On February 11th, nordic skiers from around the state gathered at Notchview Reservation in Windsor Massachusetts, for the MIAA Nordic Skiing State Championship. The Mount Greylock boys were defending their State Championship, and the girls were looking to improve on a second place finish from last year. The Mounties brought their entire team to cheer on the racers, lining the course with spectators.

Junior Grace Smith finished first for the Mounties and fourth overall, improving on her fifth place finish from last year. Following her was junior Sophie Gerry coming in 12th, and Eighth Grader Margo Smith coming in 21st. After Margo were sophomore Niku Darafshi who placed 25th, freshman Emma Polumbo who came in 30th, and seventh grader Brandi Gill, who finished in 31st. Gill said “It’s pretty cool. It’s really nice to be here and with this team.” Junior Greta Savitsky finished in 35th. The Mounties finished 55 points behind champions Wellesley, but ahead of third place Acton-Boxborough who had 91 points.

The top finisher for the boys was junior Matthew Wiseman in fifth, and senior Will Nolan followed closely behind Wiseman in sixth. Wiseman and Nolan had nearly identical times of 21 minutes 18 seconds, illustrating how close the two have been in results all season. Nolan won the first three league races and Wiseman won the last two. After Nolan was senior, Jake Foehl in 13th and junior Tommy Kirby who placed 15th. Following Kirby were seniors Jake Kobrin, Jon Driver, Thomas Schoorlemmer, and Joey Gais. The boys beat second place finishers Acton-Boxborough by 18 points, to win their fifth consecutive title.

Coach Hilary Greene was elated with the outcomes. “I think that every one of our skiers were happy with their races and tried their best,” she said. “You can’t ask for anything more than that. Our entire team is going to be back next year and is going to be a force to be reckoned with.” The regular season ended with the State Championship, but most members of the team are still in training for post season racing opportunities including the U-16 Massachusetts State team and the Eastern High School Massachusetts State team.  The U-16 races are being held in Fort Kent, Maine on March 13-15th. The Eastern High School Races are being held in Rumford, Maine on March 20-22nd.