The Bromfield/North Middlesex boys ski team walked away with a huge victory at the sixth and final Bay West League Alpha Division ski race—a slalom— at Nashoba Valley Ski Area Feb. 15.
Senior Jack Donaldson on the varsity boys team and sophomore Evelyn Bagley on the varsity girls team qualified to compete in the MIAA Division 1 State Championship Feb. 27. The qualifiers for states are determined by the best four out of six races.
Senior Jack Donaldson in a qualitying run for the MIAA Division 1 State Championship Feb. 27. (Courtesy photos)
The boys varsity team won its race for the fifth time this season, making it the 2018-19 league champion, with Donaldson emerging as the league’s individual champion. Though he has won previous races, Donaldson said, “I have always had a problem finishing races, like making it all the way to the bottom without falling.” Throughout his high school career he has struggled to complete races; but over the past two years he has worked to improve his racing, and that effort has finally paid off. Donaldson raced in five out of six meets this season, with Will Thompson of Groton-Dunstable as his biggest opponent, and the two battled all season for the title of league champion. Donaldson said, “I was much more relaxed and conservative” this season, which clearly worked well for him. He finished the season with 399 points, closely followed by Thompson with 397.
With three out of six starters absent from the race, alternates Callum Hammill and Alex Lebish performed, placing eighth and 15th, respectively. Dylan Winchell finished 14th, Oscar Pride 20th, and Josh Boswell 23rd.
From left, seniors Sage McFarland, Jack Donaldson, and Izzi Barton celebrate their last Bromfield Alpine ski race by posing in fun onesies.
The varsity girls raced without two of their starters. Bagley finished in seventh place, Sage McFarland 10th, Isabel Barton 14th, and Colleen Makosky 24th. Overall, the girls placed sixth in the meet. The girls took zero points as their fifth best score; Coach Raymond McCarthy said, “Otherwise our girls would have likely placed second on the day.”
McCarthy said he saw “an awesome display of team spirit with our seniors donning and racing in their onesies.” Given the stakes, he was happy with how well the skiers performed, said McCarthy.
State championship races will be held Wednesday, Feb. 27, at Wachusett Mountain Ski Area. The competition commences in the morning and spans the day to late afternoon.
Aurora Abraham is
a Bromfield senior.
