Today is our first state champion spotlight. We are interviewing every state champion in Alpine and Nordic for each discipline. The first spotlight is Logan Schwartz of Cape Elizabeth. He was the 2023 Class B Slalom and Giant Slalom state champion. We asked him about his state meet preparations and his plans for next year.
1) What were your preparations leading up to the state meet? My preparations leading up to the state meet started over the summer by regularly going to the gym to do strength and conditioning training. Then when the
season began, I started to focus on fixing every small detail during training and race runs. I also made sure not to over-train so that I would not burn out before states.
2) How did you deal with the pressure and emotions that come along with competing in a state meet? Being stressed from pressure was not something that I had to deal with too much as I was very busy trying to understand the new race hills that I had never seen before. That being said, I still felt pressure since I was racing new people.
3) What was going through your mind at the starting gate? When I was in the start gate, I was only thinking of how I could execute the plan that I came up with while inspecting the course in the fastest way possible.
4) What do you contribute your success to? First and foremost, I contribute the foundation of my success to the many years I spent training and racing USSA when I was younger with Shawnee Peak Race Team and then with the Gould Academy Competition Program. I also spend a lot of my time in the off-season doing strength training in the gym.
5) What are your goals/plans for next year? My goals for next year are to place better at the Easter Championship and help our high school win another state championship like we did in 2022.
6) What surprised you the most about this season? The biggest surprise from this season was the number of races that we were able to fit into the regular season given the slow start due to the weather. The Pleasant Mountain Race Department did a good job with scheduling as they do with all races.
7) What moment/event will you remember the most from the season? The moment that I will remember most from the season was the experiences with the Maine State Team during the Eastern Championship. In particular, cheering on my teammates at the bottom of the course. We all stayed after our runs to cheer each other on until we had all finished. It was a really great group to be teammates with.
season began, I started to focus on fixing every small detail during training and race runs. I also made sure not to over-train so that I would not burn out before states.2) How did you deal with the pressure and emotions that come along with competing in a state meet? Being stressed from pressure was not something that I had to deal with too much as I was very busy trying to understand the new race hills that I had never seen before. That being said, I still felt pressure since I was racing new people.
3) What was going through your mind at the starting gate? When I was in the start gate, I was only thinking of how I could execute the plan that I came up with while inspecting the course in the fastest way possible.
4) What do you contribute your success to? First and foremost, I contribute the foundation of my success to the many years I spent training and racing USSA when I was younger with Shawnee Peak Race Team and then with the Gould Academy Competition Program. I also spend a lot of my time in the off-season doing strength training in the gym.
5) What are your goals/plans for next year? My goals for next year are to place better at the Easter Championship and help our high school win another state championship like we did in 2022.
6) What surprised you the most about this season? The biggest surprise from this season was the number of races that we were able to fit into the regular season given the slow start due to the weather. The Pleasant Mountain Race Department did a good job with scheduling as they do with all races.
7) What moment/event will you remember the most from the season? The moment that I will remember most from the season was the experiences with the Maine State Team during the Eastern Championship. In particular, cheering on my teammates at the bottom of the course. We all stayed after our runs to cheer each other on until we had all finished. It was a really great group to be teammates with.
8) What do you like most about Alpine Skiing? The thing I like most about Alpine Skiing is being out there with people you like and having a great time. It%u2019s always a fun, yet competitive environment.
9) Anything else that you would like to add? There have been many people who have helped me get to this point such as my coaches from the Shawnee Peak Race Team and Gould Academy Competition Program. I also feel fortunate to have had years of support from my parents and those of other racers. Particularly my dad who makes sure my skies are well-tuned and is always out on the hill with the team providing encouragement.