Sparta girls qualify for States, boys rule the slalom course

These girls are on fire! The Sparta girls Varsity ski team placed podium third Friday at the last conference race of the season held at Mount Peter in Warwick, N.Y., with a team time of 4:19.11.

Tenafly won first place with a team time of 4:06.54, and Mountain Lakes placed second with a team time of 4:18.56. Talk about a close one, the girl’s Varsity just missed taking second place by 0.33 seconds!

On the way to the mountain, I stressed how important it is for our racers to deliver compressed finish times (close in time to each other) if we were to reach the podium. This has been our secret to winning all season long. And that’s exactly what they did. Our top four racers placed 9th, 10th, 11th, and 14th in the giant slalom race — all within 1.8 seconds of each other.

Leading the Sparta girls team and finishing 9th overall was Madison Campisi, followed closely by Team Captain Claudia Calafati finishing 10th overall, followed by Team Captain Rachel Young finishing 11th overall, and Cora Moriarty finishing 14th overall.

All season long, the Sparta Varsity Girls Ski Team consistently raced to podium placement. We wrapped up the season with a superb 70% win percentage and in 7th place overall. Your hard work paid off and you have qualified to compete in this year’s State Championships. Bravo ladies! Now they are off to have a little fun at the Petro Tune-Up on Feb. 9 and give it their all at States.

Boys Varsity

Boys Varsity fought hard and took fourth place at Friday’s giant slalom race. Don Bosco won the race with a team time of 4:12.09. Mountain Lakes placed second and Wayne Hill took third.

Reliable and fast, Kanna Pasunuri led the boy’s team once again and finished 5th overall, along with Jake Koerner (11th), Drew Young (13th), and James Kressman (18th). The boy’s Varsity team time was 4:28.82. The boys finished the regular season in 9th place with a 60% win percentage, just one win shy of finishing 8th and qualifying for States.

The boy’s team raced in the Petro Qualifier on Feb. 8, capturing podium 3rd at the Petro Qualifier. Although we finished 7th in Giant Slalom, we ruled the slalom course and won 1st place! Bravo men! Cheers to a memorable season.

Junior Varsity

We once again saw a great effort from our Junior Varsity racers, who are always driven to finish and never give up. The girls JV finished their last race as follows: Emma Dyrsten 1st place, Elizabeth Flint 2nd, Ella Welber 4th, Rachel Reder 5th, and Maya Albers 7th. You have all made tremendous strides. Good job!