Alpine Skiing Concludes Memorable Year

Rayyaan Usmani, Sports Writer

The boys’ and girls’ alpine skiing squads both ended their seasons approximately two weeks ago. The state tournament took place on February 11th at Giants Ridge, Biwabik. The Wildcats’ team fared pretty well at the State tournament, which was highlighted by a third place finish by Tommy Anderson.

Senior captain Austin Anderson stated, “The key contributors on the team throughout the entire year were Tommy Anderson, Ali Hofstad, and Erin Burns.” Though the season was quite enjoyable for the entire team, senior captain Erin Burns said that the team was left hoping for more. “Unfortunately, we really wanted to win our conference race for the third year in a row, but we didn’t quite reach our goal.”

Even though both of the squads did not fare as well as they hoped at the state tournament, they had a variety of gratifying times throughout the year. Anderson stated, “The Welch invite was my favorite part of the year, because of how well we did. Not only did the Squad 2 boys get first in the race, but the Squad 1 boys and Squad 2 girls got third and second, respectively. It was an all-around team effort.”

The Welch Invitational was on January 16th, 2015, and it was one of the best races the team has had all around. Burns added, “The whole year was unforgettable because of my teammates. Practices were a joy, and I loved spending a lot of time with my Eagan and Eastview teammates.”

Both Austin Anderson and Erin Burns specified that this was one of their most memorable seasons they have had, including the times they spent with their teammates, the successes the team had throughout the season, and their races at the State tournament.

Anderson detailed, “All in all, this alpine season was one I enjoyed. Not only did we make memories, but we also had our share of success.” The seniors are on their way out, but the alpine team still expects success in the future, according to Burns. “Our team has had a lot of success in the past few years, and I don’t expect the achievements to stop anytime soon.”