When you’re a high school slalom skier looking to improve and the best slalom skier in the world competes 10 miles from your house, you go soak it all in.

Sugarloaf hosted the national Alpine skiing championships last March, and Mt. Abram’s Emma Berube made sure she was there to watch her favorite skier, Mikaela Shiffrin, dominate the slalom competition.

“I got my picture taken with Mikaela Shiffrin,” Berube, now a sophomore, said. “She’s my favorite skier.”

Watching Shiffrin and the rest of the field compete in the slalom also gave Berube a chance to pick up some pointers that helped her own racing once the 2015-16 season began. At the Class B state meet at Black Mountain, Berube placed 10th in the slalom.

For her efforts, Emma Berube is the Morning Sentinel Girls Alpine Skier of the Year.

“She spends a lot of time skiing,” Mt. Abram Alpine coach Leah Danala said.

The first two seasons of high school skiing were the first two seasons of Berube’s competitive skiing career. She began skiing when she was 3 or 4, Berube said, hitting the mountain with her father, Bill Berube.

“My dad got me into it,” Berube said. “I played basketball, so I was never really interested in racing.”

That changed once Berube got to high school, as decided she was ready for something new. Her freshman season was spent adjusting to skiing in competition. Berube placed 34th in the Class B state championship slalom and 31st in the giant slalom.

“Last year, she seemed to be stronger at GS. Next year, hopefully we’ll put it all together,” Danala said.

Berube didn’t watch Shiffrin compete at the national championships last year just as a fan. She paid attention to the style and the technique Shiffrin —as well as the other top skiers— used to blast through the gates as quickly as possible.

“I definitely saw some moves,” Berube said. “This is only my second year racing. Blocking the gates was a new thing for me. I saw how to turn quicker and faster. I had problems with my edges.”

On the day of this season’s state championship race, also at Black Mountain, the course was not in ideal shape. There was a lot of ice, Danala said.

“It was a brutal course, so it took a little technique. It was not great conditions,” Danala said.

“I was honestly terrified. I was looking down the course during inspection and it was heart-pounding,” Berube added. “Once I got on it, it wasn’t that bad. It warmed up, so it wasn’t as icy.”

Berube earned a spot in the Eastern high school championships shootout after finishing in the top 10 at states. While Berube didn’t earn a spot on Team Maine for the Eastern championships, she learned she can compete with the state’s best skiers.

“It was an eye-opening and exciting for her. It was exciting for her to get that opportunity to try out,” Danala said.

For the rest of the ski season, you’ll find Berube at Sugarloaf, skiing with friends and family. To continue her improvement, Berube plans to add more dry-land training to her offseason routine.

“I’ll train as much as possible now that the season is over,” Berube said.

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242

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