By: Shane Rabacs ’18

BOYS:

Coming in as the second ranked team in the state, the boys’ ski team had high hopes for the State Open race.

Due to hazardous snow conditions, only one run could be completed as opposed to the usual two. The team finished in sixth place at the race, but maintained their second rank for the season.

The Fairfield Prep team placed first in the competition with a time of 311.04; and Brunswick and Greenwich rounded out the top 3 with a time 314.62 and 319.72 seconds, respectively.

Captain Rory Steele ’17 and Zach Howard ’18 led the way for Staples, both finishing in the top 20 of all racers. Steele finished with a time of 26.46 seconds while Howard finished at 26.35 seconds

“States was more of a disappointment as we didn’t podium but overall the season went ok,” Steele said.

Nick Blum from Brunswick received a first place finish overall with a time of 24.67 seconds.

Staples now looks to next year; “Looking into the future for the team, there’s a lot of young freshman talent that will help us out in the coming years, along with a trio of top skiers in the junior class” Ryan Smith ’19 said.

GIRLS:

The girls’ ski team finished third in the State Open championship on March 2. The team received third place in the overall season standings.

“I felt that we did really good at States. The course was very bumpy with a lot of ruts, but all the girls finished with great times” said Sofia Gerrard ’18.

Gerrard finished seventh overall, with a total time of 54.22 seconds. Maddie Steele ’19 finished 13th overall with a time of 55.53.

The Fairfield team finished first in the team competition and Greenwich placed second. Their total times were 334.94 and 343.80 seconds, respectively.

Mary Foley from Amity took the individual crown with a combined time of 52.19 seconds for her two runs.

The Staples team next year looks to be strong 2 all state skiers, Gerrard and Steele, will be back.