Every year, about midway through the Nordic skiing season, Joanna Kinsman of Fryeburg starts to hear the whispers.

“Maybe she’s finally slowing down,” some of them say. “Maybe this is the year she doesn’t win at states.”

As has been the pattern, Kinsman again heard the talk this season after dropping a couple of races in the middle of the season.

But again at the state championships this season, Kinsman laughed all the way to the finish line, taking both the free technique and the classical style races by considerable margins.

“I guess I just get myself ready for the bigger races,” said Kinsman, who recently returned from Russia, where she was part of a New England team racing against other countries. “The mental focus that I have is much sharper before big races.”

That ability to conserve her energy for the big races showed savvy on her part. In addition to competing in Russia, Kinsman is also on the junior national team, and has had to juggle several events throughout the year, all while contributing to her team’s success.

“If it came down to going to Russia or skiing with my team at states, which it almost did, I would have stayed in Maine,” said Kinsman. “We had a chance to win the nordic title, and I wanted to help the team do that.”

For her dedication to the sport and her contributions to cross-country skiing both in high school and on a national level, Joanna Kinsman is the 2002-2003 Sun-Journal Girls’ Nordic Skier of the Year.

“She really reestabliched herself this year,” said her coach, John Weston. “Starting her sophomore year, everyone knew about her, and our main concern was that she might peak too early. In her typical fashion, though, she managed to stay on top.”

Next year, Kinsman is eyeing the University of New Hampshire, which has also established itself near the top of the NCAA skiing world.

jpelletier@sunjournal.com