BRIDGTON — Mt. Blue High School’s trophy case is so packed with skiing hardware that coach Mark Cyr has lost track of just how many Alpine and overall titles the Cougars have won.

Cyr would just as soon his team ski for the moment, which is what they did Saturday at Shawnee Peak to add more gold to their collection.

Trailing Oxford Hills by six points heading into their money event, the slalom, the Cougars just wanted to keep four skiers upright on the icy pitch. They did more than that. They put four skiers in the top 20 to easily pass the Vikings and clinch both the Alpine and overall Class A state championships.

“This is what it’s all about,” said sophomore Kyle Farrington, who led the Cougars with his eighth-place finish. “Getting Alpine is fabulous, and getting the combined makes it all that much better.”

It is Mt. Blue’s 15th overall title since 1981, but their first since Falmouth broke a run of five in a row in 2012.

“We had four (skiers) that stood, and that was key today. We knew it was going to be,” Cyr said. “With the course the way that it was today, it was so important that you just ski a solid top part, then you could let it go at the bottom. That’s exactly what my four that stood did.”

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The all-underclassmen quartet of Farrington, Felix Bonnevie (ninth), Miles Pelletier (15th) and Anthony Franchetti (20th) studied the posted times after their first run and knew the title would come down to staying upright on their second.

That was easier said than done.

“It was definitely a challenge,” Franchetti said. “We had nice sharp skis, so that helped. After that first run, it was a lot more clear that we just had to stand up and that’s what we did.”

Mt. Blue finished with 54 points in the slalom, followed by Skowhegan (73) and Edward Little and Marshwood (87 each). The Cougars eclipsed the Vikings for the Alpine title, 114-150. Edward Little (168) was third.

“Things came together right at the right time,” Cyr said. “We had some problems in the middle of the year, both skiing and some other internal issues. But, they pulled together as a team amazingly. I’m so proud of them.”

Defending champion Falmouth finished second in the overall team scores. Leavitt was third. Falmouth did win the girls’ overall title.

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Two days after winning the giant slalom, Falmouth’s Joseph Lesniak made it an Alpine sweep, winning the slalom with a combined time of 1:23.40. Lewiston’s Reilly Bolduc, who finished third in the GS, was the runner-up Saturday (1:24.56).

“I’m very pleased,” said Bolduc, a senior. “It’s two podiums at states, so I’m happy with it.”

Thomas Lesniak of Falmouth was third. Other local skiers in the top 20 were Tanner Dillingham (sixth) and Evan Mancini (seventh) of Edward Little and Chris Burns (11th) and Matt Michaud (12th) of Oxford Hills.

Pelletier won the boys’ skimeister competition.

Like Joseph Lesniak on the boys’ side, Greely’s Elyse Dinan completed the sweep with a slalom title two days after winning the GS. Dinan, a senior, finished with a combined time of 1:32.93, ahead of runner-up Krysia Lesniak of Falmouth (1:36.25).

“It feels great,” said Dinan, who picked up her first two state titles. “I’ve always kind of dreamed of it. I was hoping for top three (on Thursday). I race a lot of these girls in the regualr season and in GS we always go back-and-forth. But in slalom, as long as I skied it well, I thought I had a pretty good chance.”

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Alex Shapiro of Falmouth was third, followed by Mt. Blue senior Mallory Parker.

Parker went into Saturday feeling relaxed after clinching a spot in Sunday’s EHSC Shootout with her eighth-place finish in the GS.

“It’s a long course. I think a lot of it was about skiing smart, especially at the top, and then loosening it and letting it go at the bottom and then just going for it,” Parker said. “I think the course is so long. Nobody is really going to have a perfect run. So it’s all about sticking with it.”

Annika Kahkonen of Oxford Hills took 14th while Alesha Gregoire of Lewiston finished 16th. Edward Little’s Samantha Herrick placed 17th, and Leavitt’s Abbie Gaudette was 20th.

Greely won the slalom and Alpine titles. Edward Little was third in the Alpine standings.

Falmouth held off Greely to win the overall title. Leavitt was third, Oxford Hills fourth.


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