The alpine ski team endured the -10 degree weather on February 8 to compete in the Section 5 meet at Afton Alps. Despite the grueling conditions, two individuals and the girls’ team qualified for the state meet which will place on February 16.
Entering the sections meet, the girls and boys from BSM with the best cumulative times were chosen to compete against the likes of Blake, Minnetonka, and Orono. “Mary Grace skied really well, and our individual finishes were really good. No one expected us to go to State, but after one of the girls from Blake was disqualified, we knew we had a chance,” said Kelly Slater, one of the team captains.
The competition that the girls will face at state will be fierce, but with some major competition out of the picture, there is a chance that the girls could do really well. “We’re competing against Minnetonka again, Edina, Minnehaha Academy, and some others but I think if we ski really well at state we have a chance at getting third or fourth,” said Slater.
Due to successful runs at the state meet, Slater’s hopes for third place were granted when the girls’ team tied with Minnehaha Academy. “We did very well, especially compared to last year’s finish, when we placed seventh out of eight teams,” said Mary Grace Arndt, a sophomore on the ski team.
Arthur Boyle, a sophomore, placed third overall out of over one hundred competitors, thus qualifying to compete as an individual in the state meet at Giants Ridge. “I thought I did pretty well. I’m stoked to go to state, I just want to go fast,” said Boyle.
Mary Grace Arndt, who was already prepared to travel to Giants Ridge to compete with the girls’ alpine team, also qualified for state, taking fifth place overall. However, because of the girls’ team’s placement at sections, Arndt did not travel to state as an individual, but as a member of the team. “I didn’t feel like I skiied that well, but then I came out fifth overall. I skiied the best I have since the beginning of the season,” said Arndt.
Mary Grace placed tenth overall at the state meet, ranking above all of her teammates, but ranking below the place she received at sections. “I didn’t ski as well as I did at sections, but I skied very well compared to the rest of the season. The competition was harder at state though, because we had people that qualified from other sections as well and the best people from section 5,” said Arndt.
Despite the sections results, many members of the team agree that this year’s alpine season was successful. “I think that as a whole, the team has bonded really well. We’ve stuck together the entire season. And sections was fun, because we didn’t think we were going to make it,” said Arndt.
