We begin the State Champion Spotlight this week, spotlighting the state champions of each discipline. Our first spotlight is Mountain Valley senior Nick Newman who was the 2017 Class B Giant Slalom state champion. We asked him a few questions about his season, his goals, and his future plans.
1) What were your preparations leading up to the state meet?
Leading into the state meet my goal during training was to get two solid race runs in, and then call it good if I was happy with those two.
2) How did you deal with the pressure and emotions that come along with competing in a state meet?
Over the years of ski racing I've never had nerves ever really be a huge issue, but this year I just kept my self busy before races to keep myself from worrying about it. During the meet I just went straight back to the top of the course the maintain my focus.
3) What was going through your mind at the starting gate knowing that the conditions were soft and warm?
The conditions ended up being a hard grippy surface, so in the gate I was just telling myself to ski my line and have quick transitions.
4) What are some of your best memories from ski racing this past season?
My favorite memory of my senior year is winning the shootout because it's been one of my biggest goals since freshman year.
5) What are your plans for next year?
As of right now I don't plan on skiing in college. Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston is the college I plan to be attending in the fall.
6) What were your goals for this season and did you achieve them? What led to all of your successes?
My goals this year were to better my skiing overall, and I feel I did that. Also to win states, and the shootout. I was peaking at a perfect time due to all the cancellations because of the storms we've had. I just went out and did my thing, my last goal is to get a top 10 in both GS, and Slalom at the Eastern High School Championship.