The Bromfield boys ski team turned in its best finish of the season this week, to clinch the Mass Bay West Alpha League title, while their counterparts on the girls team totaled their best points of the season, finishing third for the day and fourth for the season.
At the Feb. 3 meet the Bromfield boys, led by freshman Erik Johnson in fifth place, tallied 463 points to win the day and to finish the season with a dominant record of 28–1–1. The powerful finish not only cemented the league championship over Acton-Boxborough, Westford, Chelmsford, Lowell, Groton-Dunstable, and Newton South, but also drove five of Bromfield’s varsity athletes into the State Championship meet in late February. Senior Ryan Parker sealed the deal on his spot at States by finishing sixth behind Johnson, with sophomore Tyler von Loesecke in ninth, freshman Tucker Edwards in 10th, and freshman Sam Elkind closing out the team’s win with a 12th place finish. Von Loesecke, Edwards, and Elkind will join Johnson and Parker at Berkshire East to race for another State Championship ski racing trophy for Bromfield. Bromfield’s sixth varsity racer, junior Josh Wright, finished 16th, missing a slot at States by just a few points.
In boys junior varsity racing, junior Ryan Williams was second JV and landed in the top 20 overall, followed by classmate Brian Mandozzi in sixth JV. Eighth-grader Michael Finnegan wrapped up the season with his personal best finish in eighth JV, immediately trailed by freshman Austin Parker in ninth place. Seventh-grader Sam Dyer was 17th JV, and junior Dan Cooke was 20th.
The girls entered the day’s racing too far back to repeat last year’s league championship, but knew they needed a strong finish to qualify their top athletes for the State Championship as well. Freshman Jackie Sampson torched the winding, technical course and finished second, with sophomore Tori Budd, who was racing with Bromfield in an alliance with Littleton High, in sixth place, and sophomore Tory Sowizral in 10th. All three girls locked down a starting slot at States. Seventh-grader Sarah Rowse crossed the finish line 18th, with sophomore captain Maggie Rooney 25th and seventh-grader Karina Edwards 35th. The 444 points accumulated by Bromfield’s top five, a season high, fell just short of Acton-Boxborough’s 448 and Chelmsford’s 454, to land the girls in third place for the day and fourth for the season, with a winning record of 17–13–0.
In girls JV action, freshman Mary Egan was 14th, seventh-grader Jessica Williams 21st, and seventh-grader Lauren Masters 23rd.
Bromfield’s top five boys and girls race again for the Mass Bay West combined league championship Monday, Feb. 9, at Nashoba Valley ski area. Mass Bay West’s Omega division schools, which include perennial powerhouses Concord-Carlisle and Lincoln-Sudbury, will provide an additional challenge for Bromfield racers at this meet in a race format designed to mimic the State Championships.
