After starting the second day as the third-place team, the Saranac Lake boys put together a solid performance in the 7.5-kilometer team relay event, to secure the two-day second-place finish in the state championships. The Red Storm, with 70 points, edged out Queensbury, which had 69 points. Honeoye Falls Lima was the overall state champion with 86 points.

“We knew we had the potential to finish in second,” Saranac Lake head coach Keith Kogut said in a statement. “Sam Ash skied a strong first leg in the relay, keeping us in contact with the teams we needed to beat. Morgan Martin had his best races of the year here at states. His second relay leg gave us a real chance to move up a spot, and Owen Keal just flew around the course, passing three teams during his 2.5K leg. We were fourth in the state last year, so it feels good to move up to second.”

In the boys’ relay competition, the top Red Storm trio finished with a combined time of 20 minutes, 36.3 seconds. The team, which consisted of Keal (6:26.5), Ash (6:53.5) and Martin (7:16.2) missed the podium by less than one minute, placing fourth in the event.

Honeoye Falls won the state relay title in a combined time of 19 minutes, 3 seconds. The Lake Placid trio of Aidan Fay (6:59.9), Andrew Scanio (5:54.1) and Colin Francis (7:10.0), skiing as the Section VII B team finished in third place for a combined time of 20:04.1. The Section V-A team placed second in 19:30.3.

Saranac Lake’s second team, making up Section VII A, placed 12th overall in a combined time of 22:28.1. The team was made up of Mason Stoddard (7:30.4), Aiden Hesseltine (7:29.9) and Jake Kollmer (7:27.7).

The relay race portion of the championships consisted of a roughly 2.5K loop skied once by each team member. The skiers then tag off with each other for a total of 7.5K.

On the girls’ side, Lake Placid had a similarly strong day on Tuesday. The Blue Bombers moved up one sport to finish in third place overall in the state.

The lone schools to edge out Lake Placid were the two-day state champions, Shenendehowa, with 78 points and Sutherland in second with 75. The Blue Bombers had 60 points.

“I’m very proud of the Lake Placid team,” Lake Placid coach Bill Frazer said. “I’m also proud that the combined Section VII team was able to show up and give the bigger sections a run for their money.”

During the team relay, the Lake Placid team of Maya Garrison (8:39.1), Harley Cohen (9:06.0) and Holly Erenstone (8:29.2) took ninth place overall in 25:07.4. Shenendehowa won the girls’ title in a combined time of 24:19.2.

The Section VII-A team of Saranac Lake’s Tyler Burth (8:07.4) and Jordanna Samburgh (8:35.2), along with Keene’s Pia Morelli (8:24.7) were the top local team, finishing in fifth place in a time of 26:14.3.

Saranac Lake’s Ash and Samburgh were the Section VII winners of the sportsmanship award.

“In Nordic skiing, all New York schools race against each other. It doesn’t matter if you’re in a Class-A or a Class-D school,” Kogut said. “Our small Section VII schools have had a pretty remarkable run of success during the past decade, and our athletes and schools should be proud of what they have accomplished.

“We had a strong group of seniors this year, but there is a lot of talent in the pipeline, and with hard work, we hope to continue sending strong teams to States,” he added. “Our kids have worked hard for this.”

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Alpine skiing

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The NYSPHSAA also held the Alpine ski championships at the Briston Mountain Resort on Tuesday and once again, Saranac Lake’s Zoey Carpenter was the top local finisher.

Carpenter placed 20th overall in the girl’s giant slalom event in a combined time of 2:30.82. The Red Storm’s Lauryn Caldwell and Averi Woodruff rounded out the local girls finishers. Caldwell (2:55.45) finished in 41st, while Averi Woodruff (4:41.90) was 45th. Lake Placid’s Clara Boutelle did not start the race, while Lilly Rother was disqualified after one run.

Shenendehowa’s Micaela Leonard won the state title in 2:15.16.

In the boys’ contest, Saranac Lake’s Will Miemis (2:45.71) placed 43rd, while teammates Evan Hochwald (3:00.20) and Ian Munson (3:17.24) were 44th and 46th, respectively. Lukas Miemis was listed as a did not finish.

Baltson Spa’s Cole Evans earned the state title with a time of 2:14.10.