rumford. Listowich finished the run with a time of 58.11, which put her in sixth place in the Mountain Valley Conference.

: Amy Dehaas rounds the gate with a smile as she competes in the Mountain Valley Conference Women’s Giant Slalom Wednesday in Rumford. Dehaas placed seventh.

: Samantha Herrick from Edward Little competes in the KVAC Women’s Giant Slalom Championship Wednesday in Rumford. She placed 13th in her conference.

: Leavitt’s Abbie Gaudette competes in the KVAC Women’s Giant Slalom Championship Wednesday at Black Mountain in Rumford. Gaudette finished with a combined time of 1:58.03 and in 14th place in the Kennebec Valley Area Conference.

: Oxford’s Matt Michaud tears through a gate at the KVAC Men’s Giant Slalom Championship in Rumford Wednesday. Michaud did not start his second run, therefore did not place.

: Aaron Speakman from Telstar fall on his first run of the Men’s Giant Slalom Wednesday in Rumford in a spot that gave a lot of the boys competing trouble.