The Pomperaug of Southbury-Newtown High School co-op ski racing team concluded its season in early February. The girls’ and boys’ teams each competed in five races at Mount Southington as part of the Connecticut Interscholastic Racing League. This year’s squad featured a mix of returning racers along with newcomers to the sport. Pomperaug rostered two boys and four girls while Newtown rostered five boys and three girls. Of the 14 racers six were new to competitive ski racing.

Second-year coach Mike Murphy said that he was proud of the competitiveness of his returning racers and the growth of his newcomers. “For a relatively small team with limited racing experience, we came out and competed hard every race,” Murphy said. “We never gave less than our best.”

The girls’ squad posted team results for each race, and the team showed its grit on the slopes.

“Captain Taylor LeRow (Newtown junior) posted the fastest times for our girls’ squad for the second consecutive season, and she has another year of racing ahead of her,” Murphy said.

Abby Cahill (Pomperaug sophomore) and Captain Camden Mario (Pomperaug senior) also skied as experienced racers this season taking close to seven seconds off of last season’s times. Caitlin Overheiser (Pomperaug junior) had a couple of fast races, and newcomers Madison Greco (Pomperaug sophomore) and Stella Wasley (Newtown freshman) raced faster as the season progressed. The team bids a fond farewell to Riley Alesevich (Newtown senior), a three year racer. The team will miss her leadership and consistent finishing times, and her teammates and coaches wish her best of luck after high school.

The boys’ squad had some solid ski performances at the top of their lineup. “Tommy O’Connor (Newtown sophomore) and Alex Santos (Pomperaug sophomore) showed their experience racing gates, and their times were solid,” Murphy said. “And freshman Carter Alesevich (Newtown) really came out of the gates strong this season, wearing the low bib for most of our races. The team also benefited from finishes by newcomers Jacob Buckley, Owen Mulcahey, and Kyle Ritchie (all Newtown freshmen).

“One of the things I liked best about this season is how our athletes from different schools came together and bonded as a team,” Murphy said. “We focused on supporting one another as we all worked to improve on our racing skills and lower our times. We had some good fun at practices and races while working hard and getting better all of the time. We are barely done with this season, and I am already looking forward to what next season will bring.”

Coach Murphy and the team members are hoping that this year’s successes will encourage more skiers to join the team. “I know I said this last year, but sometimes good skiers think they may not make good racers because they don’t have racing experience prior to joining the team. That’s not true at all,” Murphy said. “We had newcomers to racing post some of our best times because they can ski fast, and we can give them the training, gate-racing experience, and feedback to help them compete at the varsity level playing a sport they love.”