By Rob Potter
CALLICOON — Even though today is the first day of April and it’s technically spring, Sullivan County is currently under a Winter Storm Warning issued by the National Weather Service in Binghamton.
And so, even though some local scholastic spring sports teams were practicing outside on Wednesday afternoon, those teams will either be practicing indoors today or not at all as those fields and track complexes will probably be covered with a blanket of snow today.
There was plenty of snow during the 2010-2011 winter sports season and many talented skiers from Sullivan County turned in outstanding performances at the recent Section IX and New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) alpine meets.
Six skiers from county high schools qualified for the NYSPHSAA meet held on March 1 and 2 at Whiteface Mountain in Wilmington. Those six were Drew Billard of Sullivan West, Lauren Elliott of Fallsburg/Tri-Valley, Kendra Erts of Fallsburg/Tri-Valley, Ryan Heins of Monticello, Haley Ripa of Monticello and Patrick Ripa of Monticello.
The six skiers qualified based on their finishes at the Section IX meet held in February, which factored into an equation to determine a state score.
In the boys’ slalom at the NYSPHSAA meet, Drew Billard finished 40th with a time of 2 minutes, 1.53 seconds and Ryan Heins placed 51st with a time of 2:11.11.
In the girls’ slalom at the NYSPHSAA meet, Haley Ripa finished 36th with a time of 2:09.08.
At the Section IX meet, which was held on Feb. 15 at Hunter Mountain, Ryan Heins led the boys from Sullivan County. His total combined time for the slalom and giant slalom was 73.14 seconds, which gave him a rank of seventh in Section IX. His state score was 23.25.
Drew Billard was 10th, with a combined time of 75.60 and a state score of 36.00.
Patrick Ripa, who qualified for the NYSPHSAA meet as an alternate, placed 11th. He had a combined time of 75.97, and a state score of 39.00.
In the girls’ races at the Section IX meet, Kendra Erts led the way among the Sullivan County skiers. She finished sixth with a combined time of 81.82 seconds and a state score of 21.50.
Haley Ripa finished seventh with a combined time of 82.15 and a state score of 25.50.
Lauren Elliot, who qualified for the NYSPHSAA meet as an alternate, placed 10th. She posted a combined time of 83.92 and a state score of 35.25.
“The sportsmanship between all of the skiers was great and the competition was excellent,” Section IX Alpine Skiing Chairperson Janet Carey said of the state meet. “All of the coaches and kids did a good job.”
Other boys from the Fallsburg/T-V, Liberty, Monticello and SW ski teams who participated in the Section IX meet and finished were as follows. They are listed with their overall finish place, combined runs time and state score.
12. Ryan Erts, Fallsburg/T-V, 76.11, 40.75.
23. Eugene Doyle, Liberty, 85.52, 82.25
30. Alec Wood, Monticello, 91.75, 103.75
38. Ryan Zweck, Liberty, 103.44, 131.25
Other girls from the Sullivan County ski teams who participated in the Section IX meet and finished included:
12. Kendall Menges, SW, 84.39, 40.75
13. Sarah Coney, Fallsburg/T-V, 86.06, 45.50
18. Rachel Klein, Monticello, 89.49, 63.25
28. Kassie Thelman, SW, 99.00, 98.50
31. Rebecca Wood, Monticello, 98.63, 104.25
36. Elizabeth Bracken, Fallsburg/T-V, 103.88, 121.50
38. McKenzie Mitchell, Monticello, 111.40, 131.25
39. Rebecca Mitchell, Monticello, 113.60, 133.50
40. Riley Lindholm, Monticello, 114.82, 137.25.