We next spotlight Emily Carty of Fryeburg Academy who was the Class A Freestyle state champion. She also helped her team win the Class A Nordic title. We 
asked her about winning the title and her preparations.
1) What were your preparations leading up to the state meet ?
All season I worked on my endurance and technique because I was aiming to win states. In the weeks leading up to states my biggest fear was that I would get sick, so I used an insane amount of hand sanitizer. Besides that, I just did the usual workouts with my team. We did a lot of hills because Rumford is known for the killer hills.
2) How did you deal with the pressure and emotions that come along with competing in a state meet?
Being a senior, it was my last chance to get on the podium, so I definitely felt a lot of pressure before the race. I did my usual pre-race routine; I listened to some good music before the race, warmed up with my team, and thought out a plan for the race.
3) What was going through your mind at the start, especially at the freestyle pursuit?
I knew it was going to be a close race for our team and that everyone, myself included, would need to have a great race if we wanted to win. For me, that meant passing as many people as possible. I felt like I was in a good place to be chasing the top skiers from the previous day, and I was definitely aiming for a top 3 finish in the pursuit. We had been practicing on hills, so I felt like if I could push up the hills I would be able to take the downhills aggressively enough to catch at least a few people.
4) You won the freestyle, what do you contribute your great success to?
Going in with a plan and knowing what I needed to do definitely helped me during the race. Overall, I was just determined to have a good last state meet race and not get passed by anyone. Everyone cheering also really helped!
5) What are some of your best memories from the past season?
I have a lot of great memories from this year! I will never forget racing the ‘wall’ in conferences or going over the jump during the same race. Skiing as a teletubbie during the Valentine's day race was also a lot of fun. Of course I can’t forget the state meet or Sam Carus getting klister in her hair.
6) What are your plans/goals for next year?
I plan to attend college next year, although I am not yet sure where. I plan to run cross country and hopefully (depending where I go) continue nordic skiing.
7) What are your favorite things about nordic?
I love nordic for a lot of reasons, but one is definitely being able to compete in a friendly environment. I think it is great that teams can be serious and race against one another while also being kind and supportive.
The same goes for my team. While everyone works hard, we are always able to keep it fun with some ski football or jumps (shoutout to Luke Reinbach and his broken arm).
8) What was your reaction when you found out that you won states? And when your team won states?
When I found out that I won, I was a bit surprised, I thought I had gotten second. When our other skiers finished, we thought we did not win as a team. It was a huge disappointment, as we had been aiming to win as a team season. The mood was really negative on our cool down, because everyone individually thought coming in second was their fault. Although a few of us suspected we might have pulled it off, we did not know for sure until it was announced at awards. After that, everyone was so excited! Being happy about the race did not really set in until after I learned we had won as a team.
9) Is there anything else that you would like to add?
I would just like to say thank you to all my teammates and coaches for making my season so great! I would also like to say thank you to my family for coming to all my races and always supporting me.