Mon, 03/23/2015 - 1:15pm

SUE MELLO, Staff Reporter

Ella Spear earned a first place ranking this year for U14 female alpine racers. She qualified for the Eastern Region Championships in Stowe, Vermont, and the CAN AM event in Tremblant, Canada. Courtesy of Carabassett Valley Academy

Simon Spear finished the Maine alpine racing season at sixth place among U14 male skiers, despite missing one out of five qualifying races. He qualified for the Eastern Region Championships in Stowe, Vermont, and the CAN AM event in Tremblant, Canada. Courtesy of Carabassett Valley Academy.

The Spear family of Boothbay is well-known for its athletic accomplishments. Boothbay Region High School junior Camden has long been a standout on the soccer field. Twins Ella and Simon excel on both soccer turf and ski slopes.

Each year, Ella and Simon turn the usual snowbird migration on its head, traveling north in winter to Carabassett Valley Academy (CVA) to train and ski at one of Maine’s premier youth skiing academies. At CVA, academics and skiing are both part of each student’s daily regimen and weekends are dedicated to racing.

Head U14 Alpine Coach Andrew Willihan said CVA offers a rigorous, top-notch ski program that well suits Ella and Simon’s drive.

“Both of the twins’ biggest attribute is that they are as successful in the classroom as they are on the slopes,” Willihan wrote in an email. “The kids take all parts of their life as serious as they do their passion for ski racing.”

Based on this season’s five qualifying races, Ella was ranked number one U14 female alpine skier by the Maine Alpine Racing Association. Ella’s mom, Pam Wiley, an accomplished dancer and athlete herself, said this is the seventh straight season Ella has finished first in her age class.

“Ella's biggest quality is her level head and steadfast determination to be the best skier on the hill,” Coach Willihan wrote. “Going fast is important to her, but being a great skier is even more important.”

Simon finished the season at sixth place among Maine U14 male alpine skiers, despite missing one of the five qualifying races.

“He is a very determined racer. He was not able to ski the first qualifier due to an injury. He was able to qualify via hard work and dedication,” Willihan wrote.

The twins competed with the Maine ski team at the U.S. Skiing Association Eastern Region Championship event at Stowe, Vermont the weekend of March 16. Willihan said the twins skied well overall, with both Ella and Simon earning medals (second place) in Skills Quest and Simon reaching the podium with a seventh place finish in the slalom event.

“Ella was ranked 16th overall for 2001 birth year at the Eastern Championships with one podium. She was fifth after the first run in slalom and had a mistake just a few gates from the finish (in her second run). Ella is a very strong technical skier who takes her fundamentals seriously,” Willihan wrote.

“Simon was ranked 11th overall for 2001 birth year at the Eastern Championships with two podiums. Simon's best discipline was Skills Quest, however his slalom race was one of his best the entire season. Simon capitalized on a great second run start to have a top 10 result,” Willihan wrote.

Based on their Eastern Region results, both Ella and Simon qualified to compete at the Canadian American Games at Tremblant, Canada.