Leading off today: Led by Carly Wynn's victory in the girls individual race, Queensbury's nordic ski teams raced to the lead yesterday on the first day of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association skiing championships.
Wynn, a freshman, led three Queensbury girls in the top four at Lake Placid and was the school's second consecutive state champion on the heels of Cara Sprague's victory in 2007. Spartans boys Alex Benway and Matt Flint took second and third, respectively, in their race.
In first-day alpine action at Whiteface Mountain, Queensbury's Tim Hughes and Jon Bennett were sixth and seventh, respectively, in the boys giant slalom to cap a strong day of performances for the school.
Wynn finished the 7.5-kilometer course in 22 minutes, 35 seconds to beat New Paltz's Natalie Busby by 50 seconds, followed by Queensbury's Shannon Mulshine (23:48.4) and Danielle Winslow (24:07). In the 10-kilometer boys race, New Paltz's Nick Mancuso won in 25:47.2, followed by Queensbury's Benway (26:48.4) and Flint (26:51.8).
In the giant slalom, Ben Jesmer of Canandaigua won the boys crown in 1:54.84 after standing fourth entering the second run. Burnt Hills' Erika Swits won the girls title 1:58.76.
Jesmer barely held off Pittsford Sutherland’s Denny Halligan (1:54.92) on a day in which Section 5 racers nailed down the top four spots. Swits blew away the field, as silver medalist Kim Gerrir of Irondequoit was 2.22 seconds behind and Catherine Helming of Canandaigua was third, 4.15 seconds behind the champion.
Empire State Games: Victor senior Zach Rivers earned his third scholastic gold medal in the 5,000-meter snowshoe competition at the Empire State Games in Lake Placid. Rivers, third in the state in Class A cross country in the fall and heading to Syracuse University later this year, finished in 17:59. His previous medals came in 2005 (22:44) and 2007 (19:27).
