Letter: Kudos to ARHS Girls’ Nordic Ski Team for Their Second Place Finish at State Meet
Amherst Regional High School Girls' Nordic Ski Team at the 2024 State Meet where they finished second. L-R: Coach Nat Woodruff, Ava Zimmerman,Maeve Cunningham, Genevieve Dole,Isla Cusick, Ella workman, Addie Mager, Zoey Candito,River Wolaver,Elizabeth Sawicki Coach Sam Veggeberg Photo: Lisa Candito
The Amherst Regional High School Girls’ Nordic Ski Team earned bragging rights and can celebrate as they now have the winningest season in the history of the program. After placing second behind state champion Mount Greylock (70 points) on Wednesday at the MIAA Nordic Ski Championship, Amherst (75 points) finished ahead of powerhouse teams Concord Carlisle (third), Newton South (fourth) and Lincoln Sudbury (fifth). For a team that has always been considered the underdog, who has traditionally struggled to compete, they found their way to the top on Wednesday afternoon at Prospect Mountain in Woodford, Vermont.
Leading the way for the Hurricanes was River Wolaver (25:30), Ella Workman (25:34), and Elizabeth Sawicki (26:02) securing 11th, 12th and 18th place for the team. Along with winning race times to put three Amherst skiers in the top 20, it was the strong leadership of the team captains, Zoey Candito and Addie Mager, who have supported and encouraged the team on and off of the snow from the start of preseason. The team would not be where they are today if it wasn’t for their four dedicated coaches Nat Woodruff, Carl Cignoni, Stephan Bechtold, and Sam Veggeberg. Many thanks for their commitment to the nordic program at ARHS. This is a team to watch in the future as they are no longer the underdogs in the world of MIAA nordic skiing.
Members of the 2024 state Nordic team are Zoey Candito, Isla Cusick, Maeve Cunningham, Genevieve Dole, Addie Mager, Elizabeth Sawicki, River Wolaver, Ella Workman, and Ava Zimmerman.
Lisa Candito
Lisa Candito is a resident of Belchertown
Thanks so much, Lisa, for this and for all you have done this season for the ARPS Nordic program. What a season and what a result!
Along with the fantastic high school athletes, three middle school skiers were selected to be part of the Amherst girls team at States this year – Ella Workman, Genevieve Dole, and Maeve Cunningham (my daughter).
Additionally, 7th grader Otis Fairey was on the Amherst boys team for States, finishing in 82nd place of 142 skiers.
The future is indeed bright for Amherst Nordic!