After earning a pair of top-10 finishes at the state championships and qualifying for the Eastern and the New England Under-16 championships as a freshman at Mt. Blue last season, Meg Charles knew that her sophomore year would come with expectations.

“I kind of set the bar pretty high,” Charles said.

A member of the talented Cougars Nordic team, Charles met those expectations. She placed fifth in the classical race final at the Class A state championships and followed that with a fourth-place finish in the freestyle championship race.

With a strong sophomore season complete, Charles is the Morning Sentinel Girls Nordic Skier of the Year.

“She felt a lot of pressure going into the championship races,” Mt. Blue Nordic coach Claire Polfus said. “To see a sophomore be able to do that is amazing, and I’m excited to see what she can do in the future.”

“I’m really excited about how it went,” Charles added of her season. “It’s my favorite sport.”

When she completed the state championship classical race, Charles enthusiastically approached Polfus, telling her coach it was the best she’d ever felt in a classical skiing race. The race came a week after the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference championships, in which Charles felt a little off. She skied well in the conference races, placing sixth in classical and third in freestyle, but Charles knew she could ski better.

“My strength is skate, so I was super happy after Day 1 (classical),” Charles said. “I felt good after both (state races).”

Polfus said Charles’ love for the sport is constantly evident, in particular during some of the Cougars tougher training sessions.

“She works really hard. Every time we do a hard workout, she’s right up there,” Polfus said.

Pre-race jitters are something Charles doesn’t worry about.

“I don’t get nervous before races. It’s usually after, waiting for results to come in,” Charles said.

One of the things Charles enjoys about Nordic racing is creating relationships with skiers from other teams. Being a part of Mt. Blue’s Nordic tradition is another highlight, she said. The Cougars have fun, she said. For example, to keep warm before the KVAC championships, the team danced and sang “Downtown,” by Macklemore.

“It’s a really great team. We always have a lot of fun,” Charles said.

With two more years of high school competition to go, Polfus thinks Charles is just getting started.

“She has such a great tempo. I think she’s just getting stronger,” Polfus said.

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242

tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM

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