PODIUM 1ST PLACE!
The Sparta Varsity Boy's Ski Team absolutely crushed it this weekend!
BOYS SKI TEAMS: The Sparta varsity boys' ski team raced to a 1st place victory at Sunday's second slalom race of the season at Winter 4 Kids with a team time of 6:23.87. Taking podium second was Blair Academy with a team time of 6:36.22 and finishing in third place was Ridgewood with a team time of 6:57.53. Our boy's varsity racers were ecstatic to clinch a 1st place win. This makes two podium placements in a row, both delivered by the same "Steady Four" - Captain Kanna Pasunuri (3), Drew Young (6), Asst. Cpt. James Kressman (10) and George Flint (12). I have seen these four boys work hard over the past few years to develop and improve. They are a pleasure to coach and it's now starting to pay off and so well deserved. I could not be prouder for these men. In addition, the boys' team is stacked with talent waiting to arise and we will continue to focus on delivering two finish times from all of our racers and then we will be unstoppable. David Baker and Patrick Fitzsimmons also raced varsity. Congratulations men for the podium win and for picking up 6 wins and 0 losses elevating our win percentage to an impressive 92% and for being ranked 3rd in the State. Bravo!
Two Sparta boys racers finished among the top 6 of 41 varsity racers; ski team Captain Kanna Pasunuri (senior) raced to podium third with a combined time of 1:31.39 and Drew Young (junior) finished sixth with a time of 1:33.97. JV racer Ryan Grycuk (freshman) took first place overall of 29 JV racers with a combined time of 1:50.72. Congratulations on these achievements!
The Boys JV Ski Team competed against four other teams and finished in fourth place, having to take on a ghost time. Racing JV was Ryan Grycuk (1), Jonathan Petelicki (4), Chase Thonus (19), Ben Dykstra (DNF), and Alek Diamond (DNF).
GIRLS SKI TEAMS: With half the girls' team being new to varsity racing this season, the girls are working out the kinks and quickly learning. The Varsity Girls' ski team raced to a fifth-place finish with a team time of 7:11.42. Contributing to the team time were Madison Campisi (7), Aubrey Zimmerman (10), Devon Dobbs (21), and Ava Dyrsten (24). Team Captain Elizabeth Flint (DNF) and Julia Mooney (27) also raced varsity. The Sparta Varsity girls picked up 1 win and 4 losses. Winning the race was Tenafly High School with a magnificent team time of 5:56.84. Ridge took podium second with a team time of 6:40.56 and Blair finished third with a team time of 6:52.30.
The Girls JV Ski Team competed against two other teams and finished in third place, having to take on a ghost time. Racing JV was Brynne Cashion (4), Kate Agudo (6), and Leah Albers (7).
SCHEDULE: Due to the continued unseasonable warm weather, the practice/race schedule continues to fluctuate. Thank you to all our racers for your flexibility and commitment to our ski team, it's what winning teams are made of.
NEXT RACE: Our next slalom race will be on Friday, Feb 3rd at Mountain Creek at 5 pm. If postponed, the race will move to Sat. Feb. 4th, or Sun. Feb. 5th; venue and time to be determined.
STATS: Here are the varsity ski team standings after two conference races: Varsity Girls 10th Place | Varsity Boys 3rd Place
Photo Credits: Paul Lopez - Thank you for the wonderful photos!