MADAWASKA — It was “the last hurrah” for Madawaska High School girls ski coach Howard Paradis this year and his eight-girl team won their second straight Class C skiing championship at Saddleback Mountain recently.

Paradis, a retired Madawaska High School teacher, also retired from coaching with this season, his 31st. He’s already in Florida vacationing with his buddy and fellow ski coach Michael Pelletier.

Jennifer Albert, one of two co-captains with Cinday Sirois, said the second consecutive championship is “just great.” The team had only one new girl, Debbie Plourde, from last year. They are losing two to graduation this year and that should leave them in the running for a third championship run next February.

Of the championship, Albert said, “We blew everyone out of it.”

They won their first championship last year on their home turf in competition at Edmundston, New Brunswick, and at Fort Kent’s Lonesome Pine Trails. They overan 11 other teams this year to show they were still the best.

People in Madawaska are comparing the girls team to the strongest girl skiers ever to come out of Madawaska, the 1980 champions. This year’s squad is only the first Madawaska girls ski team to repeat a championship.

At the helm of the squad was the unsurmountable Cindy Sirois, who came home with the skimeister trophy. She won it by being the state champion in giant slalom, and cross country and coming in second in slalom.

Along with those impressive efforts by Sirois, Albert said all eight girls placed in the top 20 in all events at the competition.

The topping on the cake, the Madawaska girls were also first in the cross country team relay. They won that by six minutes over their closest rival and they lapped three girls teams while doing that.

And with those efforts, Albert noted that she was third overall in giant slalom and that Danielle Fillion was second in the cross country finals.

Albert was quite proud in noting that their time was better than the winning time for the boys cross country team relay.

The new girl on the block, Debbie Plourde, was an asset, said Albert. Despite being new to the squad she also placed in the top 20 in all events.

Albert said the state championship was won with 115 points, better than the top boys team in the competition. She said the Madawaska girls won the title “handily.”

Even in local competition, she said, Madawaska stayed close to Fort Kent all year. Fort Kent competes in Class A. “We upset the Fort Kent girls in the country cross country relay and I think that set us up to win the state. We knew we could do it at that point,” said Albert.

She said, “We jelled after that Fort Kent win. We felt we could have a solid state meet and we did.”

She said the eight-girl squad had “agility, strength, and overall ability.”