Photo: Uwe Moser / iStock / Getty Images
The New Paltz High School nordic ski teams wrapped up competition at the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Nordic Ski Championships this week, with the boys' relay team finishing 13th and the girls' relay team placing 14th at Bristol Mountain Ski Resort in Canandaigua, New York.
The two-day state championship event ran Monday and Tuesday (February 23–24). In the relay portion, sectional champion and combined trios each sent individual skiers out to cover three kilometers per leg in the 3 x 3 Classic relay format.
New Paltz arrived at states having already made a strong mark at the regional level. According to Yahoo Sports, the Huguenots swept the Section 9 Nordic Ski Championship on Tuesday (February 10) at Minnewaska State Park, with both the boys and girls teams claiming team titles.
On the boys' side, senior Matei Jirka defended his individual Section 9 title, completing the hilly 7.5-kilometer course in 26 minutes, 37 seconds. Teammates Nathaniel Johnson (28:46) and Elon Rosenthal (31:04) finished second and third, giving New Paltz a 1-2-3 sweep. The boys' team posted 24 points to win the sectional title, ahead of Wallkill (15) and Monticello (2). Sawyer Ivchenko was the fourth member of New Paltz's championship squad.
Senior Dylan Friedman dominated the girls' individual race, defending her Section 9 title with a winning time of 28 minutes, three seconds — well ahead of Monticello's Baya Titus (34:13) and New Paltz's Gala Dixey (34:30). The girls' team tallied 20 points for the team championship, with Wallkill (14) and Monticello (8) finishing behind them. Piper Gagne and Sophia Schelino also contributed to the sectional-winning girls' squad.
New Paltz was well represented when NYSPHSAA state qualifiers were selected, with the process weighing in-season results (60 percent) and sectional performance (40 percent). Qualified boys included Jirka, Johnson, Rosenthal, and Ivchenko from New Paltz, along with Wallkill's Ryder Kilpatrick, Graham Driskill, and Gavin Griffin. For the girls, New Paltz sent Friedman, Dixey, and Ella Brown, while Wallkill's Taylor Zavodsky, Tamara Brand, and Isabela Brand, as well as Monticello's Titus, also qualified.