With the first major snowfall of the season falling over the Thanksgiving break, the boys’ nordic ski team has the rare opportunity to start the season on skis. According to senior captain Nima Darafshi, “it’s more of a blessing than the team could have ever asked for,” as the team has had very little snow to work with in the past few years.

The boys’ team is looking to break their two-year state championship losing streak to defending champions Concord-Carlisle. Since last season, the team has lost seven seniors, who were all major contributors to the varsity team: Theo Sandstrom, Michael Maruk, Ezra Sutter, Jakin Miller, Josh Cheung, Aiden Duncan, and Gio Cavalli. The new seniors — Noah Greenfield, Nima Darafshi, Owen Tucker-Smith, Brandon Fahlenkamp, Chase Angelini, and James Hetherington — are ready to step into their new leadership role and continue to build on last year’s success. The team will once again be led by coaches Hiram and Hilary Greene.

Spectators should look for Corban Miller, Owen Tucker-Smith, and Col McDermott, with others such as Gabe Gerry, Charlie McWeeny, Foster Savitsky, and Ollie Swabey to be in the mix as racing starts going into the new year. Currently, the team has two meets scheduled at home on January 18th and February 8th. However, not only is the team looking to win, but also “have fun and promote team unity, as everyone improves in their own way” said Darafshi. 

The boys’ team’s quest to take back their state title began with the On-Snow Extravaganza Invitational on December 7th in New York, where they tied for first. League racing begins on December 31st at Prospect Mountain in Vermont.