A year ago, Durango’s Toby Scarpella was the freshman sensation of the Colorado High School Activities Association Alpine Skiing State Championships. A new freshman dethroned the Durango High School sophomore this year.
Aspen’s Chase Kelly placed first in both the slalom and giant slalom races Thursday at Loveland Ski Area to claim high school skiing glory.
Scarpella, who was the defending champion in giant slalom and also placed third last year in slalom, would finish third in giant slalom and fifth in slalom.
He claimed third in the giant slalom with a combined time of 1 minute, 39.07 seconds. Kelly’s victory came in 1:38.17. Kelly turned in the fastest first run but was the fifth fastest in his second run. Still, it was enough, as several other racers also slowed down in the second run. It was Aspen sophomore Connor Stephen who had the fastest run of the day in his second at 48.02 seconds, and that helped him finish fifth.
Scarpella’s second run of 49.08 was the eighth-best time among second runs and was faster than his first run of 49.99, which was the third-best in the opening run.
James Lahrman, a Steamboat Springs senior, placed second in 1:38.40.
Also in giant slalom for Durango, junior Levi Tichi was 35th in 1:47.37, while sophomore Barron Bronson was 36th in 1:48.42. Fred Reiter did not finish his first run and did not start his second.
Kelly’s dominant slalom victory came in a time of 1:30.87, more than a second faster than Lahrman’s second-place time of 1:31.93. Kelly sat in second after his first run but left no doubt when he improved by 6.5 seconds in his second run to post the fastest time of the day.
Scarpella climbed from seventh after his first slalom run to fifth with a total time of 1:33.93. Aspen senior Davis Colon was third in 1:33.05, and James Kelly of Aspen, a senior, was fourth in 1:33.61.
Tichi placed 32nd for DHS in 1:51.28. Bronson did not start his second run after not finishing his first. Reiter was disqualified for missing a gate in his first run and did not start his second run.
Girls alpine races will conclude state skiing Friday. The Durango High School girls will not compete after committing a team violation in the hotel.
Nordic races were held a week earlier, with Aspen’s boys and girls winning both titles.
DHS did not take its full alpine team to state because of COVID-19 related quarantine issues.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
