Lenox Girls, Boys Sweep Giant Slalom at Bousquet
PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- Ella King was in her element on Monday night.
The Lenox High senior skied to a first place finish in the season’s first Berkshire County Alpine League giant slalom at Bousquet, clocking a time of 42.23 seconds and leading the Millionaires to victory in the five-team league.
It was King’s first individual title of the season as Lenox continued its run of team success with four wins in four outings.
“This weekend, I had a GS race up at Jiminy, so it was nice to have some practice with that coming into this GS race. Also, I prefer GS, so I was super excited about that.
“I looked at the course, and it looked really fun. I was really encouraged by my teammates and tried to encourage them. I think it was mental in that I was really excited but also it just sort of happened. It was a good day.”
King was followed on the leaderboard by teammate Taylor Knight (43.91). Monument Mountain’s Micaela Bartlett was third in 44.08 before another Millionaire, Abby Kate Caproni, in fourth place at 44.23. Hani Chung rounded out the scoring for Lenox with a sixth-place finish and a time of 44.76.
King said the conditions and the GS format both suited her style.
“It's a different feeling [in the GS],” she said. “ It's much smoother. You can kind of link up your turns. Everything comes up a little less quick, but still you have to be on your toes. I just like the tempo of it.
“You could really grip it, and for my style of skiing, it's nice to set up your edge and carve through the whole turn. The conditions were great. The hill was in perfect condition. I couldn't ask for more there.”
Monday’s boys winner agreed that the conditions were favorable.
“They were really nice,” Wahconah’s Tanner Hill said. “It was very grippy snow, and it was nice and kind of warm out, not too bad.
“It was much nicer tonight than it has been.”
Hill finished in 40.98 seconds, and his teammate, Kyle Brogan, was second in 42.12.
Lenox came away with the team title after four Millionaires finished in the top 10, led by Andrew King in sixth place in 43.89. Paul Curtil (44.00), Devon Atwell (44.68) and Max DiGrigoli (45.50) each scored for Lenox.
For the Lenox girls, Ella King said the squad made the most of the course inspection period to strategize for the race ahead.
“It's like a time to think about what line you want to have, look at the conditions, pick out where I want to try to go really fast and throw in a tuck or where I want to set up a turn and make sure I come all the way across the hill,” she said. “It's just a nice time to be prepared and talk about strategy.”
The league will be back in action on Wednesday night at Bousquet.
Girls team scores:
1. Lenox, 175.13 seconds; 2. Monument Mountain, 189.50; 3. Taconic, 205.30; 4. Wahconah, 205.60; 5. Pittsfield, 212.44.
Girls top 10:
1. Ella King (L), 42.23; 2. Taylor Knight (L), 43.91; 3. Micaela Bartlett (MM), 44.08; 4. Abby Kate Caproni (L), 44.23; 5. Jill Scussell (T), 44.73; 6. Hani Chung (L), 44.76; 7. Solia Herndon-Schmid (L), 45.98; 8. Carly Terranova (MM), 46.99; 9. Adelaide McFarland (MM), 47.75; 10. Molly KNight (L), 48.06; 11. CeCe Dunham (W), 48.47; … 16. Emma Mazzeo (PHS), 51.95.
Boys team scores:
1. Lenox, 178.07 seconds; 2. Wahconah 183.84; 3. Pittsfield, 186.26; 4. Taconic, 189.14; 5. Monument Mountain, 192.76.
Boys top 10:
1. Tanner Hill (W), 40.98; 2. Kyle Brogan (W), 42.12; 3. Cody Latimer (T), 42.71; 4. David Mansfield (PHS), 42.85; 5. Josh Mansfield (PHS), 43.83; 6. Andrew King (L), 43.89; 7. Paul Curtil (L), 44.00; 8. Raphael Kummer-Landau (MM), 44.24; 9. Devon Atwell (L), 44.68; 10. Max DiGrigoli (L), 45.50.