CHARLEMONT – Despite the strange trajectory of the high school ski season that was, one constant remained – the success of the Westfield and St. Mary ski teams.
The high school ski season was a wintry mess. A half-dozen Pioneer Valley Interscholastic Athletic Conference regular season races were postponed due to snow, sleet, and rain.
The chaotic nature of the season, thanks to Mother Nature, resulted in the eighth and final regular season race being scheduled this Thursday. Before that could occur, there was just an individual championship to be held.
WHS SKI TEAM
“It was a little backwards of a season, but it is what it is,” Westfield ski coach Monique Piotte said.
Westfield’s Rebecca Stephens and Grace O’Connor sat atop the leaderboard all season. When they sat down at the completion of Tuesday’s PVIAC Individual Championships, they graced two of the three top spots again.
Stephens finished second overall on the hill among the girls with a combined time of 1:06.81, and O’Connor was third (1:07.05). Teammate Lauren O’Connor finished just outside the top 10 in the combined results at 11th overall.
Westfield boys’ skier Jacob Stephens was ninth (1:08.50).
St. Mary’s Matthew Masciadrelli managed to navigate his way through a field of 150 skiers to capture the Giant Slalom championship, and third place in the combined results (1:03.98). He was fifth on the Slalom.
“We made some adjustments to tactics given the soft snow and he put down a great run,” St. Mary ski coach Andy Lussier said regarding Masciadrelli.
Jack Masciadrelli was sixth overall (1:06.84) for St. Mary. Saints’ Nate Bonini placed eighth (1:08.29).
St. Mary eighth grader Chloe Lussier also cracked the top 10, finishing eighth (1:11.16) thanks to a fifth place finish in the slalom and 10th place GS.
“She really brought it today and left nothing on the hill,” coach Lussier said of his young, talented skier. “She’s another one of our athletes who is peaking at the right time. …We are peaking at the right time with the state meet just around the corner. They are all skiing great right now, and with confidence.”
