Berkshire County Alpine League Wraps Up Successful Season
PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- Andrew King Thursday won the final Alpine ski race of his high school career.
But that is not the thing that made him emotional at Bousquet Mountain.
The emotion started while he was still in the starting gate.
"I did tear up a little bit," King said while waiting for a season-ending awards ceremony. "I got a little emotional. It's big. I just ended a whole era of my life.
"We're going to step into something new. I'm going to be racing for fun in college, so that will be nice. But I'm going to miss high school skiing so much."
On Thursday night, King topped Lenox's Max Digrigoli by nearly a second, crossing the finish line in 35.71 seconds to Digrigoli's 36.66.
Afterward, the two were named co-recipients of the league's Male Athlete of the Year award.
The league champion Monument Mountain boys won the night's team title behind a third-place finish from senior Keegan Leach, who clocked a time of 37.13.
The Lenox girls, who won their league championship, also won the night behind a 1-2 finish from Molly Knight and Madison Digrigoli.
Knight edged her teammate by just a tenth of a second after finishing in 38.13.
Madison Digrigoli also took home co-Female Athlete of the Year honors, sharing the award with Pittsfield High senior Dakota Grosz.
Pittsfield's and Taconic's student-athletes spent most of the season racing as individuals in an under-19 league hosted by the high school league.
This week marked the beginning and end of the high school season for skiers like King and Grosz after the Pittsfield Public Schools authorized interscholastic sports mid-winter.
"The opportunity for things to come together, to be able to host a traditional league race and to recognize our Berkshire County student-athletes is great," Taconic coach Mark Latimer said this week. "Given the circumstances they've experienced overthe past year, we're proud to be able to showcase local skiers and provide a meaningful experience to them."
Listening to King, it is clear that the skiers are just as proud of the people who put them in a position to compete.
"I have to thank everybody putting everything together," King said. "It's all thanks to them that we even had a season. I'm super grateful to be out here.
"It's my last race, so I'm extremely sad. I just want to go back to my first race in seventh grade, a little bit. I've had a great journey, improved a lot, made a lot of friends.
"This has been such a great experience."
Girls Team Scores
1. Lenox, 161.00 seconds; 2. Monument Mountain, 167.32; 3. Pittsfield, 179.50; 4. Taconic, 206.01; 5. Wahconah 2077.02.
Girls Top 20
1. Molly Knight (L) 38.13 seconds; 2. Madison Digrigoli (L) 38.23; 3. Bridget Stephen (MM) 38.68; 4. Gabriella Hall (L) 40.96; 5. Abbey Boyd (MM) 42.48; 6. Emma Soule (MM) 42.88; 7. Olivia Ruggiero (MM) 43.28; 8. Amy Alderton (L) 43.68; 9. Dakota Grosz (P) 44.23; 9. Gianna Arace (T) 44.23; 11. Sasha Grosz (P) 44.93; 12. Charlotte Noyes (P) 44.96; 13. Phoebe Whalen (P) 45.38; 14. Lena Ungewitter (P) 45.61; 15. Simone Long (MM) 46.83; 16. Regan Miller (T) 47.04; 17. Mya Martin (MM) 47.15; 18. Kelly Anderson (W) 47.64; 19. Grace Swartout (MM) 47.71; 20. Grace Ungerwitter 47.91.
Boys Team Scores
1. Monument Mountain, 152.52 seconds; 2. Wahconah 154.34; 3. Taconic 159.79; 4. Lenox 167.70; 5. Pittsfield 1110.88.
Boys Top 20
1. Andrew King (T) 35.71 seconds; 2. Max Digrigoli (L) 36.66; 3. Keegan Leach (MM) 37.13; 4. Mitchell Scalise (W) 37.69; 5. Charles Heimann (P) 37.81; 6. Andrew Churchill (MM) 37.93; 7. Elia Zolan (MM) 37.94; 8. Owen Gutzmer (P) 38.21; 9. Dominic Scalise (W) 38.22; 10. Noah Kirby (L) 38.29; 11. Alex Stererup (W) 38.64; 12. Donald Tanner (T) 38.66; 13. Julian Beadell (MM) 39.52; 14. Vincent Scalise (W) 39.79; 15. Shamus Gaherty (T) 39.91; 16. Tommy Dunham (W) 40.81; 17. Fritz Sanders (W) 41.36; 18. Piretti Michael (L) 41.63; 19. Jax Schindler (MM) 43.26; 20.Wesley Smith (MM) 43.69.