Monti Girl Skiers Repeat

By Frank Rizzo
MONTICELLO — March 21, 2000 -- The Monticello girls’ alpine ski team repeated as Orange County League (OCL) American Conference and Section IX champs this season.
The Panthers first had to overcome Fallsburg/Tri-Valley within their conference, then knocked off National Conference champ Monroe-Woodbury to take the overall league and sectional title.
The competition with F/T-V was close, and entering the decisive February 15 match at Belleayre Mountain in Highmount, the Panthers had won three meets and F/T-V two and their respective records were 33–2 and 32–3.
That afternoon, in the giant slalom, Monticello seventh-grader Laura Ferranti came into her own by taking first place and leading her team to a close 283.94 to 285.63 win. Ferranti clocked 1:06.37.
Also finishing in the top 15 for the Monties were Sam Tucker (1:09.36/
4th), Allison Benson (1:11.06/6th), Becky Sheerer (1:17.15/9th) and Candice Sheerer (1:17.35/10th).
The Fallsburg/Tri-Valley lineup was 2. Jamie Kaplan 1:07.56; 3. Colleen Carey 1:07.65; 7. Lisa Castillo 1:12.43; 13. Tina Castillo 1:17.99.
The times of the top four finishers on each squad are added up for team scores.
On February 24, Monticello beat Monroe-Woodbury 567.47 to 596.59 at Mount Peter in Warwick.
Sam Tucker led the Panthers to a 1-2-3 finish in the slalom, combining for a 1:17.41 in her two runs. Ferranti (1:18.39) and Benson (1:19.91) completed the sweep. Candice Sheerer (1:24.78/7th) and Emily Leidner (1:33.69/10th) also placed in the top 15.
Tucker was second in the giant slalom behind Monroe-Woodbury’s Stephanie Kechian, 58.61 to 59.95. Other Panthers were 3. Ferranti 1:00.44; 6. Becky Sheerer 1:02.76; 9. Benson 1:03.83; 10. Candice Sheerer 1:05.12.
The Monticello boys were unable to defend their title, as Onteora took five of the six meets this year.