By DAVID McLAUGHLIN
Correspondent Monday, March 26, 2007

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Staff photo by Andy Molloy GOING THE DISTANCE: Maranacook Community High School's Kyle Marvinney is the Kennebec Journal's Boys Nordic Skier of the Year.

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Correspondent

Maranacook senior Kyle Marvinney's infectious attitude blossomed this winter and helped his school's Nordic team win the Class B boys state title. Led by Marvinney, a strong senior class executed a team effort in Nordic races that carried Maranacook to success.

"Kyle really came on this season, he started being more verbal with his teammates and was much more of a leader," Maranacook Nordic coach Steve DeAngelis said. "He stepped into a leadership role and was able to help the team."

With a talented senior group returning, the Black Bears started racing as a pack, helping each other to achieve their best performances during races and practices. In the state Class B freestyle race, four Black Bears finished in the top seven to ensure the team's success.

Finishing second overall in the competitive Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference boys Nordic competition to powerful Leavitt, Maranacook again finished with skiers crossing the finish line one after the other in the 8-11 positions.

"One of the biggest things about this season was the team effort," said Marvinney. "We all pushed each other to be the best we could."

For his leadership role and effort Marvinney has been named the Kennebec Journal Boys Nordic Skier of the Year, for the second consecutive time. Also considered were Danny Soltan of Winthrop and Casey Spencer of Maranacook.

Marvinney is extremely proud of the Black Bears team effort this season, especially when he looks back to his freshman season when the team won the championship.

"When I was a freshman, I realized the team effort was important," he said. "When we won that year I always felt like I was along for the ride, this year we had a true sense of a team."

Skiing Nordic events as a team takes an unselfish effort by everyone, including those at the top who might finish with faster times and greater personal rewards if they were skiing as an individual. Marvinney and his senior teammates, Craig Maffei, Spencer, Nick Huntington and Stephen Bates, pulled together to secure a team title at the state level.

"In the KVACs we had four in a row and had a chance to work off each other," Marvinney said. "You can get each other to ski faster than you think you can, it was great."

"The boys were really something," said DeAngelis, after the state Nordic races. "They had a goal from the beginning of the season and they worked hard to accomplish as a team."