Gray-New Gloucester senior Eric Wilcox has had great skiing success in his years as a Patriot, and perhaps the single best indicator of his overall skill level is the title of “Skimeister” – which he’s won five times.

What exactly is a skimeister? “Basically, it’s someone who participates in both alpine events (slalom and giant slalom) and both Nordic events (classic and skate),” Wilcox explains. “The skimeister event is scored by adding up all of the places the skier gets in each event.”

Take a moment to mull this over: All skiing is not the same; downhill and cross country are two different sports entirely, and they require two different skill sets.

“Alpine and Nordic skiing are much different from each other,” Wilcox says. “Lots of physical conditioning is required for both disciplines; I would say, they both mostly require physical ability, but alpine requires more mental control and strategy.”

Wilcox clearly possesses the body and the mind needed to excel on both the slopes and the trails. He was the 2013 and 2014 State Champion Skimeister, and is a three-time WMC Skimeister, including in 2015. He likely would’ve won the Maine crown again this year but for a disqualification in the slalom.

How did Wilcox get so good? Practice, practice, practice.

“[It’s] the miles I’ve put into skiing. You have to be willing to spend almost every day – if not every day – through the whole winter training for both events, sometimes multiple practices a day,” he said.

But beyond practice, there’s also the simple love of the sport. “Most of all, it requires a passion for skiing.”

Wilcox’s talents recently earned him a spot – one of just 12 – on the Maine high school boys alpine team. The squad competed in early March at the Eastern High School Championships at Cannon Mountain, N.H.

Maine tied Wisconsin for third at the meet, behind Vermont in first and New Hampshire in second.

What does the skimeister have planned for the future? Plenty of skiing – just not competitively. Beginning this fall, he’ll attend the University of Utah, where he’ll study parks, recreation and tourism; the university, naturally, has outstanding ski teams, but, Wilcox says, “I’m not at that level yet, to be able to compete D1, and unfortunately there are no skimeister competitions in college.

“But,” he adds, “I never really wanted to race competitively in college anyway. I think lots of backcountry and free skiing are in my future.”

Eric Wilcox poses between runs at Cannon Mountain in New Hampshire, where the Eastern High School Championships were held in early March. The Maine contingent, of which Wilcox was a member, finished tied for third with Wisconsin.