CHARLEMONT – Western Massachusetts’ biggest, best beach party returned to the slopes of Berkshire East Tuesday.
The PVIAC individual alpine skiing championships weren’t contested in 2021, leaving an animal onesie-sized hole in the racing calendar.
“Honestly, it's the best day of the year. It's something everybody looks forward to. It's one of, honestly, it's probably the funnest one,” Mohawk Trail senior Cali Price said. “It's a whole party. I love it.”
There is racing, sure. But some don jean shorts, others dress up in costumes. It’s mostly an excuse to gather, cook food, blast music and celebrate a season well-contested.
“Not to have it, you take something away. It’s for themselves. It’s not a team event,” Mohawk Trail boys coach Sean Loomis said. “They can go out, they can enjoy it. They can do what they want. If they want to screw around for the day, they can screw around for the day. If they want to go out and try their hardest, they can try their hardest. It’s super important that we got it back.”
The Warriors swept the individual combined titles. They went 1-2 in the girls combined: Emily Sisum was first in 1 minute, 1.87 seconds, while Addie Loomis followed close behind in second (1:02.5).
“I’ve been here in the past to see what happens, but I’ve never actually experienced it as an athlete,” Sisum said. “It was everything I was hoping, just a lot of fun, really pretty chill.”
In addition to the combined title, Sisum also won the girls slalom (36.41). She tied for second in the giant slalom with Addie Loomis (25.46). Loomis, who dominated during the regular season, placed third in the GS (37.04).
Weston Den Ouden made it a Mohawk Trail sweep by capturing first in the boys combined (59.32) and slalom (34.66). He took second in the GS (24.66).
His teammate Liam Green also cracked the top-five in the combined with a fourth-place finish (1:02). Green was third in the slalom (37.03) and sixth in the GS (25.87).
“It was a firm surface, but it was a fun course, just a fun day,” Den Ouden said. “Firm ski racing is good. Firm surfaces make it easier to turn and perform.”
The Warriors performed all season long. They captured both PVIAC North division titles.
“This is super fun. Even though we know it’s coming, it’s still the experience of receiving it and going up there and getting all the claps, it’s amazing,” Price said. “We’re super fortunate every year we get it.”
Mohawk Trail skiers also littered the top of the North Division season-long individual podiums.
Addie Loomis won the last six races to capture the league title with a clean 60 points.
“I really focused on my mindset a lot this year,” she said. “Focusing on my mind a couple minutes before the start really helped me out.”
The top three finishers were Warriors. Sisum had 54, while Ellie Pinkham placed third (47). Sofiya Slocik-Gritzner placed eighth (20).
Den Ouden was second overall in the boys standings with 50 points. Westfield’s Owen Freman edged him by one point for the win with 51.
Green took third (42), while Phineas Tuttman was eighth (23) and Wyatt Sisum ninth (16).
“We work really hard to get where we are. As a whole, it takes a lot,” Den Ouden said. “It takes a lot, so it’s nice to actually get repaid for the stuff we do.”
The state championships will be held March 1 at Wachusett Mountain.
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @kylegrbwsk.