FARMINGTON — The Mt. Blue boys’ alpine ski team was four points away from three-peating as the Class A State champion last season.

The Cougars made up 20 points on the second day of competition at Mt. Abram. The problem on the first day was that they took coach Mark Cyr’s message to literally.

“They skied cautiously, they didn’t have the confidence that they really needed at a state meet,” Cyr said. “I tell the kids, if you have two solid runs, you are going to do well, the team is going to do well at a state meet. You don’t have to set any records, but I think they went too far and skied too conservative. They just didn’t get the fast times.”

The conservative approach of last season’s second-place finish to Edward Little has rejuvenated the Cougars as they try to become the kings of the mountain once again (They have won six state championships since 2005.

The plan is simple headed into the 2016-17 season:

“I think if that we just work hard, like we always do, focus up and ski like every race is like the state race, we will be all set,” Mt. Blue senior Miles Pelletier said.

The Cougars lost three key skiers in Kyle Farrington, Dylan Roberts and Mitch Guillaume, but they have three solid returners in Pelletier, junior Hunter Bolduc and sophomore Sam Smith. Smith was named to the Sun Journal’s alpine skiing all-region first team, while Pelletier was named to the second team. Bolduc received honorable mention.

Cyr said that Mt. Blue has been putting the work in so far, hitting the gym twice a week and training at Titcomb Mountain three times a week.

Bolduc believes last season’s results has been a driving force for the preparation of this season.

“Being that close drives you to be better the next year, not only as an individual but as a team,” Bolduc said. “It really lights a fire and pushes you that much harder.”

Cyr is also excited for the newcomers and the pedigree they bring to the table.

“I’ve got three freshmen total, Eli Yeaton, Aubrey Barrett and Nate Rackliff,” Cyr said. “Eli, especially, is coming off a great junior high (career). He did outstanding. I think he’s going to step right in and fill the shoes of like a Kyle Farrington. Kyle was outstanding last year, and I think Eli as a freshmen can fill those shoes.”

Bolduc, now an upperclassman, knows how important the previous upperclassmen were in his development and is ready to help the younger guys this season.

“They definitely showed what I am striving for,” Bolduc said. “We had one of the top skiers in Class A on our team. You always want to push yourself to be as good, if not better. You keep trying your best to make it the best team as you can”.

The athletes have a strong sense of the history of the program because they are reminded of that history everywhere they go.

“Because I keep reminding them,” Cyr chuckled. “There’s trophies and stuff in our race building and the lodge itself. On a regular basis, I say, ‘Hey, look at this,’ and go through some of the names and stuff. I remind them on a regular basis that Mt. Blue has a long history of winning ski championships.

“A lot of them have parents and their parents are eager to remind them, ‘Hey, when I skied at Mt. Blue, we won this and we won that.’ It’s just not me, it’s also the parents. Even the people at Titcomb itself — the manager, the people that run Buddy Warner, the Nano Webber program — they talk to the kids all the time about it and remind them about it. There’s a long history their and we have to keep the legacy up.”

Pelletier said the skiers understand the history so much because they want to keep the dynasty going and not lower the standards of the program. He said that having the community reminding them about the championships the school has won helps everyone compete to their full potential.

Cyr said part of what makes the program so successful is having Titcomb Mountain right in town, allowing the Cougars to ski almost every day, once there’s enough snow on the ground. In the past, they have gone to Saddleback on the weekends to practice on a bigger mountain. Since they can’t do that this season, they hope to get to Sugarloaf on the weekends.

nfournier@sunjournal.com