After a successful reintroduction of an alpine skiing program at Durango High School, the team finished the season at the Colorado High School Activities Association State Ski Championships Thursday and Friday in Steamboat Springs.
Durango’s racers only competed in the slalom and giant slalom portions of the alpine and Nordic combined events this season, so a state title was never a realistic goal. However, after some impressive individual performances, the boys finished 14th out of 15 teams with 136 points. The girls did the same and finished 13th out of 14 teams with 237 points.
“Considering the fact that we kind of came up with this crazy idea and put it in motion so fast, the season was a huge success,” Durango High School Athletic and Activities Director Adam Bright said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “We got so many compliments from CHSAA and the other teams. They were pleased to see Durango High School competing with them again, and they were very complimentary of our kids.”
The Vail Mountain boys won the state championship for the first time since 1991, and the Vail Mountain girls won their first title in school history. Battle Mountain was second in both genders, and Aspen was third.
DHS senior Lucas Robbins led the way with an 18th-place effort in the giant slalom with a two-run time of 1:47.1, and he took 19th in slalom in 1:43.7.
“I think Lucas was in eighth after his first run, but he clipped a gate in the second run,” Bright said. “That can make a difference pretty quick, but he had a great season for us.”
Alexander Fleitz finished 70th for Durango in the giant slalom with a time of 2:27.2 and 62nd in slalom in 2:43.8.
Steamboat Springs’ Andrew McCawley won the slalom state title with a time of 01:26.15. Evergreen senior RJ McLennan (01:37.8) won the giant slalom competition.
Durango freshman Analise Gates had a top-10 finish for the DHS girls squad with a 10th-place showing in the giant slalom. Her time of 1:51.2 was 9 seconds behind Aspen’s first-place skier Mariel Gorsuch (1:42.7).
Durango freshman Maddie Jo Robbins finished 68th in giant slalom in 02:14.9, and fellow freshman Claudia Luthy was 69th with a 2:15.5 finish.
In the girls slalom, Maddie Jo Robbins had the Demons’ best performance of the week with an eighth-place time of 1:40.28. Her time was less than 5 seconds behind Battle Mountain winner Trinity Chelain, who won in 1:35.52. Gates was right behind Robbins in 12th place after a 1:42.30 performance. Luthy finished in 66th in 2:36.33.
All in all, it was a nice way to cap off what is expected to be a popular activity for DHS and other area students in the future.
“We’ll be putting a Nordic team in place next year, too,” Bright said. “We want to be right up there with the teams that bring 30 or 40 skiers to the events, and we’ll have a much better shot at competing for a state title down the road.”
jfries@durangoherald.com
