So far this winter, the ski teams have exceeded their expectations with boys placed in third and girls placed in first in their leagues.  

The team practices hard to keep up their impressive record.

“We pull up to Ski Ward and we all get ready in the parking lot,” senior captain Kaleigh Reynolds said. “We have to be at the bottom of the hill by 3 or we hike [up the hill]. Boys and girls are always mixed except for race day. It’s a nice vibe because you get to know a lot of people and see them all the time.”

Ski team practices on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, making it a smaller obligation than other varsity sports. Because of the smaller amount of kids in the sport itself, teammates find themselves spending a lot of time together.

“It’s easy to make friends because you go up on the chair lift with them, you wait in line and race with them,” senior captain Andrew Michalik said. “It’s not as a big of a commitment as other sports and it’s definitely a lot of fun. There’s definitely good bonding, too.”

Race days are full of excitement as 13 schools, boys and girls, come together to race one another. Other schools include Shrewsbury, Westborough, Wachusett, St. Johns and more, and the ski team cheers each other on.

“We hand out the bibs at the beginning and we all go up and support while we wait in line,” Reynolds said. “We cheer each other on and then go down.”

The ski team is coached by Wayne Hey, a longtime skier who started the ski team, and Algonquin science teacher Nathan Largesse.

Being a skier himself, Largesse appreciates the differences between coaching and teaching.

“The best part of it is spending time with kids in different capacity than teaching,” Largesse said. “It’s a little bit more casual and it’s a little bit more student-directed because they want to succeed. It’s less about me pulling them along and more of helping them do what they want to do.”

Consisting of students from all grades, Largesse possesses a lot of enthusiam for the freshmen members.

“We have some really powerful young freshmen come in this year,” Largesse said. “It always stinks to lose seniors, but we have some great freshman.”

The teams plan to continue their strong path of success throughout this season and beyond. Reynolds reflected on her involvement in high school sports.

“It’s a lot of fun, like we go to Okemo in Vermont,” Reynolds said. “I played soccer in the fall and it’s just a totally different vibe. You’re always meeting new people and it’s one of the best experiences.”