On Monday, Feb. 9, Bromfield’s top racers finished the downhill ski season with a victory, and a record eight of them—five boys and three girls—will head to the MIAA State Alpine Skiing Championships at Berkshire East on Feb. 24.
In Monday’s two-league Mass Bay West All-Star Race, Bromfield’s top five boys and girls scored a combined 1,381 points to lead all 12 teams, including perennial stalwarts Concord-Carlisle and Lincoln-Sudbury.
Bromfield’s boys won the All-Star slalom race, with freshman Erik Johnson leading the way for the Trojans in 10th place, and sophomore Tyler von Loesecke and freshman Tucker Edwards following right behind, in 11th and 12th, respectively. Freshman Sam Elkind cleaned up slalom points for Bromfield just two more places back, in 14th. The same quartet piled up third-place points in the giant slalom race, with Johnson 11th, von Loesecke 16th, Edwards 22nd, and Elkind 24th. Westford eked out the boys overall win over Bromfield by just a few points, with Lincoln-Sudbury well back in third place and Acton-Boxborough in fourth.
The girls finished on the podium in third place for slalom, giant slalom, and overall, with Concord-Carlisle and Acton-Boxborough first and second across the board. Sophomore Tori Budd of Littleton High, racing with Bromfield as part of a longstanding alliance, turned in a strong performance, finishing fifth in giant slalom, seventh in slalom, and sixth overall. Bromfield freshman Jackie Sampson wasn’t too far back, in ninth place overall, delivering an eighth-place finish in giant slalom and 11th place in slalom. Sophomore Tory Sowizral added to the girls’ point total, delivering 15th place in slalom and overall, with a 20th in giant slalom. Seventh-grader Sarah Rowse and sophomore Maggie Rooney, who finished 24th and 25th, respectively, pulled in the final points needed to place their team among the top three.
The five Bromfield boys headed to States include von Loesecke, Edwards, Johnson, Elkind, and senior Ryan Parker; Sampson, Budd, and Sowizral will represent the girls at the Feb. 24 tournament.
Head coach Steve Rowse commented optimistically about the teams’ prospects: “The depth of our boys team has been our strength all year, and having these five guys chasing three points positions should be an advantage. And while it would have been nice to qualify a couple more girls, the three going this year also raced last year at States, and that experience should help.”
