Sierra Leavitt of Casco skied for the first time at 21 months and has kept right on skiing with her family every winter since. When Leavit was 11, she joined the Shawnee Peak Race Team and that winter, she learned slalom for the first time. Two days later, she raced at Lost Valley and came in first place in her division.

After two years at Carrabassett Valley Academy, Leavitt has continued her development as a high honors student and ski racer. Adjusting from J3 competition to the travel and heightened competition of a first year J2 this season hasn’t held back her results. In Eastern Cup FIS races, Leavitt competes head-to-head with up to 140 of the best ski racers from colleges and academies from across the east and Canada. At the Eastern Alpine Championships, she finished the slalom, giant slalom, super G and downhill races with solid results. Her combined results at Eastern Alpine Championships earned her a slot to compete in US Alpine Championships in Alyeska, Alaska.

“Sierra has shown steady improvement all year,” Martin Gray, Leavit’s coach, said. “She’s a solid slalom skier and she’s making great progress in all the other race disciplines. Her greatest strengths are that she’s very calm and extremely coachable. Qualifying for US Alpine Championships as a sophomore is a very significant result. That result came because she took advantage of every training and race opportunity that she had. With more time on snow and in the gym next year she’ll continue to improve and grow as a ski racer.”

When not at Carrabassett Valley Academy, Leavitt lives in Casco and attends Lake Region High School, where she plays varsity soccer.