RUMFORD -- When Hannah James was a freshman, the Mt. Abram High School girls Nordic ski team had just two skiers on its roster. On Thursday, James put forth a sterling effort to win the Mountain Valley Conference 5-kilometer freestyle race and lead the Roadrunners to a 13-34 win over Telstar.

Mt. Abram placed four skiers in the top five in the Nordic race. A strong performance by the Roadrunner Alpine team helped it open a 37-53 lead over Telstar after the first of two days of competition at Black Mountain. The MVC meet concludes Saturday with slalom and 5-kilometer classical events.

The Mt. Abram girls are the defending overall conference champions.

"It was a little overwhelming," said James, a senior, who toured the freestyle course in 17 minutes, 25.5 seconds. "We have a very strong team, which made it really exciting."

In the Skimeister competition, defending champion Erica Luce of Mt. Abram has a 17-23 lead over teammate Emma James.

The Black Mountain Nordic course provides a serious test for skiers, especially when they approach the lengthy uphill climb at "High School Hill" during the latter stages of the race. It is usually at that point the pack of skiers starts to separate, leaving those in superb condition ready to battle it out to the finish line.

"We tried to have a nice flowing tempo before the hill," Hannah James said. "When I got to the steep part, I really pushed it as hard as I could."

James finished 20 seconds ahead of Telstar's Brianne Bailey, who was followed by three Roadrunners. Maria Parrett (18:17.7) was third, Emma James (18:22.9) fourth and Georgia Dixon (18:58.7) fifth.

Roadrunner freshman Emily Luce was equally impressive in the giant slalom Alpine event, along with teammate Noelle Lake. Luce flew through the gates with the top two runs of the day to finish with a combined time of 1:08.78, while Lake earned a fifth with a time of 1:12.95.

Telstar edged Mt. Abram in the Alpine race 19-24.

"The course was nice to ski on, there wasn't any ice and it was smooth," said Luce. "I was skiing high and early, so I felt pretty good."

BOYS

Winthrop High School continued its climb up the MVC Nordic ladder in Thursday's 5-kilometer freestyle race at Black Mountain, posting a 19-39 win over Mountain Valley and Mt. Abram, which finished in a tie for second place.

Danny Soltan claimed first place for the Ramblers in 14:16.4, while teammate Justin Carpenter (14:41.2) was third and Tor O'Brien (15:39.2) was seventh. Rounding out Winthrop's scoring was Alex Cottrell (15:48.6) in eighth.

"This team has been a couple of years in the making," said Winthrop Nordic coach Ed Van Tassel. "We have put a lot of training in this season, it is a highly motivated group and they enjoy what they are doing."

Mt. Abram's Jason Parrett (15:04.2) and Shem Dixon (15:17.6) finished fourth and sixth, respectively, to pull the Roadrunners into a second place tie.