RUMFORD -- Mt. Blue High School opened defense of its boys and girls Class A state ski championships in dramatic fashion Tuesday at Black Mountain, taking early leads in both events.

In both team events, the Cougars finished ahead of Greely High School, owning a slim 109-113 advantage in the girls competition and an 87-158 advantage in the boys after completion of the giant slalom and freestyle races.

"We knew Greely would be really tough," Mt. Blue Nordic coach Buzz Davis said. "I am really pleased with how well our kids skied today, they did a great job."

Mt. Blue showed consistency throughout its ski program, garnering quality points in both the Alpine and Nordic races. The Cougars tied Leavitt at 26 for first in the freestyle race, placing four skiers in the top 11 spots.

Leavitt claimed the top two positions with Lauren Turner and Justin Fereshetian finishing 1-2, respectively, but the Cougars followed with Welly Ramsey, Derek Rowe and Adam Fissette in fourth, fifth and sixth.

Mt. Blue beat Greely 61-122 in the giant slalom competition.

Skowhegan's Andy Calder, meanwhile, earned a fourth-place finish with two-run combined time of 1 minute, 30.44 seconds, falling just short of winner Matt Butler of Windham (1:29.55). The course turned tough when afternoon temperatures started to drop.

"The course was really rough at the top and it was difficult staying on track," Calder said. "I am just really happy with my results today, I feel like I skied one of my best races."

Mt. View's Andrew Tucker also produced a solid effort, finishing 14th in a field of 87 skiers.

Peter Smith was Mt. Blue's top finisher, landing in the No. 7 spot. Smith's effort in the giant slalom coupled with a 19th place in the freestyle lifted the Cougar into first place in the boys Skimeister competition.

On the girls side, Mt. Blue had to overcome an overwhelming finish by Greely in the freestyle race, where the Rangers won the first three spots. Freshman Hannah Allen and Shelby Aseltine picked up the slack for the Cougars, placing fifth and seventh.

"I tried to pass as many skiers as I could without letting anyone get past me," Allen said. "I think we had a pretty good race, the course was a little slushy in places and it made it tough to ski."

Kyle Cyr led the Cougars in a giant slalom field that was wide open. Nine different schools placed skiers in the top 10, with only Bangor collecting two top-10 finishes. Cyr finished fourth, as Mt. Blue's depth provided a 61-122 win over Greely, giving the Cougars a major boost toward winning the overall title.

Racing continues in Class A with a slalom race at 10 a.m. today at Black Mountain.

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In Class C slalom racing at Sunday River in Bethel, Rangeley Lakes Regional Schools bid for an Alpine title fell short with the Lakers dropping to third-place overall after carrying a two-point lead into the final event.

"We had a rough day in the slalom," Rangeley coach Dustin Duchesne said. "It was a really close all-around race, but we had a lot of falls that cause us problems."

Central Aroostook rushed forward from the third spot to claim the Class C Alpine title, edging Freeport 110-111 with Rangeley close behind with 121 points.

Freeport's Tommaso Rondi won his second Class C Alpine title. Rangeley's Luke Hammond was second, followed by Devin Duchesne in 12th, Nick Bridges (18th) and Andrew Terlesky (46th).