All-Region Girls Alpine Skier of the Year: Mt. Blue’s Sadie McDonough

Mt. Blue’s Sadie McDonough crests a headwall during the first run of the giant slalom at the Class A Alpine state championships at Black Mountain in Rumford in February. McDonough, a senior, finished fourth in the GS and fifth in the slalom. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Mt. Blue Alpine coach Mark Cyr remembers the first time he met Sadie McDonough, who was a child with a keen interest in skiing at the time.

“I remember when she was just a little girl and her father introduced her to me,” Cyr said. “The father said, ‘This is going to be your ski coach.’ I think she might have been 8 years old or 7 years old. It was pretty cool.

“They were looking into the future, and I think her father was pretty sure (Sadie) was going to do well — and she did. It worked out well for her. I am glad.”

McDonough wrapped up her senior season with two top-five finishes at the Class A Alpine championships, and she has been chosen as the 2021-22 Sun Journal All-Region Girls Alpine Skier of the Year.

Her performance, and that of her teammates, allowed the Mt. Blue girls team to earn its second straight Class A state title as well as the KVAC crown.

“I am really proud of us because my freshman and sophomore year, we weren’t always the best,” she said. “We would have people in the top five a couple of times, but this year I feel like we were like very consistent. Katie Yeaton and Vivian Cormier were just amazing skiers.

“I don’t think that I would be as good without them. It feels like all my hard work paid off and it is kind of like physical proof that I have accomplished what I’ve been trying to accomplish the past three or four years.”

After she graduates, McDonough, who also plays soccer and tennis, will be packing up and heading west to Big Sky Country in the fall. She has been accepted to Montana State University, where she will study English literature and continue doing what she enjoys — skiing.

“I think I love skiing here in Maine and the East Coast, but I want to branch out, and Montana has amazing student life and amazing outdoor programs,” she said. “I think that is the place that I am going to be the happiest. I am definitely going to be hitting the slopes, (too).

“I think, for me, if I stay in Maine, I am going to continue to be the same person that I have been, which isn’t a bad thing, but I think I need to grow and adapt and see something different.”

She might join a club ski team at the university, but McDonough wants experience the big state’s ski areas.

At the Class A state championships in February, she grabbed fourth place in giant slalom with a combined time of 1:50.08, then took fifth with a time of 52.58 in the one run of slalom racing. McDonough also pulled off impressive performances at the KVAC Alpine championships, taking third (2:00.18) in GS and second (1:28.06) in slalom.

“I was prepared for the season,” McDonough said. “I got new skis and I started working out a lot more just to build up my endurance, and I got help with my slalom (training).”

Like Josh Smith, the 2021-22 All-Region Boys Skier of the Year, McDonough has a team-first attitude during competitions.

“I know her mindset is, ‘I am going to do what I have to do to make sure the team is successful, make sure the team gets recognized for this, so the team is on the podium,’” Mt. Blue coach Mark Cyr said. “For her, I know she probably holds back a little (during competition) … to make sure she gets two solid runs in … (and she finishes) in the top five and helps the team out win the state championship or conference championship.

“I know (Smith and McDonough) are both that way, and they don’t have a selfish bone in their bodies. It is all about making sure the team gets recognized.”