To the surprise of no one, Kaelyn Woods dominated Maine’s high school Nordic season.
The senior from Gray-New Gloucester High won her third straight Class B freestyle state title and third straight classical title.
TELEGRAM ALL-STATE TEAM
Fiona Ahearne, Maine Coast Waldorf senior: Successfully defended her Class C freestyle title and won classical as well to lead MCW to a sixth straight Nordic state crown. Also won the Sassi Memorial classical race over a field of 156. Will continue her career at Bowdoin.
Lucy Alexander, Yarmouth senior: Placed third in freestyle and fourth in classical to help Yarmouth win an eighth straight Nordic state crown. Also placed third at the Sassi Memorial. Plans to continue her skiing career at Williams.
Shelby Cowin, Greenville sophomore: Won the Class B giant slalom by five seconds, and in a faster combined time than any of the boys who covered the same course. Also placed third in the Eastern High School Championships slalom, the only Mainer in any discipline among the top 15.
Gabby Farrell, Falmouth junior: Overcame early season illness to win the Class A Nordic freestyle. Also was third in classic to help Falmouth finish second to Mt. Blue in the team competition. Competed in the Eastern championships.
Alisha Guimond, Fort Kent sophomore: Put down the two fastest runs on an icy course at Black Mountain to win the Class B slalom championship. Also placed sixth in giant slalom to help Fort Kent win the Alpine state title. Represented Maine at the Eastern championships.
Lily Johnston, Freeport senior: Runner-up in both Class B freestyle and classical races, in faster times than those of the Class A champions. Also the runner-up at the Sassi Memorial; she plans to continue her career at Bowdoin.
Brooke Lever, Edward Little senior: Won the Class A slalom title and placed second in giant slalom to help the Red Eddies finish third overall in Alpine competition. Also won the KVAC slalom title and placed third in giant slalom.
Krysia Lesniak, Falmouth senior: Placed third in giant slalom and fourth in slalom to help Falmouth win the Class A Alpine title. She was the Western Maine Conference slalom champion and the second overall qualifier from Maine for the Eastern championships.
Lena Martin, Brunswick senior: Won the Class A classical race by 24 seconds and placed third in freestyle. Represented Maine at the Eastern championships.
Alex Shapiro, Falmouth senior: Won giant slalom and placed fifth in slalom to lead Falmouth to a second straight Class A Alpine state title. She was the fourth Maine qualifier for the Eastern championships.
Kaelyn Woods, Gray-New Gloucester senior: Three-time Class B Nordic state champion in both freestyle and classical, she competed in the Junior Olympics in Wisconsin and the Eastern championships.
Keaton McEvoy, Gray-New Gloucester senior: Excelled in all four disciplines in Class B, finishing sixth in slalom, eighth in giant slalom and 14th in both classic and freestyle. McEvoy was an Eastern championships Alpine competitor.
Coach of the Year
Greg Voisine, Fort Kent, Alpine: In his 25th year, Voisine led a Fort Kent sweep of the Class B Alpine titles at icy Black Mountain in Rumford. Fort Kent had won two of the previous three Class C girls’ Alpine titles and five of the previous seven for boys, but this marked the school’s first Class B crowns. The girls beat Maranacook by 33 points and the boys beat Mountain Valley by 61.
– Glenn Jordan
She also earned all-America honors in three events at the Junior Olympics in Cable, Wisconsin, and led a Maine contingent at the Eastern High School Championships in Ripton, Vermont.
“As far as athletics and coaching, she was a dream,” said G-NG Nordic coach Jeff McEvoy. “She makes it easy, makes me look good when I don’t actually do anything.”
For the second year in a row, Woods is our choice as Maine Sunday Telegram girls’ Skier of the Year.
The daughter of Becky Woods, the longtime Bates College Nordic coach, Kaelyn grew up around Nordic skiing but didn’t limit herself to it. She’s also a four-year varsity soccer and softball player and an honor student.
As a freshman, she raced slalom and giant slalom in addition to Nordic and won the Class B skimeister competition.
“She’s pretty easy-going and self-contained,” McEvoy said. “It didn’t take much to motivate her. She knows what she’s doing. She’d tell me if she needed more kick, and that’s about it.”
Woods won the state classical crown by 25 seconds and freestyle by 45. Over the same course on the same day, neither Class A winner finished within a minute of Woods.
“I know Kaelyn will always do really well and it’s motivation to have her back there,” said Lily Johnston, a Freeport senior and Class B runner-up who started ahead of Woods in the freestyle race. “She’s a superstar.”
For a third straight year, Woods trained with the Maine Winter Sports Center, as did several other local high school skiers. At the state meet, Woods spent much of her postrace time exhorting them across the line.
“I made a lot of really, really close friends through the Nordic skiing community,” Woods said. “It’s just fun to cheer on your friends and see how they finish.”
Woods also qualified for Junior Olympics last winter, but the altitude in Truckee, California, proved problematic. Earlier this month in Wisconsin, she placed fourth in her 5-kilometer classical age-group race, 10th in her 10K skate race and third in a relay.
At Easterns, she placed fourth in a classical sprint and ninth in a 7.5K classical race after a 31st-place finish in the 5K freestyle race.
“The first day was kind of crazy,” she said. “I fell and broke a ski, so that was rough.”
After exploring other options, Woods decided to join her mom’s program in Lewiston.
“I definitely had other schools on my radar,” she said. “But when it came down to it, I realized Bates is a really good fit.”
TELEGRAM ALL-STATE TEAM
Fiona Ahearne, Maine Coast Waldorf senior: Successfully defended her Class C freestyle title and won classical as well to lead MCW to a sixth straight Nordic state crown. Also won the Sassi Memorial classical race over a field of 156. Will continue her career at Bowdoin.
Lucy Alexander, Yarmouth senior: Placed third in freestyle and fourth in classical to help Yarmouth win an eighth straight Nordic state crown. Also placed third at the Sassi Memorial. Plans to continue her skiing career at Williams.
Shelby Cowin, Greenville sophomore: Won the Class B giant slalom by five seconds, and in a faster combined time than any of the boys who covered the same course. Also placed third in the Eastern High School Championships slalom, the only Mainer in any discipline among the top 15.
Gabby Farrell, Falmouth junior: Overcame early season illness to win the Class A Nordic freestyle. Also was third in classic to help Falmouth finish second to Mt. Blue in the team competition. Competed in the Eastern championships.
Alisha Guimond, Fort Kent sophomore: Put down the two fastest runs on an icy course at Black Mountain to win the Class B slalom championship. Also placed sixth in giant slalom to help Fort Kent win the Alpine state title. Represented Maine at the Eastern championships.
Lily Johnston, Freeport senior: Runner-up in both Class B freestyle and classical races, in faster times than those of the Class A champions. Also the runner-up at the Sassi Memorial; she plans to continue her career at Bowdoin.
Brooke Lever, Edward Little senior: Won the Class A slalom title and placed second in giant slalom to help the Red Eddies finish third overall in Alpine competition. Also won the KVAC slalom title and placed third in giant slalom.
Krysia Lesniak, Falmouth senior: Placed third in giant slalom and fourth in slalom to help Falmouth win the Class A Alpine title. She was the Western Maine Conference slalom champion and the second overall qualifier from Maine for the Eastern championships.
Lena Martin, Brunswick senior: Won the Class A classical race by 24 seconds and placed third in freestyle. Represented Maine at the Eastern championships.
Alex Shapiro, Falmouth senior: Won giant slalom and placed fifth in slalom to lead Falmouth to a second straight Class A Alpine state title. She was the fourth Maine qualifier for the Eastern championships.
Kaelyn Woods, Gray-New Gloucester senior: Three-time Class B Nordic state champion in both freestyle and classical, she competed in the Junior Olympics in Wisconsin and the Eastern championships.
Keaton McEvoy, Gray-New Gloucester senior: Excelled in all four disciplines in Class B, finishing sixth in slalom, eighth in giant slalom and 14th in both classic and freestyle. McEvoy was an Eastern championships Alpine competitor.
Coach of the Year
Greg Voisine, Fort Kent, Alpine: In his 25th year, Voisine led a Fort Kent sweep of the Class B Alpine titles at icy Black Mountain in Rumford. Fort Kent had won two of the previous three Class C girls’ Alpine titles and five of the previous seven for boys, but this marked the school’s first Class B crowns. The girls beat Maranacook by 33 points and the boys beat Mountain Valley by 61.
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