Racing against some of the state’s best, the Red Storm boys had two racers reach the podium in the race that featured 43 starters, while scoring eight team points to earn the title. Lake Placid and Queensbury tied for second out of seven teams with 26 points each. Holland Patent placed sixth.

Meanwhile, Saranac Lake’s girls took home their invite crown with four top-10 finishes, earning 14 points. They edged out the Blue Bombers girls, who had 23 points in second place, and Queensbury, which was third with 34.

Saranac Lake senior Mason Stoddard led all local racers, winning the boys 7.5K skate overall title in a time of 19 minutes, 25.6 seconds. Shenendehowa’s Jacob Perkins led for the opening lap before Stoddard caught him on the second and held the lead for the remainder of the way. Perkins (19:41.2) finished in second place, while fellow Saranac Lake senior Keaton Daley (20:07.6) was third.

Lake Placid’s top skier was Will Coffin, who cracked the top-10, with a sixth-place finish in 21:06.2, edging out the Red Storm’s third skier, Emmett VanBuskirk (21:23.4), who placed seventh.

Lake Placid’s Leila Fey competes in Saturday’s Section VII Invitational at Mount Van Hoevenberg. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

The Blue Bombers also had strong finishes from Graham Scull (21:57.5) in 11th, Trey Mariano (22:12.8) in 15th, Tyler Erenstone (22:18.6) in 16th and Will Preece (22:31.8) in 18th.

Saranac Lake’s boys squad was rounded out by Ebin Meissner (22:05.4) in 12th and Ben Ziemann (22:06.3) in 13th.

On the girls side, Leila Fey was the top area skier, placing third overall for Lake Placid in 22:39.1. Adirondack High School’s Cora Hinsdill (20:02.8) took home the top honors for the second year in a row, while Saratoga’s Anna Yarsevich (22:32.4) placed second.

Pepper Laxson also cracked the top five for the Red Storm, placing fourth in 22:40.8, edging out the Blue Bombers’ Norah Francis, who finished in fifth in 23:46.5.

After Francis’ finish, three Saranac Lake skiers crossed the finish line with Kaylee Holmes (24:17.9) in sixth, Kelsi Burth (24:28.0) placing seventh and Cadence Kennedy (24:37.3) earning eighth.

Saranac Lake’s Pepper Laxson, right, leads teammate Cadence Kennedy during Saturday’s Section VII Invitational at Mount Van Hoevenberg. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

The Red Storm’s Tyler Burth (25:51.3) rounded out the team in 11th out of the 37 starters. Lake Placid’s Rose Wenzler (29:15.3) closed out her team’s scoring in 19th.

Up next, the Section VII Nordic ski teams will return to league racing with a competition at 6:15 p.m. Dewey Mountain Recreation Center on Tuesday.

Below are the times and placements for the local varsity athletes, who competed in the junior varsity race on Saturday.

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BOYS

Lake Placid’s Will Coffin, right, leads Saranac Lake’s Ebin Meissner during Saturday’s Section VII Invitational at Mount Van Hoevenberg. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

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4. Rory Popp (SL), 26:23.7

5. Gregor Weinrick (SL), 26:25.2

8. Liam Gotham (LP), 28:05.9

11. Erik Rothamal (LP), 28:30.7

Saranac Lake’s Kaylee Holmes, left, takes off ahead of Lake Placid’s Rose Wenzler during the start of the girls varsity’s Section VII Invitational race on Saturday. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

17. Asher Murray (LP), 31:17.1

23. Everest Wolford (SL), 34:44.1

25. Miles Aaron (SL), 36:54.4

27. Matthew Hunter (SL), 45:42.1

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Saranac Lake’s Ben Ziemann competes in Saturday’s Section VII Invitational at Mount Van Hoevenberg. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

GIRLS

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1. Julia Pickard (SL), 23:52

2. Lila Zobel (SL), 26:02

3. Nora Daley (SL), 26:49.7

4. Amelia Evans (SL), 27:09.2

5. Lena Holmes (SL), 30:02.9

6. Eloise Zobel (SL), 30:48.7

8. Clementine Guenette (SL), 33:32.5

11. Rachel Rozon (SL), 38:45.0)