Varsity Boys Win First Giant Slalom Race & Girls Capture Podium 2nd!
Last night's first giant slalom race was an exciting competition against the Varsity high school ski teams in Conference C. Both the boys' and girls' varsity ski teams performed exceptionally well. The Sparta Boys won the race against Conference C and achieved a fantastic 6-0 win, raising their win percentage to 92%. Meanwhile, the girls' ski team also did great, finishing in second place with 5 wins and only 1 loss, giving them a win percentage of 90%. 🎉🏅
In preparation for this first-speed event, our athletes had only two Giant Slalom training sessions, yet we concentrated on refining our alpine tactics. We incorporated rise line brush drills, training hoses, skating exercises, and timed runs to enhance their skills, particularly focusing on the crucial race within a race to the all-important second GS gate. The competition on Kamikaze at Mountain Creek highlighted their hard work, as both teams earned podium finishes. The inspection revealed that an aggressive strategy was vital, and with 130 varsity athletes competing, the race was extensive, but the track conditions remained superb.
The Varsity Boys triumphed in their race against Conference C, with solid performances from Ryan Grycuk in 4th place, Captain George Flint in 8th, Finn Kowalski in 11th, and Pat Fitzsimmons in 12th. These four athletes have proven to be both quick and dependable, consistently achieving strong times for the boys' team throughout the season. Sparta won the race with a team time of 6:37.58. Tenafly took second place (7:04.92), while Ridgewood came in third (7:28.36). Although Delbarton narrowly won the overall race by 3.8 seconds, this loss does not affect our standings, as they are in Conference B with Sparta, and were not our direct competitors.
While none of our girls placed in the top ten individually, we still managed to secure podium second thanks to our closely timed performances. Our team's success came from all four top racers finishing stacked one after the other, showcasing a strong team effort that earned us second place with a total team time of 7:22.95. Ridgewood took first with a time of 7:04.95, while Tenafly came in third at 7:48.05. Ski team contributors to our second-place finish included Captain Devon Dobbs (11th), Sunny Young (12th), Ava Dyrsten (13th), and Maddie Gambino (14th).
The Junior Varsity ski teams are scheduled to compete in a JV-only race on Monday, February 3rd, at Mountain Creek, starting at 5 pm.
The next Varsity race will take place at Mountain Creek on Friday, February 7th, as part of the mega East Race, featuring 15 high school ski teams from New Jersey.
With only two conference league races left, both the Sparta boys' and girls alpine race teams are well-positioned to qualify for the NJ State Championships, which will be held at Mountain Creek at the end of February.
Here are the Team Standings after four of six conference league races:
Varsity Girls - 18 win - 2 loss 90% Win Percentage
Varsity Boys - 23 win - 2 loss 92% Win Percentage