Falmouth senior Alex Shapiro helped lead her team to the Alpine State Championship title by winning the Giant Slalom by .65 seconds at the Class A 
Alpine State Meet at Mt Abram. We caught up with her and asked her about her state meet preparations and her team's success.
1) What were your preparations leading up to the state meet?
I train all season long, both during the week with the Falmouth High School team and on the weekends with GACP at Sunday River. A few days before states I started to get in the mindset and get really focused but I usually try not to overthink things so that I can preform my best.
2) How did you deal with the pressure and emotions that come along with competing in a state meet?
States is always a high intensity event, this year especially because it was my last time competing at states. Being with teammates and goofing around helps calm my nerves. In the start gate I try to be confident and reassure myself of my abilities.
3) What is your favorite thing about ski racing?
There are so many things I love about ski racing but I’d have to say my favorite thing is the people. I’ve met so many awesome people through skiing. Racing with friends is what makes this sport so great.
4) Coming into the season, what were your goals and did you achieve them?
I had not yet won states as an individual, and as a senior this was a goal of mine, and I’m very excited to have met it! A team state championship also meant so much to me, and was also one of my goals for this season. We won states last year and had an even stronger team this year, so I wanted to see our girls defend the title. We pulled through and I saw this goal met as well!
5) What do you contribute your team's state championship success to?
I can definitely say that a portion of our team’s success this year can be attributed to our amazing set of coaches. Huge shoutout to Tip and Terry: not only do they have so much knowledge about ski racing but they also know that we’re out there to have fun. It’s always a blast with those two. Also, the upperclassmen set some really good examples for the new kids on the team this year. We have some really strong skiers and leaders on our team and that definitely pushed everyone else on the team to try their hardest.