We will now spotlight senior Clara White of Orono. She was the 2026 Class C Classical state champion, freestyle state champion and the pursuit
state champion. She also competed for team New England at Junior Nationals. We asked her about her successes and her plans for next year.
1) What were your preparations leading up to the state meet?
Heading into the state meet, I was primarily focused on resting and recovering well since I had been racing quite intensely for the past few weeks, as well as enjoying the last practices with my teammates.
2) How did you deal with the pressure and emotions that come along with competing in a state meet?
In order to take off some of the pressures of big races, I like to remind myself of how lucky I am to be able to race with so many great athletes and people around me.
3) What was going through your mind at the start?
We will next spotlight Reed Michaud of Fort Kent. He was the 2026 Class B giant slalom state champion and helped his team win the Class B
Alpine state title. We asked him about his thoughts at the start line and his most memorable moment from the season.
1) What were your preparations leading up to the state meet?
My preparations were to continue my training routine and prep my skis. Because the shoutouts for the Maine team were really close to states, I had to do a lot of preparation on the road, which made it difficult.
2) How did you deal with the pressure and emotions that come along with competing in a state meet?
One way that I deal with pressure and emotions on race day is by listening to music and having a good course inspection. Music makes me calm and relaxed so that I can focus on the course and the challenges that come along with it.
3) What was going through your mind at the start?
We will next spotlight Tucker Barnaby of Fryeburg Academy. He was the 2026 Class A slalom state champion. We asked him about what
surprised him this season and what he likes the most about Alpine skiing.
What were your preparations leading up to the state meet?
I trained hard with courses that were much more technical than the courses that I have seen so
that when I got to the state meet the course felt easier.
2) How did you deal with the pressure and emotions that come along with competing in a state meet?
I just thought of it as just another race and tried to not think of it as something super big. I also knew I had a whole team on my side and we would win and lose as a whole team not just me.
3) What was going through your mind at the start?
We next spotlight Tristan Riley of Maranacook. He was the 2026 Class B slalom state champion. He also won the MVC giant slalom
title. We asked him about what surprised him this season and his reaction to winning the state slalom title.
We will now spotlight senior Lily Boulanger of Mtn. Valley. She was the 2026 Class B giant slalom state champion and the slalom state
champion. We asked her about her season and her start gate thoughts.
We will next spotlight senior Alden Reardon of Fort Kent. He was the 2026 Class C Classical state champion, freestyle state champion,
and pursuit state champion. Alden won every single MPA Nordic race during his four years at Fort Kent. We asked him about his great successes and his plans for next year.
We will now highlight junior Evelyn LaCasse of Greely. She was the 2026 Class B classical state champion and the pursuit state champion. 
We asked her about her favorite memories from the season and about her successes.
We will now spotlight state champion senior Jack Borland of Deering. He was the 2026 Class A classical state champion, the freestyle
state champion, and the pursuit state champion. We asked him about his state meet preparations and dealing with the state meet pressure.
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