Mt. Blue’s Eli Yeaton makes a left-footed turn on his way to a first-place finish at the KVAC Alpine ski championships at Titcomb in February. Brewster Burns photo

Soft-spoken Eli Yeaton is a top-notch Mt. Blue student with a promising future in front of him.

But there is another side to the humble and sincere senior captain, who chooses his words carefully. He is a fearless downhill skier who enjoys the thrill of speeding down the snow-covered slopes as member of the Cougars’ boys Alpine team.

And he does it well.

Yeaton finished seventh in the giant slalom portion of Class A State boys Alpine championships in February with a combined time of 1:25.35. He snatched fourth-place in the slalom competition with a combined time of 1:35.47, leading the Cougars to second-place in states.

His performances also earned him the honor of being named the Sun Journal All-Region Boys Alpine Skier of the Year for the second consecutive year.

“It is a great accomplishment,” Yeaton said after hearing the news.

While the coronavirus has placed all high school spring sports in limbo, Yeaton has set his sites on attending Maine Maritime Academy, where he will study marine systems engineering. He will also be playing for the Mariners’ soccer team.

Yeaton set several serious goals that culminated in a successful season for himself and the Cougars.

“My main goal was to be consistently one of the top guys every race and be in the position to be (on the) podium or even win it,” he said. “So that was something that I had to kind of strive for all year long. Last year, I skied with senior Sam Smith; he and I really pushed each other. With him leaving, it was up to me and the younger guys to step up and push each other.”

But knowing it was his senior year also prompted him to try to make it into the top 10 every meet.

“I think there were one or two races where I crashed and didn’t quite make it (into the top 10),” Yeaton said. “I mentioned it in an earlier interview that I didn’t feel that good about states, but I can’t really define my entire season by two races.”

Yeaton said that he will miss skiing for the Cougars and the camaraderie with other members of the Alpine team.

“The team as a whole — even the guys and girls — it is a close-nit group. We like to have fun,” Yeaton said. “We show up, work hard and we have fun. We joke around with each other. We joke around with coach Mark Cyr. That’s what I am going to miss the most.”

COACH’S GO-TO

Cyr depended a lot on Yeaton’s for leadership.

“He’s the whole package,” Cyr said. “He’s strong; he’s quick, agile. He has great balance. He plays soccer in the fall. He has played baseball and played lacrosse for a few years, but he had a few concussions in lacrosse and kind of had to stop that.

“But he is just a good solid athlete, not a big kid as far as size, but he is just strong, quick, athletic and balanced. When he does things on skis, when he pushes the envelope and he is on the verge of blowing out and catching an edge, he just does things with his body that makes sure he gets back on track.”

Cyr also pointed out that Yeaton has excelled in the classroom.

“He understands things that you tell him,” Cyr said. “Give him something that might be a little over other kids’ heads, he will understand, and he listens.”