MVC champs again Mt. Abram ski teams wrapped up a bunch of accomplishments last week at the MVC championships. Here the girls’ Alpine and Nordic teams celebrate the overall title. Pictured are (front, left to right) Coach Bob Luce, Coach Sally Bean, Annah Houston, Molly McCafferty, Holly Thomas, Erin Luce, Coach Buzz Bean, Delani Littlefield, (on podium, left to right) Nola Dixon, Sadie James, Emily Luce, Lizzie Chenard and Jillian Withee. (Lori Littlefield photo) LOCK MILLS –- For the third straight year, the Lady Roadrunners of Mt. Abram have brought home the prestigious MVC overall title. At the same time the boys’ and girls’ Nordic teams impressed and dominated the Mountain Valley Conference competition.

Mt. Abram alpine Ladies found themselves third with 42 points behind Telstar (18) and Mtn. Valley (41) in giant slalom last Thursday at Saddleback.

In team ski racing, the top four finishes are added together and the squad with the lowest score wins.

Number-one in Nordic The Mt. Abram boys’ Nordic team walked away as the MVC Nordic Champions. Pictured are: (front, left to right) Coach Sally Bean, Aidan Drumstas, Jay Chenard, Silvan Kindinger, Kyle Matthews, Coach Buzz Bean, (on podium, left to right) Trent Rosenberg, Nick Carlton, Jake Carlton, Phil Coffren, Devin Littlefield, Brian Lambert and Eric Mitchell. (Lori Littlefield photo) That same day in Rangeley, the girls’ Nordic team pulled off the perfect score of 10 in XC Classical. That score can only be achieved if all four finishers come in first through fourth place for any one team.

That same day the MTA boys also led the pack in XC Classical by scoring 17, well above the pack with Telstar in second with 45.

Racers returned on Saturday to Black Mountain where the Ladies competed in a downhill slalom. MTA Ladies finished all four races and were tied with Telstar for first place with 30 points a piece.

Lady Roadrunners alpine team finished in second place in the combined alpine events with Telstar earning the top title.

The Lady Roadrunners Nordic team continued to impress with a score of 12 to lead the pack and blow away the competition with 22 combined Nordic points. The closest competitor was Winthrop with 62 points. With the combined Nordic events, MTA grabbed the Nordic MVC title.

“I was pleased with the performance of all of the team members. We’ve changed our training to peak at States and it seems to be working,” said MTA Nordic coach Buzz Bean. “All the girls skied to their potential and was proud of them all.”

Bean credited Sadie James for an outstanding performance, Lizzy Chenard, Nola Dixon and Annah Houston for stepping up and Holly Thomas and Molly McCafferty for the hard work which is paying off.

The boys also competed with a Nordic championship in mind. They came out and scored 18 points to combine for 35 which earned them the MVC Nordic title ahead of Mountain Valley with 92 and Winthrop with 94. Unfortunately the boys do not have enough scorers to combine in alpine for the overall skiing MVC title.

Bean said the Jake Carlton had a gutsy performance in his two races. After leading the race in Rangeley, a fall on the flats cost him about three seconds and a second place finish. Carlton came back focused at Black, although sick, and sped past the leader for the win.

Bean also credited Devin Littlefield and Nick Carlton for strong performances and for following his strategy to pour it on at the right time and place which worked.

“I am proud of all the boys; it’s been a while since we won MVC’s and they had been beaten by both Telstar and Mt. Valley this year,” Bean said. “Now to get rested and focused on States!”

The girls had the four scorers they needed in Alpine, scoring 42 in giant slalom, 30 in slalom, and in Nordic the 10 and 12 scores certainly helped. Make room on the walls of the Mt. Abram gymnasium. With the overall combined 92 points in all four disciplines, this gave the Lady Roadrunners their third straight MVC overall title. The closest competitor was Mountain Valley with 205 points.

The MVC crowned three MTA individual champions. James as a freshman took the top podium spot with both Nordic events. Roadrunner Jake Carleton grabbed a gold and silver in his Nordic events. In all, MTA skiers took the podium 10 times.
MVCs Saddleback Girls Giant Slalom Feb. 4
2. MTA Erin Luce (1:33.39)
7. MTA Jillian Withee (139.45)
15. MTA Siri Norris (1:59.300)
18. MTA Emily Luce (45.48)(1) (DNF)(18)
42 — TOTAL
MVCs Rangeley Girls XC Classical Feb. 4
1. MTA Sadie James (fr.) (21:53.4)
2. MTA Nola Dixon (23:05.3)
3. MTA Annah Houston (24:39.1)
4. MTA Lizzy Chenard (5. – MTA Nola Dixon)
10 — TOTAL (PERFECT)
MVCs Rangeley Boys XC Classical Feb. 4
2. MTA Jake Carlton
4. MTA Nick Carlton
5. MTA Jay Chenard (fr.)
6. MTA Devin Littlefield
17 — TOTAL
MVCs Black Mtn. Girls Slalom Feb. 6
3. MTA Emily Luce (1:06.78)
5. MTA Erin Luce (1:09.34)
8. MTA Jillian Withee (1:12.59)
14. MTA Siri Norris (1:35.11)
30 — TOTAL
MVCs Black Mtn. Girls XC Freestyle Feb. 6
1. MTA Sadie James (fr.) (16:59.9)
2. MTA Lizzy Chenard (17:10.8)
4. MTA Holly Thomas (17:35.0)
5. MTA Nola Dixon (17.52.5) (6. MTA A. Houston)
12 –- TOTAL
MVCs Black Mtn. Boys XC Freestyle Feb. 6
1. MTA Jake Carlton (13:58.9)
3. MTA Nick Carlton (14:09.6)
4. MTA Devin Littlefield (14:13.5)
10. MTA Trent Rosenberg (14:47.3)
18 –- TOTAL
Skimeister (All four events)

5. MTA Brian Lambert
TEAM TOTALS OVERALL (GIRLS)
1. Mt. Abram 42-(GS), 30-(SL), 72-(Alpine Total)
10-(XC C), 12-(XC F), 22-(Nordic Total): 94-(Team
total)
2. Mountain Valley 41-(GS), 51-(SL), 92-(Alpine Total)
52-(XC C), 61-(XC F), 113-(Nordic Total): 205-(Team
Total)
3. Livermore Falls 53-(GS), 56-(SL), 109-(Alpine
Total)
86-(XC C), 82-(XC F), 168-(Nordic Total) 277-(Team
Total)
TEAM TOTAL NORDIC (GIRLS)
1. Mt. Abram 10-(XC C), 12-(XC F), 22-(Team Total)
2. Winthrop 30-(XC C), 32-(XC F), 62-(Team Total)
3. Mtn. Valley 52-(XC C), 61-(XC F), 113-(Team Total)
TEAM TOTAL NORDIC (BOYS)
1. Mt. Abram 17-(XC C), 18-(XC F), 35-(Team Total)
2. Mt. Valley 48-(XC C), 44-(XC F), 92-(Team Total)
3. Winthrop 49-(XC C), 45-(XC F), 94-(Team Total)