During February break, the YHS Alpine team drove six hours on a school bus to Fort Kent for the State Championship. They competed in both Giant Slalom and Slalom races, with Brooke Boone, Killian Marsh, and Tyler Moore qualifying for Shootouts at Black Mountain later that week. Killian and Brooke qualified for the Maine State Alpine Team and had the opportunity to compete at Eastern Alpine Championships in New Hampshire on March 2-5, where they ultimately placed 19th and 12th respectively. At states, the girl’s team finished 7th, and the boy's team finished 3rd this year, but this was only due to bad luck and not at all representative of their season (At Conference Championships the boys won and the girls were 2nd).
Monday of February break was the Slalom race at Lonesome Pine Mnt. in Fort Kent. The conditions were warm and slushy, making for a difficult slalom course according to the coaches. Unfortunately, this caused several Yarmouth skiers to end with DNFs or DQs.
Tuesday had better conditions for the Giant Slalom races at Mars Hill in Big Rock. Several Yarmouth skiers finished well, and that race made up for points lost the day before. Killian Marsh led the boys with a fifth-place finish in a combined time of 1:28.24, and Brooke Boone led the girls for a fourth-place finish with a combined time of 129.65.
Coaches Sean Marsh and Sean Lynch both say they are proud of the team for the positive spirit they kept throughout the three days up north. The captains kept team spirit up, and all enjoyed the time spent together. The coaches say the team bonded well and even those who did not compete helped boost team spirit.
The State Champions for Alpine skiing this year were Caribou ( boys) and Rangely (girls).
Courtesy of Devyn Doyle