Mt. Blue’s Taylor Gordon competes in a KVAC/MVC ski race at Titcomb Mountain in Farmington in January. Gordon returned to Mt. Blue this season and won the Class A giant slalom title. Michael G. Seamans/Morning Sentinel

Taylor Gordon was convinced that rejoining her friends on the Mt. Blue Alpine ski team after a two-year stint at Waterville Valley Academy was the right move for her.

Gordon’s return for her senior season helped the Cougars earn a second-place finish in the Class A state championships in February. Gordon grabbed a state title in the giant slalom with a combined time of 1:26.49 after two runs. She also finished second in the slalom competition at 1:14.30.

Gordon’s postseason success make her the Sun Journal All-Region Girls Alpine Skier of the Year. She also earned the accolade her freshman year in 2020 at Mt. Blue before her departure to Waterville, a ski academy in New Hampshire, for her sophomore and junior years.

“I enjoy coaching Taylor because of her competitive nature. You can tell she spends a great deal of time and energy comparing her results to other racers, both at races and training sessions,” Mt. Blue Alpine coach Mark Cyr said. “You can also tell that she is very competitive with herself, always trying to improve not only her times, but her technique and tactics.

“Her technique is her greatest asset. Her technique is so smooth and flawless that when you watch her, it doesn’t look like she is going very fast, but her times are always excellent. She never really seems to be in any trouble when she races, and she repeats the same thing on every turn. In slalom, she looks like a metronome, swinging back and forth with the same rhythm (unless the course changes rhythm).”

Gordon felt compelled to ski with her friends before they go their separate ways after graduation.

“I knew I was going to be in college for another four years and away from home, and I kind of just wanted to have this extra year to be home with my friends and family,” she said.

Gordon also was successful at the KVAC championships, collecting titles in the slalom and giant slalom with winning times of 1:19.13 and 1:29.72, respectively.

“I think this was my best season ever,” she said. “I kind of stayed consistent throughout the year, which is something that I usually struggle with because I usually tend to get kind of burnt out by the end of the season, and get, like, kind of tired. I was able to stay focused and not get tired and kind of just stayed consistent with my results throughout the year.”

Taylor Gordon of Mt. Blue races down Grey Ghost during the KVAC giant slalom championship at Saddleback Mountain in Sandy River Plantation in February. Gordon won KVAC GS and slalom titles. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

It helped that she grasped the finality of this season.

“I knew this was going to be maybe one of my last seasons ever, so that gave me more of push to end my skiing career with, like, good results, I guess,” she said. “That kind of was my motivation.”

Gordon said that she was also a bit surprised by her spectacular finish at Mt. Blue.

“… I mean, I was gone for two years, so I was kind of coming into it with a blind eye, not really knowing what to expect, like, competition wise,” she said. “So I really didn’t know how I was going to do.”

Cyr, meanwhile, wasn’t surprised, especially after a freshman season in which she won the Class A championship in the slalom.

“I was very confident that she would be successful this year due to the fact that her results from freshman year were outstanding, and she would have only improved after spending two years at a ski academy,” Cyr said.

Gordon also competed in Easterns and Shootouts throughout the season.

College is on the horizon for her this fall.

“I am pretty sure I am attending the nursing program at UMaine,” said Gordon, who has already been accepted to the university.

She said she will probably do some club skiing for the Black Bears.

Cyr said the Mt. Blue Alpine team will miss Gordon next winter.

“I think she sets the bar very high for the other athletes,” Cyr said. “It’s always nice to have at least one successful racer for the other athletes trying to chase after. I mentioned how Taylor compares her times with the other athletes, well they certainly do the same, always wondering what Taylor had for a time on a run.”

Gordon said that her teammates made her final ski season memorable.

“Because we are part of a small team, we are very close,” Gordon said. “On the Mt. Blue team, everyone is constantly cheering each other on. Even though we didn’t win states this year, everyone was cheering everyone up, and this was just a really great atmosphere.”