In the second race of the season, Bromfield/North Middlesex boys finished second while girls placed sixth in the Alpha division of the Massachusetts Bay West Ski League at Nashoba Valley Ski area on Tuesday, Jan. 14. Conditions were ideal, with little ice on the course after recent snow.
North Middlesex freshman Jack deDiego led the team, placing second with a collective time of 44.38 seconds, just 1.13 seconds shy of first place. Five of the team of 12 boys placed in the top 25 skiers. Cole Maddalone was in the top 10, with a time of 45.22 over two runs. The team was 18 points away from first place Acton-Boxborough.
Bromfield/North Middlesex girls saw improvement, moving up as a team of five athletes from eighth place in the previous race to sixth place. Lilyana deDiego placed ninth individually, earning 92 points toward the teams’ total. Audrey Slavin also placed in the top 20, finishing in 18th place.
Junior Cole Maddalone said it was “a good day for the team; everyone did a solid job.”
Team scores are based on the top five skiers from each team. Athletes are awarded points out of 100 based on their individual times, which are then combined to give a ranking among eight competing teams.
The first three races of the season are giant slalom races, meaning the gates are set farther apart than in slalom, which is more technical and requires additional turns. Racers get two runs in giant slalom but only one in slalom.
Bromfield/North Middlesex boys are tied with Acton-Boxborough for first place in the league, while the girls are ranked seventh overall.
The team’s next race is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, Jan. 28, at Nashoba Valley Ski Area.
Annabelle Purcell is a junior at the Bromfield School.
Bromfield/North Middlesex boys, top five finishers
- Jack deDiego, 44.38 seconds, second
- Cole Maddalone, 45.22, eighth
- Jasper Pride, 48.12, 19th
- Andrew Zaslavskiy, 48.22, 20th
- Sam Rausch, 48.27, 21st
Bromfield/North Middlesex girls, top five finishers
- Lilyana deDiego, 48.31, ninth
- Audrey Slavin, 51.32, 18th
- Ruby Hunt, 55.26, 28th
- Anouk Bidault, 58.46, 41st
- Summer Finn, 61.45, 43th
