Concord’s Mika Taylor had a nearly perfect day. A small catch, a slight lean on her inside edge, led to a fall on her last run of the day that kept her from competing for a podium spot.
Fortunately for Taylor, the Division I girls’ alpine state championships at Gunstock Mountain on Monday weren’t the end of the line. She’s still one of the best NHIAA skiers in the state and will compete at the Meet of Champions at Cannon Mountain next week.
Her coach, George Golden, recognized her strong skiing but commended her leadership for growing the next generation of Crimson Tide skiers, three of whom had their first state championship race on Monday.
“All the girls on the team have looked up to her over the years and really gained a lot,” he said. “Inspired by someone that’s that good and that consistent.”
The Crimson Tide finished sixth in the Giant Slalom with 303 points, just nine behind Dover. Taylor finished second with a combined time of 1:13.84, behind Winnacunnet’s Reese Gandt with 1:12.61.
Concord senior Mika Taylor finished second in GS at the Division I girls’ alpine state championship and will look to continue performing into the MOC. Credit: ALEXANDER RAPP / Monitor 
Winnacunnet’s Reese Gandt won the Giant Slalom and Slalom races in the DI girls’ alpine state championship. Credit: ALEXANDER RAPP / Monitor
Taylor was followed by freshman Taylor Sanborn (23rd place) and junior Zadie Taylor (40th place), separated by seven seconds each.
Sophomore Sophie Linden and freshman Yasemin Tobey finished 54th and 71st, respectively, after improving with their second runs.
In the slalom, Concord finished seventh with 297 points. Sanborn performed well to help the team after watching Taylor’s fall and placed 17th with 1:24.53. Taylor still finished her second run to finish 18th with a combined 1:24.84.
“We have a young team, we have one senior and all these girls have a lot to look forward to next year,” Golden said.
Concord junior Zadie Taylor finished 35th in slalom and 40th in GS at the D1 girls’ alpine state championship. Credit: ALEXANDER RAPP / Monitor 
Crimson Tide freshman Yasemin Tobey had her first D1 state championship on Monday at Gunstock Mountain. Credit: ALEXANDER RAPP / Monitor 
Junior Sophie Linden finished 54th in giant slalom and 47th in slalom for Concord at D1 states.
Taylor’s ultimate goal is to make the Eastern High School Alpine Championships for the third time, which will also be hosted at Cannon Mountain’s Mittersill.
She previously appeared in her freshman and junior years. She finished seventeenth in slalom last year and is vying for an even higher finish. A strong performance at the MOC is the missing piece to get her back in the pole position.
Division III Girls’
Hopkinton continued its strong alpine performances at the Division III Girls’ Alpine State Championship at Sunapee on Monday. The Hawks won the overall state title with 391 points in GS and 386 points in slalom.
Senior Marcella Guadagno won the giant slalom race with a combined time of 58.77, while her teammates junior Lia Chapin and senior Anne Pearce finished second and third place.
Fellow Hawks, senior Avery Loew and senior Emma Pelletier, jockeyed for seventh place, but Loew just beat out her teammate by 15 seconds to score as the fourth for the Hawks.
The team was not quite as dominant on the podium in the slalom race, but still placed five skiers in the top ten. Pearce, Guadagno, Chapin and freshman Lillian Firth placed third through sixth while Loew finished eighth.
Bishop Brady’s ski team placed third in GS with 333 points and fourth in slalom with 342 points. Strong performances by Tess Lavoie, Natalie Sherman, Maryn Sherman and Emma Burnett kept the top four packed together in the top 25 in both events.