Punxsutawney Phil may not have seen his shadow on Tuesday morning, Feb. 2, thus predicting an early spring. But that does not mean winter is over for the Bromfield Trojan boys and girls ski teams, which finished two races last week at Nashoba Valley Ski Area in Littleton.
The first race took place Tuesday, Jan. 26, in the boys and girls slalom. The varsity boys team finished in sixth place out of the eight teams present, which was not an easy feat, according to Coach David Bobruff, considering only four of six team members completed the race course. The girls fared a bit better during Tuesday’s race, earning a respectable fourth place after having five of their six girls finish.
Tough course, good results
Bromfield’s race went well, especially on what turned out to be a tough course, said Bobruff. “Both Nashoba and Wachusett mountain have done a great job dealing with the snow conditions in 50 and even 60 degrees with many kids skiing a course back to back,” he said. However, there’s only so much that can be done, and weather like this sometimes makes a course more difficult to complete. This was exemplified by nine of 46 boys varsity racers not finishing the course, Bobruff explained. Similarly, on the girls’ side, nine of the 48 varsity skiers did not finish the course. Despite that, the Bromfield girls team had its best finish of the past two years, earning fourth overall. Perhaps the most impressive performances were from Sadie Keiran and Izzi Barton, both first-year racers, who skied smooth, fast, strong runs, finishing 27th and 35th, respectively, in their first slalom, said Bobruff. They skied with the pressure of knowing that the team needed them to finish, since teammate Sage McFarland, racing number two for the team, did not finish.
In the past, the boys team has finished eighth when only four racers finish, which makes this year’s improvement to sixth with four skiers even more commendable. Bobruff proudly acknowledged that “the effort at practice speaks volumes about what this team is capable of, and their continued desire to improve each week bodes well with the rest of the season.”
‘Incredible progress’
At the Friday, Jan. 29, slalom race, both teams continued to ski their best to the finish line. The girls team pulled off a close defeat of Lowell, earning seventh place, and sophomore co-captain Brigid Griffin had her second top-10 finish in two races. At Friday’s race, McFarland’s presence was missed because she had sustained a concussion, meaning that only five athletes completed the course.
The boys team was again at a disadvantage with only four varsity skiers finishing, yet it still managed to nudge its way into seventh place, ahead of Groton-Dunstable in the final standings. The boys who did finish clocked in some great results for Bromfield. Benjamin Williams and Hadyn Hammill each finished in the top 15. Connor Reitler reached his third top-20 finish of the season, and Camden Maddalone added an excellent top-30 finish after fully committing to a run that he knew his team needed.
Bobruff called the progress he has seen in everyone’s slalom skiing this year “incredible!” Bobruff hopes that the team can finish the season, as it did last year, with the last two races being the team’s best.
Along with improving their skiing and having them enjoy the sport, Bobruff hopes to teach his skiers some valuable life lessons. “I started the season by telling them that how they behave and how they represent themselves is more important to me than their skiing,” Bobruff said. He wants his skiers to learn individual responsibility but also team responsibility, “what it means to be part of a team, and to support your teammates.” During a lot of their training, Bobruff is not always with them, “so it’s important that they learn how to represent themselves, their school, their parents, and the whole Harvard community appropriately,” he said.
After the conclusion of the six regular season races on Tuesday, Feb. 9, skiers will be notified if their performances qualified them individually for the state competition. The qualifications for states are based on results of the best four races out of six in the season, and the top 15 skiers with the highest total points from those races go on to qualify for the state competition, with the next five skiers listed as alternates.
Following last week’s slalom races, the Bromfield boys are currently sixth in the league with a 12–16–0 record. The Bromfield girls are seventh in the league with a record of 6–22–0. The Bromfield alpine ski team is scheduled to compete in its fifth slalom race on Tuesday, Feb. 2, at Nashoba Valley Ski Area.
Bromfield Results
Times are combined for two runs
Tuesday, Jan. 26
Boys slalom
- 9, Haydn Hammill, 29.08 seconds
- 20, Camden Maddalone, 32.76
- 24, Patrick Keiran, 33.98
- 35, Benjamin Williams, 38.81
Girls slalom
- 9, Brigid Griffin, 34.53 seconds
- 22, Grace Barton, 39.25
- 25, Natalie O’Leary, 40.46
- 27, Sadie Keiran, 41.68
- 35, Isabel Barton, 46.73
Friday, Jan. 29
Boys slalom
- 11, Benjamin Williams, 28.13 seconds
- 15, Haydn Hammill, 28.77
- 18, Connor Reitler, 29.25
- 27, Camden Maddalone 31.26
Girls slalom
- 9, Brigid Griffin, 32.06 seconds
- 33, Natalie O’Leary, 37.82
- 35, Grace Barton, 38.25
- 36, Sadie Keiran, 38.73
- 44, Isabel Barton, 46.13
Tava Hoag is a senior at Fitchburg State University
and an intern at the Harvard Press.
