FARMINGTON, Maine — What’s a state championship without facing a little adversity along the way?
Ashland made school history Tuesday, Feb. 19, as the girls’ Nordic ski team captured the Class C state championship at Titcomb Mountain. It wasn’t a smooth ride for the Hornets this season, but they were able to pull things together when it counted most.
With only four skiers on the team, all of them had to be available for Ashland to be able to figure in the team results. The Hornets took first place in two regular season meets in Aroostook County with their full squad, but then illness struck Lacey Jandreau, who had to miss four weeks due to a bout of bronchitis With Willow Hall also missing at times due to her dual commitment to basketball, Ashland sometimes competed in meets with just two skiers.
“Kassandra [Nelson] and Kylie [Bolstridge] continued to train hard knowing more was going to be expected of them,” said Ashland coach Linda Milligan. “And at the state meet, all four girls did what they needed to do — they showed up and skied as hard as they could.”
Ashland senior Kassandra Nelson makes her way toward the finish line at the classic ski race held at the Nordic Heritage Center in Presque Isle last month. Nelson and the Hornets captured the Class C girls’ Nordic state championships at Farmington Feb. 18 and 19. (Kevin Sjoberg)
Ashland had a particularly strong first day of racing on Monday, Feb. 18, in the classical race. In that one, Nelson took third in 21 minutes and 54.5 seconds, Hall was fifth in 22:45.1 and Bolstridge ended up eighth in 23:07.9. Jandreau rounded out the scoring by taking 14th in 24:21.
The freestyle pursuit was featured the following morning and Milligan admitted she was nervous about her team’s chances.
“We hadn’t had all four girls together for a skate race all season and Fort Kent has a very strong skating team,” she said. “My strategy was to get as much of a lead as we could in the classical and then try to hold on to that lead in the pursuit.”
In the freestyle, Nelson was third in 18:38 and Hall fourth in 19:09.7, while Jandreau (20:20) and Bolstridge (21:26.4) were 14th and 18th, respectively. Those placements were good enough to allow Ashland to keep the top spot.
“The girls knew who they couldn’t let pass them, and they came through,” Milligan said.
Ashland scored 766 points to take first place, beating out Waynflete of Portland and Fort Kent, who tied for second with 758. Five other teams competed.
Isabelle Jandreau of Madawaska swept the classical, freestyle and overall individual titles. MSSM’s Dolcie Tanguay was the runner-up in both the Feb. 18 and 19 competitions.
