VARSITY BOYS TAKE PODIUM 2ND & GIRLS 3RD
What a perfect way to close out the regular season and celebrate our seniors! All four Sparta ski teams achieved podium placement at the last conference race of the season on Wednesday night, February 15th at Mountain Creek. The icing on the cake was all 22 Sparta racers finished with two solid runs ... Victory For All.
It felt odd to be racing our last conference race of the season for the first time this year down the Kamikaze race trail. It was a tropical winter day, the snow was soft, the course was direct and our racers were determined to carry speed through the flats and finish strong. When the race was completed, the Varsity boys, JV boys, and JV girls ski teams all raced to podium second finishes and the Varsity girls raced to podium third.
State Championships Here We Come!
BOYS SKI TEAMS: Team Captain, Senior Kanna Pasunuri, lead the varsity boy's ski team with a powerful 4th place overall finish and a combined time 1:23.94. Teammates Drew Young 1:26.12 (7), David Baker 1:28.15 (12) and George Flint 1:29.00 (15) all contributed to the 2nd place podium victory with a team time of 5:47.21. The undefeated Pingry boys' team won the race with a team time of 5:39.57. Vernon High School finished third with a team time of 5:49.76. The Sparta boys picked up 5 wins and 1 loss.
Bravo men, for achieving podium placement all season long! It was no easy task, but your persistence is noteworthy.
Ridge High School won the JV race with a team time of 6:39.51. The Sparta JV Boys Ski Team finished 2nd with a close team time of 6:43.97. Freshmen Ryan Grycuk 1:33.24 (1), Pat Fitzsimmons 1:37.01 (2), Jonathan Petelicki 1:42.09 (6), and Chase Thonus 1:51.63 (18) all contributed to the JV team time. Congratulations to Ryan Grycuk for winning the JV race and to Patrick Fitzsimmons for taking 2nd overall.
GIRLS SKI TEAMS: For the third time this season, the varsity girls enjoyed stepping up to the podium. With a team time of 6:07.47, the Sparta Varsity girls finished in 3rd place. Contributing to the team time was Madison Campisi at 1:28.77 (8), Aubrey Zimmerman at 1:29.17 (10), Julia Mooney at 1:32.93 (15), and Ava Dyrsten at 1:36.60 (21). Vernon won the race with a team time of 5:50.12 and Blair Academy took second place with a team time of 5:59.43. The Sparta girls picked up 3 wins and 2 losses.
Congratulations to sophomore Aubrey Zimmermann for being the steadfast Spartan to lead our team by contributing to every race this season. Bravo!
The JV girls raced to a 2nd place finish with a team time of 7:57.00. Freshman Kate Agudo at 1:47.18 (3) and Maddie Gambino lead the way at 1:50.26 (4), finishing 3rd and 4th respectively. Brynne Cashion 1:58.07 (9) and Leah Albers 2:21.49 (19) also contributed to the JV team time. Blair Academy won the JV race with a team time of 7:27.17. Ridge High School finished third with a team time of 8:07.37.
Elizabeth Flint, James Kressman, Kanna Pasunuri & Gabe Harrison
Thank You Sparta Ski Boosters for celebrating our four Senior Graduates
STATS: Here are the varsity ski teams' win percentages and rankings after all six conference races: Varsity Girls 58% Ranked 8th | Varsity Boys 85% Ranked 4th NOTE: With teams in two conferences left to race, these stats are not final and subject to change.
Photo Credits: Coach Rod Calafati