Julia Pomeroy of Spruce Mountain High School competes during her first run of the Maine Class B giant slalom championship at Black Mountain in Rumford on Thursday. Pomeroy won the race. (Sun Journal photo by Daryn Slover)

RUMFORD — The course lights came on, the temperatures started dropping — and so did the skiers — during the Maine Class B Alpine state championships at Black Mountain on Thursday.

There were spills and chills on the slopes, but the Lathrop brothers were still in town and kept their balance on the super-fast course to each turn in top-10 performances in the giant slalom for Cape Elizabeth High School. The Lathrops also occupied the top 10 in slalom competition on Wednesday.

Spruce Mountain’s Julia Pomeroy won the girls giant slalom state title ahead of second-place Abigail Landry of Telstar.

The Lathrop brothers help hand the Capers a Class B Alpine title with 1,567 points, followed by Yarmouth (1,504) and Fort Kent (1,400). Gray-New Gloucester placed sixth (1,346) and Spruce Mountain was seventh (1,313).

In giant slalom, Cape prevailed with 781 points, followed by Yarmouth 752 and John Bapst 702. Spruce Mountain came in sixth (668).

“They had a showing today, didn’t they?” Cape Elizabeth assistant coach Andrew LaBonty said. “They all came to race and they raced hard. I have known those boys since they were 3 years old and they all can ski great.

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“They had a good showing today. They (team) works hard and are dedicated to the sport and I think they have proven that and their hard work has paid off. They keep working at it, they’ve got a future.”

Devon Lathrop snatched first place with a combined time of 1:42.93. He was followed by his brother, Killian, with his second-place time of 1:43.95. Tiernan Lathrop finished fifth with a time of 1:45.05. Their teammate Stewart Gagnon (1:48.18) finished 10th.

“Devon beat me this time; I won yesterday,” Killian Lathrop said. “(The course) was pretty ruddy on the second run. The first run was soft.

“The first run, I was kind of mad. I fell a little bit, but I still got a pretty good finish, sixth or something. The second run I didn’t have anything to lose … came back a little bit.”

Devon was proud of himself after coming back from surgery.

“I am pretty stoked, honestly,” Devon said. “So my yearlong goal was coming back from ACL surgery. I was out for a full season, kind of putting back the pieces.

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“Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect. I hadn’t trained in GS in probably a week. I’ve been on slalom skis everyday. I kind of went into it blind, not with really high expectations, so I was hoping we all at least made top 10.”

Yarmouth’s Thomas Morris (1:44.00) and Asher Lockwood (1:45.64) finished third and seventh, respectively.

“We have an incredible coaching staff,” Yarmouth coach Gavin Glider said “I have three wonderful assistant coaches.

“I think the kids did a phenomenal job. At the start of the season we had two incredible girls teams who lost … and we made a lot of surprises happen this year. The boys lived up to everything we could have asked for. It has been a phenomenal season — great group of athletes.”

Maranacook’s Robbie McKee (1:46.13) and Pierre Hickey (1:46.75) took eighth and ninth, respectively.

Spruce Mountain’s Gage Sampson finished 14th with a time of 1:50.89.

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“(The course) was pretty fast, a little tight, though,” Sampson said. “Snow is still good. Should be pretty good for the rest of them.”

POMEROY WINS GIRLS GS

Maranacook took the girls state Alpine title with 1,501 points, followed by Fort Kent (1,462), Spruce Mountain (1,439) Yarmouth (1,425) and Telstar (1,424).

The Black Bears also came out on top in the giant slalom with 758 points, ahead of Spruce Mountain (725), Fort Kent 719, Telstar (708), Yarmouth (708), Mountain Valley (701), and Rangeley (685).

Pomeroy, a senior at Spruce Mountain feels the need for speed on the slopes.

She was certainly fast on the course, gliding off with a first-place finish in a winning time of 1:47.47. She was a third-place finisher in slalom racing on Wednesday

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“GS has always been my favorite since I was little,” she said. “I used to do mock GSs like since the second or third grade, and it has just always been my favorite.

“I always tolerated slalom, but I would get through the slalom races and the slalom training to get to GS and to better myself in GS. Just to be a senior and have my very last GS race with a win is just like very special.

“I just like going fast and I feel like GS is the perfect place to let them go, go as fast as you can.”

Spruce Mountain coach Bill Acritelli was proud of Pomeroy and the rest of the team’s performances.

“Overall, boys and girls did well,” Acritelli said. “Julia, my GS champion, her senior year, I am speechless.”

Telstar’s Landry (1:49.73) took second place and Maranacook’s Katie Ide (1:50.24) glided in at third.

“(The course) was good. It was fast,” Ide said. “I think my first run I had a really clean run, but my second run, I was maybe going for a little bit more.”

Cam Gallant of Mountain Valley High School competes during the Maine Class B giant slalom championship at Black Mountain in Rumford on Thursday. (Sun Journal photo by Daryn Slover)

Bailey Coates of Spruce Mountain High School competes during the Maine Class B giant slalom championship at Black Mountain in Rumford on Thursday. (Sun Journal photo by Daryn Slover)

Alice MacKay of Mt. Abram High School competes during the Maine Class B giant slalom championship at Black Mountain in Rumford on Thursday. MacKay placed fourth. (Sun Journal photo by Daryn Slover)

Ellie Leduc of Mountain Valley High School competes during the Maine Class B giant slalom championship at Black Mountain in Rumford on Thursday. (Sun Journal photo by Daryn Slover)

Thomas Morris of Yarmouth High School competes during the Maine Class B giant slalom championship at Black Mountain in Rumford on Thursday. Morris placed third. (Sun Journal photo by Daryn Slover)

Devon Lathrop of Cape Elizabeth High School competes during his second run of the Maine Class B giant slalom championship at Black Mountain in Rumford on Thursday. Lathrop won the race. (Sun Journal photo by Daryn Slover)

Robbie McKee of Maranacook High School competes during the Maine Class B giant slalom championship at Black Mountain in Rumford on Thursday. McKee placed eighth. (Sun Journal photo by Daryn Slover)

Katie Ide of Maranacook High School competes during the Maine Class B giant slalom championship at Black Mountain in Rumford on Thursday. Ide placed third. (Sun Journal photo by Daryn Slover)

Abigal Landry of Telstar High School competes during the Maine Class B giant slalom championship at Black Mountain in Rumford on Thursday. Landry placed second. (Sun Journal photo by Daryn Slover)


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