Student-athletes participated in both modified and varsity boys and girls competitions on the brand-new, challenging trails at the venue.

Each relay team was comprised of three members who each skied a 3-kilometer loop.

In the boys race, Saranac Lake took top honors as Colter Cheney-Seymour, Adrian Hayden and Owen Keal combined for a winning total of 21 minutes, 30 seconds. The Lake Placid boys team of Andrew Scanio, Max Flanigan and Trey Frantz was runner-up in 24:11, and the Red Storm trio of Sam Ash, Reuben Bernstein and Jasper Wiech took third in 26:28.

Cheney-Seymour turned in the fastest split time for Saranac Lake, finishing in 6:53.

Saranac Lake’s Gwen Mader starts her 3-kilometer ski in front of teammate Annelise Dramm during Thursday’s high school Nordic meet with rival Lake Placid. (Enterprise photo — Lou Reuter)

Saranac Lake’s girls also claimed the top spot, with Sophia Kelting, Bella Wissler and Katie Samperi finishing on top in 27:452. The Blue Bombers team of Harley Cohen, Maya Garrison and Holly Erenstone were second in 31:57, and Lake Placid also took third, with the trio of Kai McKinnon, Nora Galvin and Hannah Wylie turning in a 36:50 combined time.

Kelting put down the fastest girls leg, finishing in 7:48.

Blue Bombers head coach Bill Frazer said because he has such a young team this season — especially on the girls side — and the coronavirus pandemic resulted in the cancellation of the New York state championships this winter — the focus has been as much on fun as it has been on performance.

“Since we don’t have states to work for, I just want to see the kids have fun on skis, and I’ve been having a lot of fun with my kids this year,” Frazer said. “We have skiers of so many different abilities. We’ve been going to different places in the area, skiing in the woods. I think the kids are enjoying that.”

Although there are a lot of young student-athletes on both teams, the Red Storm and Blue Bombers do have some experienced Nordic skiers on their rosters who could have the potential to podium or even win a race had the New York State Public High School Athletic Association championships taken place this winter.

Scanio comes to mind for the Blue Bombers, and this weekend, he’ll still get a shot at going up against some of state’s best young racers when the sophomore competes at Mount Van Hoevenberg again Saturday and Sunday in the New York State Ski Racing Association Nordic Championships.

And for Saranac Lake, Kelting is expected to be in the hunt for titles on both days during the girls races in the same meet.

Saranac Lake and Lake Placid, Section VII’s only two Nordic ski teams, will meet up again on the Red Storm’s home course at Dewey Mountain on Wednesday starting at 6:30 p.m.