The Bromfield-North Middlesex Alpine ski teams continued a successful streak of races Feb. 1, with the boys winning the first slalom event of the season and the girls landing second by 3 points.
The switch from giant slalom to slalom this week meant skiers were maneuvering a tighter course at slower speeds. Coach Ray McCarthy explained that giant slalom gates are about 20 to 24 meters wide and set farther apart, allowing racers to hit 50 to 60 miles per hour. Slalom gates are 10 to 12 meters wide, and skiers typically reach 20 to 30 miles per hour. McCarthy said slalom racers need to be balanced and able to make quick recoveries from a mistake, whereas giant slalom requires racers to contend with “amplified turning forces” to make a clean run.
Hitting the slopes for the fourth of six regular season races, the boys put up a score of 457 to outski all seven teams in the Mass Bay West Ski League Alpha Division. Westford Academy took second with 442 points, putting the Ghosts and Trojans in a tie for first in the division standings, each with a 26-2 record.
Junior Noah Bagley was first in for the team, skiing to second place—a personal-best slalom finish—with a time of 26.17 seconds. Westford Academy’s Tyler Murray took first in 26.10. Sophomore Oscar Pride was next for the Trojans with 28.59 and eighth place. Freshman Owen Wood (28.59) was 11th; sophomore Rowan McCarthy (29.62) clinched 13th; and eighth-grader Cole Maddalone (29.66) wrapped up the team’s points in 14th. Wood, McCarthy, and Maddlone all had personal-best finishes.
The girls landed second on Tuesday with 428 points, just behind Newton South High School’s 431. Sophomore Imogen Slavin earned a personal-best, first-place finish in 28.75 to lead the team, followed by eighth-grader Libby Bassage, who skied a personal best of eighth in 31.83. Eighth-grader Audrey Slavin (36.67) was 18th; junior Siena Stanten (39.94) placed 26th; and sophomore Maddie Rausch (40.24) was just behind in 27th.
The finish puts the girls’ season record at 22-6 and moves the Trojans from second in the division to first, in a tie with Newton South.
The skiers were scheduled to hit the slopes again Feb. 8 for a slalom event at the Nashoba Valley Ski Area, and they finish out the regular season Feb. 15.
