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| By Rick Sobey Staff Intern Longmeadow High School's boys skiing team competed at the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) State Alpine Championships last week, flying down Wachusett Mountain so fast in the first run of the day that St. John's Prep of Danvers should have been scared. Unfortunately for the Longmeadow boys, St. John's Prep had a flawless run in the giant slalom. As a result, St. John's Prep was able to squeak past and edge out Longmeadow by four points, 866-862, to claim the MIAA state title. The difference between the state championship and the runner- up prize was not much at all. According to a Longmeadow skier's parent who preferred to remain anonymous, even though Longmeadow finished in second place, the team was thrilled with the results. The boys placed third last year, so the improvement made them very excited. Junior Griffin Wagner had the best performance for Longmeadow, finishing ninth (38.93 seconds) in the slalom. He was the only Longmeadow skier to place in the top 10 in states. In the giant slalom, he placed 12th (61.38). Senior captain Matt Gagne finished 25th in the slalom. He was wishing that consecutive championships for his Longmeadow lacrosse and football squads would rub off and help propel the ski team. However, the skiers faced a difficult opponent and were unable to bring home a title. Senior Captain Gavin Parker placed 13th, Matt Gagne's freshman brother, Garrett Gagne, was 20th, and junior Brandon Reilly-Evans was 40th in the slalom for the Lancers. There were 25 schools from around the state competing at the meet, including Northampton, Amherst, Gateway, Minnechaug and Mohawk Trail. Northampton finished 11th with 594 points, Amherst took 17th (463), Gateway 18th (456), Minnechaug 20th (437) and Mohawk Trail 21st (434). Next season, the team will be without the two senior captains, Matt Gagne and Parker, but there will be three returning members of the top five. The skiers are looking at another competitive season, and the boys hope they will be able to overcome and defeat the Eastern Massachusetts foes next year. |