This winter has not been kind to the skiers. Among the lack of snow, minimal practice time, and cancelled races, the team qualified for yesterday’s regional tournament. In the regional competition, both the girls and boys teams placed fourth. Unfortunately, with only the top three teams advancing, the FHC ski season is done. Amazingly though, two freshman girls qualified individually: Addy Quinn and Chloe Cox. For this being their first year on the team, this is quite impressive.

Now, you may wonder how they even raced yesterday with the weather reaching fifty degrees. Somehow, Cannonsburg managed to make enough snow throughout the night to keep the event going. Even though there was snow on the hill, the conditions were anything but spectacular. Senior captain Christian Bethea commented on the conditions stating, “It was icy in the morning, slushy in the middle, and rainy at night so no consistency.” This lack of consistency made it difficult for racers to get a grasp of how the course was going to be before their runs.

Even though the team did not make it past regionals, there is still much to be proud of. After losing talent last year and not being able to practice this year, fourth is not bad at all. There is also a testament to the leadership from the veterans on the team, as the two racers who qualified for states were freshmen. Girls team captain Lucy McLean shared how she gave advice to the freshmen before their first regional. “We taught them how to wax their skis before and we also had a practice in the slushy snow the night before so they could better understand how to ski in the conditions we were going to have.”

Senior captain Thomas Carano had a solid first run, but unfortunately, he fell in his second race which led to junior Matthew Taylor’s time being counted instead. Unfortunately, despite a valiant effort, this time was not quite good enough and led to the fourth-place finish. The lack of a season finally caught up and were simply not in favor of the Rangers.

Even though he did fall, Thomas was one of the leaders on the team throughout the year. He was always willing to give advice and share his knowledge of the sport. Unfortunately, none of the seniors qualified for states this year. Though they couldn’t qualify themselves, it can’t be stressed enough the impact they had on these freshmen heading to states.

Chloe Cox expressed her thanks to all of the upperclassmen on the team. “Everyone has been super supportive and welcoming. They have always encouraged me to do my best which I’m thankful for.” Addy Quinn also expressed her gratitude in saying, “The seniors are always supportive and make you feel better about yourself which helped me.”

FHC Sports Report wish Chloe and Addy the best of luck as they move on and thank the rest of the skiers on the team for their efforts in what will be remembered as a unique season.