We next spotlight senior Merrik Iacozili of Fryeburg Academy. He was the 2026 Class A giant slalom state champion. We asked him about
his thoughts at the start line and his preparations.
Maine’s top high school alpine ski racers capped their season with a standout performance at the 2026 Eastern High School Alpine Championships, held March 6–8 at Attitash Mountain Resort in Bartlett, New Hampshire. Competing against full teams from Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the SARA division, Team Maine delivered in both disciplines across a full weekend. The weekend featured both slalom and giant slalom competition across three days of racing. When the final scores were tallied, Maine’s boys team finished a remarkable 2nd place overall, while the girls team earned a solid 5th place finish. Overall team honors went to New Hampshire’s boys and Vermont’s girls.
The boys GS was a dominant performance for Team Maine, headlined by Reed Michaud, who posted the fastest time of 1:03.64 to claim 1st place overall. Dylan Cobb (18th, 1:05.31), Ian Christie (21st, 1:05.45), Cooper Dodge (22nd, 1:05.58), Merrik Iacozili (39th, 1:07.28), Gabe Landry (41st, 1:07.29), and Sawyer Shanaman (49th, 1:08.33) all added crucial scoring points to Maine’s team effort. On the girls side, Valentina Farioli led the way with a 21st-place finish (2:16.44), followed closely by Margo Hesson in 30th (2:18.15), Eleanor Browne in 33rd (2:19.31), Phoebe Bell in 39th (2:21.25), Ella Morse in 48th (2:23.31), and Laney Caron in 56th (2:27.25).
We are now starting up our state champion spotlight series where we interview each state champion in Alpine and in Nordic in all classes and for
each discipline. First up is senior Alex Gordon of Yarmouth. He won the 2026 Class B Classical, the Class B freestyle, and the Class B pursuit. He also won the WMC skate and the WMC pursuit. We asked him about his plans for next year and about all of his successes.
The 2026 EL/Leavitt Duathlon was held today at the Maine Outdoor Wellness Center in Turner. It was a beautiful sunny day with soft,
fresh snow. It is the annual end-of-season fun event where skiers ski a lap classical then change skis and ski a lap freestyle. It is all about having fun, celebrating the season, and throwing a few snowballs around. The event ends with a sweet treat bib draw where everyone won some baked goods. To see the full photo gallery, click on the link: 2026 EL/Leavitt Duathon Photo Gallery.
Maine. The event was a Kings Court format and each athlete raced the 1.2 Km course in a timed qualifier and 3 rounds of heats. Prizes were awarded to all top finishers as well as a bib draw with items from local vendors.Merrik Iacozili of Fryeburg Academy
Tucker Barnaby of Fryeburg Academy
Margo Hesson of Falmouth
Hazel Martin of Marshwood
The 2026 MPA Class A Alpine skiing state championships were held today at Saddleback Mtn in Rangeley. Due to weather on Monday, all events were held today with one run of giant slalom and one run of slalom. In the girls giant slalom, Margo Hesson of Falmouth is the 2026 Class A giant slalom state champion. Her winning time was 45.86. In second place was Ellie Porter of Edward Little with a time of 46.04. In the boys giant slalom, Merrik Iacozili of Fryeburg Academy is the 2026 Class A giant slalom state champion. His winning time was 43.01. In second place was Tucker Barnaby of Fryeburg Academy with a time of 43.08. In the girls slalom, Hazel Martin of Marshwood is the 2026 Class A slalom state champion. Her winning time was 37.20. In second place was Ella Morse of Falmouth with a time of 38.12. In the boys slalom, Tucker Barnaby of Fryeburg Academy is the 2026 Class A slalom state champion. His winning time was 34.03 In second place was Merrik Iacozili of Fryeburg with a time of 34.24. In the team competition, the Falmouth girls and the Falmouth boys are the 2026 Class A Alpine team state champions. The Edward Little girls and Edward Little boys are the runners-up. RESULTS | ALEC SALISBURY PHOTO GALLERY
Fort Kent Boys 2026 Class B State Champs
Yarmouth Girls 2026 Class B State ChampsThe 2026 MPA Class Alpine Skiing state championships were held today at Black Mtn in Rumford. Due to weather on Monday, the championships consisted of one run of giant slalom and the traditional two runs of slalom. In the girls giant slalom, Lily Boulanger of Mountain Valley is the 2026 Class B giant slalom state champion. Her winning run time was 51.20, In second place was Haidyn Saucier of Fort Kent with a time of 53.49. In the boys giant slalom, Reed Michaud of Fort Kent is the 2026 Class B giant slalom state champion. His winning run time was 50.65. In second place was Cooper Dodge of York with a time of 51.68. In the girls slalom, Lily Boulanger of Mtn Valley is also the 2026 Class B slalom state champion. Her winning combined time was 1:28.67. In second place was Logan MacLeod of Yarmouth with a combined time of 1:30.49. In the boys slalom, Tristan Riley of Maranacook is the 2026 Class B slalom state champion. His winning combined time was 1:25.86. In second place was Reed Michaud of Fort Kent with a combined time of 1:27.30. In the team competition, the Yarmouth girls and the Fort Kent boys are the 2026 Class B Alpine state champions. The Fort Kent girls and the Yarmouth boys were second. RESULTS | RVG PHOTO GALLERY | PHOTO GALLERY
The Sugarloaf Inferno is scheduled to take place on Sunday, March 8. This is a downhill cross country ski race that starts near the bottom of the King Pine Lift and ends at the Sugarloaf. Outdoor Center. Follow this link to sign up.
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