Frustration mounted as Heather Farrington wondered if the discomfort in a leg she broke as a freshman continued. Not only did the pain bother the Mt. Blue skier, it was a reminder that it could happen again.

As a senior, Farrington decided to put it behind her, go hard and put thoughts of failure out of her mind.

“I was tired of not having any success,” Farrington said. “I really wanted to win a (Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference) race, especially on my home course of Titcomb Mountain.”

Farrington proved from the start of the season, when she earned a pair of first-place and a pair of second-place finishes, she had put her injury behind her.

Then, on her home course, she won the KVAC slalom title and finished second in the giant slalom to help the Mt. Blue Alpine team win the conference title. She added a second-place finish in the slalom and a fourth-place in the giant slalom at the Class A state meet as Mt. Blue won the overall girls title.

For her outstanding season, Farrington has been named the Morning Sentinel Girls Alpine Skier of the Year. Teammate Mallory Parker and Mt. Abram’s Elise Luce and Erin Luce were also considered.

“Once Heather won her first race, she gained a lot of confidence,” Mt. Blue Alpine coach Mark Cyr said. “She trained hard and put together a great senior year.”

Winning a race helped Farrington push aside the constant fear of injuring her leg again. Farrington suffered a lateral tibia plateau fracture, a dislocated knee cap and a torn MCL during a race at Sunday River. A plate, four screws and a bone graph later, Farrington was skiing again as a sophomore.

“Everything fell into place,” she said. “I didn’t think anything could stop me.”

Farrington started skiing at Titcomb in elementary school and also looked up to the high school skiers, admired the championship they won and hoped to follow in their footsteps.

This season, she played a part in the Cougars 19th overall girls state championship in the last 21 years.

“It was really important for the girls team to win the states,” she said. “We’ve won it every year I was in high school and I wanted to be a part of the winning team.”