Greenwich High boys and girls ski teams continue strong season at Mount Southington with standout times

By David Fierro on February 4, 2023 • ( Leave a comment )

**Photo courtesy of Julie Oh Ybarra:** Tommy Ybarra of the Greenwich High School boys alpine skiing team paced the Cardinals in their recent competitions, held at Mount Southington in Southington, Connecticut.

Two days after registering fast times in their competition at Mount Southington, the Greenwich High School boys and girls alpine skiing teams returned to the same venue to test their skills.

And once again, the Cardinals sped down the slopes in impressive fashion.

Greenwich’s boys team placed a strong second out of 13 teams in the team standings at Wednesday’s Connecticut Interscholastic Ski League race at Mount Southington, while the Cardinals’ girls squad posted a solid fifth-place finish.

Fairfield Prep was the CISL meet’s overall boys winner at Mount Southington, combining for a team time of 270.67 seconds. Greenwich was second with a time of 282.04, Ridgefield finished third (282.27), Fairfield took fourth (283.67) and Staples placed fifth (283.67).

Junior captain Tommy Ybarra raced to the Greenwich boys’ best finish, producing a time of 44.42 seconds over two runs. Ybarra finished the first run in 23.15 seconds and the second run in 21.27 seconds. Close to 250 competitors skied at Mount Southington, so Ybarra’s finish, indeed, sparked the squad.

“The boys team has fought through a lot of adversity coming off of last year’s results, said Ybarra a team captain. “Throughout the season, I have been using various analogies and metaphors to facilitate excellence. The boys have fought hard to be where they are in the standings and are constantly competing to improve.”

**Photo by Julie Ybarra**: Greenwich’s boys skiing team is in the midst of a successful season in the CISL.

Nicholas Aravides had the Cardinals’ boys’ next best time, at 46.08 seconds (24.32, 21.76). Owen Benison finished with a time of 46.84 (24.26, 22.58), while GHS teammates Asher Sisca and Ryan Park clocked in at 46.97 (24.35, 22.62) and 48.6 (24.37, 24.23), respectively.

Steven Hartofilis (49.13), Hayden Winig (50.2), Thaddeus Whittle (50.26), Nicolas Sosa (51.06) and James Mathieson (58.3) also paced the Cardinals’ fine team performance in the CISL event.

“I can’t wait for the team to grow and continue to see them reach the top of their craft,” Ybarra said.

**Photo by Julie Oh Ybarra:** Shea Norris races to a successful finish for the Greenwich alpine girls ski team at Mount Southington in Southington, Connecticut on Feb. 1, 2023.

In the girls’ race, senior captain Shea Norris had the Cardinals’ top time, finishing her two runs in 48.36 (23.84, 24.52). Norris placed 16th overall, in the girls race.

“The team has really worked together over the course of the season, and will continue to grow over the next few seasons,” Norris said.

Mariam Fahimi had the Cardinals’ girls team’s next best finish, posting a time of 48.46 over her two runs (23.85, 24.61, 48.46). Maggie Ybarra, a junior captain, was Greenwich’s third finisher, racing to a time of 50.42 seconds (24.86, 25.56), while teammate Piper Loveless, a captain, clocked in at 52.69 (26.17, 26.52).

**Photo courtesy of Julie Oh Ybarra**: Maggie Ybarra races down the slopes at Mount Southington, recently for Greenwich.

Staples was the girls team winner, finishing with a team time of 289.37 seconds. Fairfield was second (289.82), followed by Ridgefield (290.96) an independent team and Greenwich (308.1).

Kate McCooe (25.71, 27.71, 53.42), Josie Campos (26.66, 28.09, 54.75), Addie Marder (27.16, 28.98, 56.14), Ava Lorenzon (27.95, 29.22, 57.17), Lindsay Schuler (27.97, 29.53, 57.5) and Caroline Dolan (27.92, 30.78, 58.7) also helped lead the Cardinals in their most recent CISL competition on Wednesday.