With traditions of pasta diners and spandex, the serious and competitive Alpine Ski Team brings together seventh through twelfth graders who have a passion for skiing, as a shown by the fifteen returning skiers.

With the first meet fast approaching, the team has high hopes for the coming season. “We should be very competitive. Our girls’ team [placed] second in sections last year and went to State. I would expect them to be at the same spot this year in sections. Our boys’ team should be very competitive also, as long as they all stand we will do very well,” said coach Nicole Rasmussen.

With the girls’ team consisting of mostly upperclassmen, the team did not suffer many athlete losses this season. “We only lost one senior girl on varsity, and we now have Hannah Cope. She couldn’t ski varsity last year because of the transfer rule,” said senior captain Kelly Slater.

The boys’ team lost several valuable athletes. “We lost a couple guys on varsity and we need to replace them, but we had a lot of new guys last year and have a lot of new guys this year, so we’ll see what they can do,” said Slater.

Defined by their fun-loving spirit and pure focus when it comes to meets, the Alpine Ski Team sees themselves as a family. “We like to have fun especially during practice, but come race days we’re in the zone. There’s many new people who have never raced before, and half the team is serious and have been skiing for many years, so they teach and help you out a ton. It’s a learning experience day to day,” said senior Paige Erickson.

The alpine ski team is a close-knit team that spends a lot of time together. “Ski team is like a family. We spend a lot of time together, and the boys and girls’ teams are always together. It’s fun to get to know each other [so well],” said Slater.

Team bonding includes practicing four days a week after school at Hyland Ski and Snowboard Area, as well as having pasta dinners before every race, which are all-day events.

The team hopes for both the teams to make it to State this year and to stay injury-free for the whole season. “[We hope to] make it a whole season without any injuries or concussions,” said senior captain Lucas LeJeune.

Placing second in sections last year, the girls’ team hopes to come in first this year. “Last year we placed second at sections, so I hope we get first place [this year],” said Slater.

The alpine ski team has their first meet on December 14 at Hyland Hills. “If we work hard I think we can finish pretty well,” said Slater.