Beating Hanover – one of strongest ski programs in the state – is tough enough with a full roster. Beating the Marauders without four of your best skiers is next to impossible.
But the Falcons nearly accomplished that feat.
Senior Eli Gadbois and junior Patrick Wachsmuth went 1-2 in the morning giant slalom, with Wachsmuth picking a victory of his own in the afternoon slalom session, as Bow fell to powerhouse Hanover by just two points at the Division II boys’ Alpine skiing championships on Monday at Cranmore Mountain.
Hanover won the GS, 372-366, but Bow gained ground in the slalom, winning 357-353, although the Marauders ultimately had the best combined score with 725 points.
The Falcons (723) comfortably took second over third-place Kennett (695), while Pembroke (364) and John Stark (176) finished 11th and 12th.
Not only did Bow nearly upset the defending champions, the Falcons improved on last year’s third-place result.
“I was shocked by how close we came to winning,” said Bow head coach Mike Sampo. “It was a very difficult year. We lost two senior starters to injuries during the season, and one of their replacements injured himself late last week. Sunday we learned another starting senior scheduled to race today tested positive for COVID and was unable to race. We needed four perfect runs from each of our four remaining top skiers to beat Hanover. One small mistake on the very last run of the day was the difference between the runner-up and champions.”
Gadbois was the only skier to break 1 minute in the GS, clocking a combined time of 58.47 seconds between his two runs.
Wachsmuth (1:00.16) finished second in the GS and won the slalom in 1:01.57, about three and a half seconds over runner-up Wesley Stocken of Hanover (1:05.05) and third-place Gadbois (1:06.92).
“It has been an honor and pleasure for me to be a small part of Eli’s and Patrick’s ski racing careers,” Sampo said. “In seven out of 10 races (this season) they placed first and second. Their ability to perform consistently at a high level is impressive. They both have an incredible passion for the sport and are an inspiration and a model to their teammates.”
Collin Atwell (16th slalom, 21st GS) and Seth Lowne (16th GS, 28th slalom) stepped up in the absence of multiple skiers to round out Bow’s scoring.
“I could not be more proud of our team’s effort today,” Sampo said. “Having three seniors go down allowed the younger racers an opportunity to compete and gain valuable experience.”
Nolan Smagula (35th GS), Andrew Chiavaras (48th slalom, 56th GS, Sam Thomas (49th slalom, 55th GS) and Camden McAlpine (58th GS) were the scoring skiers for Pembroke.
Nathan Innerfield (ninth slalom, 18th GS) was John Stark’s only skier and earned a spot at the Meet of Champions on Feb. 24 in the slalom, joining Gadbois and Wachsmuth.