Harwood alpine hitting its peak

It was a busy week for the Harwood Union High School alpine skiing teams with three races in five days. Overall, the team continues to produce solid results with many fine individual performances.

On Thursday, Feb. 6, Burlington hosted a two-run slalom at Cochran’s Ski Area. Leading the Harwood teams were Megan O’Shea and Austin Taylor, both with fifth-place finishes in a large field of close to 90 skiers in each race.

Following O’Shea for the girls were Mercedes Woolley (12th), Callie Anderson (14th) and Sophie Dasaro (16th), leading Harwood to third overall in a field of nine teams.

In addition to Austin, Hobey Weston (sixth), Parker Herlihy (eighth) and John Egan (13th) led the boys’ team to a second-place finish.

On Saturday, Feb. 8, the teams competed at Smugglers’ Notch in a two-run giant slalom. In a field of nine teams, both Harwood teams place third overall.

O’Shea took first place for the girls, with Sarah Wry in seventh, Dasaro in 11th and Anderson in 13th.

The Harwood boys placed four skiers in the top 16 for an equally solid result. Taylor (fifth), Weston (11th), Matt Crowell (13th) and Egan (16th) all skied two solid runs.

On Monday, Feb. 10, the teams headed to Burke Mountain for a two-run giant slalom. It was another good day for both teams, with the Harwood boys placing second and the girls capturing top honors in a field of seven teams.

Egan led the boys’ team with two solid runs to place seventh overall. Weston (eighth), Taylor (10th) and Alec McGlynn (12th) gave the boys another solid team finish.

The Harwood girls dominated the event with four scoring skiers in the top eight. O’Shea (third), Anderson (fourth), Wry (fifth) and Dasaro (eighth) outscored the closest team by nearly 30 points.

The teams are now off for about a week, with the final regular season meet at Cochran’s.