Falmouth High senior Andrew Christie swept the slalom and giant slalom events at the Class A Alpine state championships in February at Black Mountain in Rumford. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

As a freshman, Andrew Christie helped Falmouth High win the Class A Alpine skiing state championship. Little did he know it would be three more years before he was able to compete for another state title.

Andrew Christie

The pandemic, of course, wiped out last winter’s postseason schedule. As a sophomore, Christie had committed to a trip to Guatemala as part of Safe Passage, a program that assists the community surrounding Central America’s largest garbage dump, and was unable to compete in the skiing championships.

All of which lent special meaning to Christie’s senior season this winter, when he had become a captain of the Falmouth team.

“I didn’t really know how things were going to shake out,” he said. “I just tried to put myself in the best possible place for each race.”

The way things shook out for Christie was nearly perfect. He won every run of every race in the regular season, did the same at the SMAA conference meet and kept it up through the Class A state meet. Among boys and girls in both Class A and Class B meets, Christie was the only racer to sweep the slalom and giant slalom events.

For doing so, he is our choice as Varsity Maine Boys’ Skier of the Year.

Falmouth Alpine Coach Janelle Day called Christie a terrific leader by example but also as an organizer, motivator and full-throated supporter.

“He would bring the cheering squad and get people pumped up,” Day said. “He always, always helped his fellow skiers, 100 percent, even on other teams, too. He would chat with them and encourage them. He was really phenomenal as far as being not only a great skier but a part of the team and just a positive athlete.”

Christie finally encountered a few bumps after the state meet. He fell twice in the Maine Shootout but still managed to qualify for the Eastern High School Championships at Attitash Mountain in New Hampshire, where he ranked 20th of 112 skiers.

Even so, he said it was fun. Ski racing has been that way since his first parent-child lollipop event at Saddleback that he entered with his father. He started skiing at 4 and followed his older brother’s path through the junior race program. He has a younger brother, Ian, who will enter high school in the fall.

Christie said his parents never pressured him to continue ski racing.

“If I’m not enjoying something, they won’t make me keep doing it,” he said. “But I really liked ski racing, so they helped me keep with it.”

Away from the mountain, Christie plays soccer and is preparing to run outdoor track. He also competes in Science Bowl and Science Olympiad and, as a member of the school’s math team, he recently placed seventh in the state.

His Science Bowl team won a state title last year and advanced to nationals, held virtually because of the pandemic. He plans to study biotechnology or bioengineering in college. He’s also a fan of cooking shows and whips up an impressive dish of fried rice.

All of which may help explain why he devised a recipe to help reverse declining numbers in Falmouth’s Alpine program. He found a way to share his enthusiasm.

“I kind of made it my goal to make everyone else have as much fun as possible,” Christie said. “And why should I limit that to my teammates? I just felt like encouraging everyone and getting everyone excited was the best way for them to have fun and enjoy ski racing.”