Saranac Lake’s Pepper Laxson nears the finish line during the Feb. 12 Section VII Nordic ski championship finale at the Paul Smith’s College VIC. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

The Saranac Lake girls Nordic ski team currently sits in first place following Monday morning’s opening day of the NYSPHSAA Skiing Championship at the Bristol Mountain Ski Resort.

The Red Storm girls had five skiers place inside the top-15 of the 7.5-kilometer individual skate event to lead the state championship with 11 points. Honeoye Falls-Lima is second with 23 points, while Queensbury is third with 28.

However, the Queensbury boys lead the current podium standings with 12 points. Saranac Lake is in second with 14 points and Honeoye Falls-Lima is third with 23. The final day of the state Nordic championships continues on Tuesday with the 3×3 team relay starting at 10 a.m.

While the Red Storm girls put forth a dominant team race, it was Lake Placid’s Leila Fey who led the area skiers to the best finish. Fey, an eighth-grader, placed third overall in 23 minutes, 49.2 seconds. The Blue Bomber boys and girls competitors are racing as individuals and part of the Section VII team.

Adirondack’s Cora Hinsdill took home the girls individual state title for the third year in a row, finishing in 22:29.4. Shenendehowa’s Raquelle Landa (23:44.7) was second overall. The girls race featured 48 student-athletes.

Pepper Laxson, who won the Section VII individual title last week, led Saranac Lake with a fourth-place finish in 23:55.3.

Three other Red Storm skiers placed inside the top-10 with Kaylee Holmes (25:01.7) in seventh, Kelsi Burth (25:04.8) in eighth and Cadence Kennedy (25:10.4) in 10th. Saranac Lake’s Tyler Burth finished in 13th place in 25:40.5.

Norah Francis (26:17.5) in 17th, and Holly Erenstone (26:31.0) in 19th closed out the day for Lake Placid’s girls. The Red Storm’s Lila Zobel, placing 32nd in 28:54.0, capped off the day for her team.

On the boys side, Saranac Lake brothers Mason and Liam Stoddard both finished inside the top-10. Mason, a senior, placed fifth in 21:10.7, while Liam, a sophomore, was seventh in 21:27.0.

Queensbury Alden Guay was the overall winner, finishing in 20:49.1. Honeoye Falls-Lima’s Linden Bellizzi (21:04.8) placed second, while Shenendehowa’s Jacob Perkins (21:07.5) was third.

The Red Storm also had strong finishes from Emmett VanBuskirk and Keaton Daley. VanBuskirk placed 11th in 22:07.0, while Daley was 14th in 22:22.9.

Benjamin Ziemann (23:13.1) and Ebin Meissner (23:32.2) rounded out Saranac Lake’s squad in 24th and 26th, respectively.

Will Coffin paced Lake Placid with a 12th-place finish in 22:08.3. The boys race featured 48 competitors. The Blue Bombers were rounded out by Connor Mannion (22:56.6) in 22nd and Trey Mariano (24:18.0) in 32nd.

The Section VII girls team, which combines both Saranac Lake and Lake Placid’s results, currently sits in first place with 45 points. The Section VII boys team is third with 71.

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Alpine skiing

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Six Saranac Lake boys and girls Alpine skiers took part in the Giant Slalom races on Monday at the Bristol Mountain Ski Resort in the first day of the NYSPHSAA Skiing Championship.

Ida Schwartzberg led area skiers with a 21st-place finish in the girls race with a combined two-run time of 2 minutes, 18.68 seconds. In Schwartzberg’s first run, she posted a time of 1:09.24, and in her second run, she had a time of 1:09.44. The state Giant Slalom race featured 63 competitors in each race.

Pittsford’s Kirsten Matzky was the overall winner in the girls race, finishing with a combined time of 2:06.31. Glens Falls’ Piper Dock (2:06.56) was second, and Windham-Ashland-Jewett’s Piper Cohane (2:08.00) placed third.

The Red Storm’s Kara Kretser (2:27.38) finished in 30th, while Lily Kramer (2:43.53) placed 40th. Kretser posted a first run time of 1:13.49, while her second run was clocked at 1:13.89. In Kramer’s first run, she had a time of 1:22.62; her second run was 1:20.91.

On the boys side, Saranac Lake’s Colden Robinson placed 27th in a two-run time of 2:24.82. He raced to a 1:13.41 first run time, before closing out the day with a 1:11.41 second run.

Johnstown’s Carson Cheney won the overall title in a combined two-run time of 2:02.58. Queensbury’s Wesley Fuller (2:02.76) was second, while McQuaid Jesuit’s Hudson Proia (2:04.87) was third.

The Red Storm’s Lukas Miemis, who recorded a first run time of 1:05.93 — the 12th fastest opening run — did not finish his second run. Saranac Lake teammate Gus Earl was disqualified after the first run.

The Alpine state championships will continue on Tuesday with the boys and girls Slalom races starting at 9:30 a.m. with the girls first runs, followed by the boys.