03/01/02 Shrewsbury High Girls win MIAA State Alpine Skiing Championship!

SECOND STRAIGHT VICTORY

Get a cabinet maker to Shrewsbury High School because the SHS Girls Alpine Ski Team is filling up the trophy case! The Colonials finished the 2006 season with their second straight MIAA State Championship at Wachusett Mt on March 1st. The victory capped a perfect season for the Lady Cols who have not lost a conference race in four years. The depth that allowed the Colonials to claim the title last year was intact. Despite losing two top seniors, the team regained Junior Sarah Thompson, back from a shoulder injury suffered in training last year, and two experienced freshman, Julie Edwards and Noreen McDonald. Returning experienced racers, seniors Kelly McKinley and Amy DeLuca as well as Junior Stacey Meader are veterans of championship competition.

Storming through the 2006 regular season, placing 7 racers on the 10 woman Central Mass Conference All-Star team, winning the Ski Ward Cup , and the league scoring championship the Lady Colonials couldn’t help but feel a bit confident heading into this years State Championship race featuring the top 23 teams form the state.

Blue skies and 15 degrees greeted the racers for the morning slalom. Based on a random draw, SHS did not start their first racer until the 21st spot. This turned out to be an advantage as the softer snow on the course had now been skied off to the hard grippy snow beneath. In addition, any tough spots on the course could be mapped out by watching the earlier seeded racers. Executing an unconventional technique that they had trained specially for on this unusual slalom course, the Colonials top scorer, Kelly McKinley , wasted no time putting the team on the board. She ripped down the 42 gate slalom course ending up 4th out of 164 racers. Senior Amy Deluca, hoping to recreate her medal performance of 2004, placed 13th to help set the stage for a commanding slalom victory for the girls. SHS placed all 5 team members in the top 23 scoring 425 points and besting neighboring Algonquin’s second place finish by 41 points.

Heading into the afternoon Giant Slalom with a comfortable lead the girls were all business but just a little nervous. They knew Algonquin had a strong GS team and Monument Mt. was poised for an upset as well. They also knew that because the points from the top 4 racers of the 5 on the team count, they had to have 4 strong finishes. Again, McKinley was first on course finishing the final run of her high school career in 61:59. At the bottom she radioed a course report to Stacey Meader, the Colonials best GS skier. Meader crushed the run but not before getting airborne and sideways four gates from the finish. Somehow managing to get both skis back on the snow Meader bested McKinley by .03 for the Colonials second top ten, medal finish. Slalom specialist Amy DeLuca came next crossing the finish line in just over 66 seconds giving the team it’s third quality finish. With two racers left and one finish needed, Junior Sarah Thompson was up next. Information was radioed up that Wellesley, Monument Mt and North Andover had some excellent times so Thompson needed to go all out. Coming over the black diamond, top pitch of Smith-Walton, she aggressively got into a tuck just before the transition to the first flat section. She was carrying a lot of speed, perhaps too much to be in a tuck in this turny section.of the course. Thompson got caught up in the soft snow on the edge of the course which send her flying into the next gate ripping her helmet off and sending her skidding about 100 feet down the course. Shaken up but OK Thompson cleared the course to nervously await the final SHS racer.

Freshman Julie Edwards had been waiting at the start, admittedly a little nervous about the tough course and now in a must finish situation. Coaches at the bottom scrambled to get an idea of competitior’s times and decided an all out run and another hard crash might take the Colonials out of the race all together, but a more conservative, solid run would probably be enough combined with the earlier slalom cushoin to get the job done. Because the pressure on the Freshman was taking it’s toll it was decided the latter would be best. The saga was just beginning. Four gates from the finish, the one that almost claimed Meader, took it’s next victim. Edwards was down but not out, she quickly scrambled to her feet and finished giving the Colonials enough points to take the overall victory by 11 points!

Today’s victory proved once again just how difficult it is to win one State Championship let alone two in a row. Combine that with two State finalist results in 2003 and 2004 and dare I say,……..Dynasty?

Shrewsbury collects its second state title
Late finish by frosh Edwards is clincher
STATE SKIING CHAMPIONSHIPS
By Rich Garven TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
rgarven@telegram.com

PRINCETON- A crescent moon was emerging over Wachusett Mountain and the Shrewsbury High girls' alpine ski team was in full celebration. The Colonials, who numbered one skier when the program started in 2000, had just been announced as No. 1 - state champs for a second straight season.

They knew the routine. Senior Kelly McKinley, who took home a pair of individual top 10 medals, held the polished wooden trophy aloft as her jubilant teammates bounced around her at the steps of the base lodge. "We've really been looking forward to this day," McKinley said. "Last year, we wanted it so bad (after consecutive runner-up finishes). This year, we had something on the line and we wanted to defend our title."

Shrewsbury, which didn't lose a competition this winter, compiled 763 points to edge Monument Mountain by 11. Algonquin Regional was third in the 23-team field with 714 points.

The Colonials had the lead after the slalom portion of the competition in the morning. They came back to take sixth in the giant slalom, which proved good enough to retain their crown.  "There was a lot of pressure on them and I'm just thrilled they skied as cleanly as they did in the slalom," coach Ann Early said. "That gave them a little buffer heading into the afternoon."  Junior Stacey Meader and McKinley, who placed eighth and ninth respectively, were already in the GS book, as was senior Amy DeLuca, who had a nice day overall. But that buffer would soon disappear when junior Sarah Thompson took a scary spill with four gates remaining and didn't finish. The junior was OK and, thanks to Julianne Edwards, so were the Colonials. Edwards didn't have the fastest run of the day for Shrewsbury, just the most important. Teams could enter five racers, but needed four finishers in each of the two disciplines to qualify for the title. The freshman was very much aware of the situation as her coaches communicated by hand radios between the finish and starting lines. "I was freaking out at the top," Edwards said. "I forgot to put my goggles down and my eyes were watering while I raced."  Then, four gates from the finish, Edwards fell after hitting the same icy "little knoll" as Thompson (and others). Edwards was down, but not
out, because she hadn't missed a gate.  "That was a relief," the 14-year-old said.  Edwards got up and soon crossed the line. Her time of 77.68 seconds was 16 seconds slower than both Meader and McKinley, but survival was the objective on this cloudless afternoon.  "We told her she just had to finish," Early said. "Time wasn't important, it was just important that she got a time."

McKinley had the time of her life, having also taken fourth in the slalom to complete a wonderful four-year scholastic career. Next stop is Southern Methodist University in Dallas, where she'll study business and compete in crew.  "That was my last race ever," she said after the GS. "No more skiing. Well, maybe water skiing." The Colonials are graduating some talent, but also expect to welcome back junior Miranda Jonswold and freshman Noreen McDonald in addition to Meader and Edwards in 2007. It should make for quite a showdown with Algonquin.  The Tomahawks, who went 23-2 and placed second to Shrewsbury in the Ward Cup competition, trotted out a lineup yesterday that included juniors Kelsey Shine and Devon Proctor, and freshmen Lauren Brule and Laura Krause. Shine took ninth in the slalom and Brule just missed out on medaling in the giant slalom. "The girls were good across the board," said Wayne Hey, the Tomahawks' eighth-year coach and a Wachusett Mountain instructor."In skiing, there's always going to be mishaps, but as far as I expected, they did very well. I'm proud of them and we're a team with something to look forward to next year."

For the boys, St. John's Prep won the team title while St. John's High and Groton-Dunstable tied for 12th place. Individually, Algonquin's Chris Brule medaled with a sixth-place finish in the slalom.

The sportsmanship award went to Nashoba Regional and long-time coach Betsy Cussen.

02/13/06 Shrewsbury Girls Win final regular season race

It was a walk in the park for the Lady Cols to take this fairly straight set GS in the last race of the regular season! Once again the top 5 finishes were claimed by SHS racers and the team put the rest in the top ten! This win caps the 4th undefeated season for the Colonial Skiers!

02/08/06 Shrewsbury Girls Win Wachusett Cup

CMCSL racers got an early preview of the MIAA State Championship slalom course today at Wachusett Mt. The 35 gate course of boilerplate ice was deftly navigated by the Colonials. Rocketing through the course and taking the top five spots were potential State Championship team members Kelly McKinley, Stacey Meader, Sarah Thompson, Julianne Edwards and Amy DeLuca. The Colonials finish the regular season next week with a Giant Slalom, then head off to Wachusett Mt. March 1st to defend their State Championship Title

02/06/06 Shrewsbury Girls Win 3rd Slalom

Negotiating a poorly set course the lady Colonials showed that they had the technique to get it done no matter what! Taking the top 5 spots the ladies left the rest of the field wondering just how they skied the couse so swiftly. The SHS racers clinched the 2006 CMCSL title today for the fourth straight year. The Lady Cols are still undefeated in four years of league competetion

01/30/06 Shrewsbury Girls Claim victory in two run slalom

Poor snow conditons were over come by some good course preparation allowing SHS racers to get two runs of slalom in. Proving their domination of the season's first slalom was no fluke, they dominated the race taking the top 6 places in run 1 and the top 4 in run 2. Every SHS racer finished in the top 20 today!

01/28/06 Shrewsbury Girls Make their Presence know at the Bay State Games!

Absolute perfect conditions greeted several of the SHS skiers at the 2006 Bay State Games held at Jiminy Peak Ski Area. Competing this year were Kelly McKinley, Caitlin Early, Stacey Meader, and Sarah Thompson. Stacey Meader finished first in the 11/12 grade division and 3rd overall. McKinley was right behind finishing second and 4th overall.

01/26/06Shrewsbury Girls Win Season's first Slalom

The day started off with hope for the teams of the Central Mass Conference. Hope that some how, some way, somebody could make up some ground on the charging Colonials. Hope quickly turned to despair as the Colonials punished their competetion by taking the first 6 finishes. The Ladies placed every racer in the top 19 including freshman newcomer Meaghan McLean.

01/09/06 Shrewsbury Girls Win Giant Slalom

The Lady Cols walked away with another Giant Slalom Victory behind the strong Skiing of Kelly McKinley (1st), Amy DeLuca (2nd), Stacey Meader (3rd), Sarah Thompson (4th), Julianne Edwards (6th), Noreen McDonald (8th), Miranda Joneswald (9th), Caitlin Early (12th), Kate Palitsch (25th), and Meaghan McLean (29th) out of a field of 50 racers.

01/05/06 Shrewsbury Girls Win Season Opener

Shrewsbury wins season opener ar Ski Ward. Picking up right where they left off SHS skiers crushed the competetion in the CMCSL  taking the top five finishes in the Giant Slalom. Leading the Colomials, Kelly McKinley finished in first place followed by Stacey Meader, Amy DeLuca, Julianne Edwards and Sarah Thompson. Noreen McDonald finished 9th, Caitlin Early 11th, Miranda Joneswold 14th, Kate Palitsch 25th,

03/02/05 Shrewsbury High Girls win MIAA State Championship!

The Shrewsbury High Girls capped an undefeated season by winning the MIAA State Championship 739-721 beating out last seasons winner Concord-Carlisle at Berkshire East Ski Area. The girls started off the morning Giant Slalom winning by 20 points, marking the third straight year they have won this event. Kelly McKinley was one of the first skiers down the mountain setting the pace as the number two skier out of the start. Her solid run and course review was radioed to the start for her teammates in preparation for their run. Sisters, Stacie and Amanda Meader were next up for Shrewsbury. In perhaps one of the best races of her career, Sophomore Stacie Meader turned in one of the fastest runs of the day and a third place finish! Sister Amanda was in 17th and Kelly McKinley was in 6th. The SHS team needed one more finish from it's last two racers to secure the GS lead. With Diana Magner waiting as the final SHS racer, Amy Deluca had the green light to "go for it". Skiing in a very rutted course in the 110th position Amy turned in a respectable 56th spot securing the GS victory for SHS and a 20 point lead going into the afternoon slalom.

The afternoon Slalom would prove to be the biggest challenge for SHS skiers as they faced off against Concord-Carlise's two top racers who are nationally ranked slalom skiers. Again McKinley was first up. Skiing the soft snow she knew she had a solid run but had to wait as the next 150 racers finished their runs. The Meader sister turned in solid runs as well ultimately finishing 31st and 34th. McKinley would now find herself edged out of the top ten but in a solid 12th position. With C-C finishing 1 and 2 in Slalom and their number 3 seed finishing 18th SHS needed something huge from Deluca or Magner. Once more racing in the 110th spot Deluca poured it on, tearing up the rutted piste finishing 29th, over 30 points ahead of C-C's 4th seed securing the victory!

After two successive 2nd place finishes by 4 points and 3 points respectively, SHS racers brought home the victory with this talented group. 

MIAA 2005 Alpine Ski State Championship - Girls Results

STATE CHAMPS!

02/14/05 Shrewsbury HS Girls Win Ski Ward Cup

The Girls Alpine Team continued its roll through the CMCSL today winning the Ski Ward Cup. This invitational race had teams from Algonquin and Westbrough in addition to the teams of the CMCSL. Kelly McKinley took top honors for the Colonials followed by Diana Magner and Amanda Meader. This is the second straight Ski Ward Cup Victory for the Colonials. The Girls now begin training for the State Championship March 2nd

02/07/05 Shrewsbury HS Girls Win Giant Slalom

The SHS girls continued their roll through the CMCSL league winning the Giant Slalom today. Today's victory clinches the CMCSL title for the third straight year for the Lady Colonials. Kelly McKinley led the colonials with her sixth straight first place finish. Amanda Meader finished 3rd, Diana Magner 4th, Stacy Meader 5th, Amy Deluca 7th, Caitlin Early 10th.

01/31/05 Shrewsbury HS Girls Win Slalom

Another blowout for the SHS racers on a slalom course that saw two athletes carried off in a ski patrol sled. Who said Ski Ward wasn't tough? SHS claimed 1,3,4,5,7 for the top spots in team scoring with Amanda Meader upsetting league second place scorer Mackenzie Granger on the second run of the two run slalom. Also scoring in the top ten for SHS, Caitlin Early 9th and Jen Russell, 10th. Miranda Jonswald was 12th and Kate Palitsch finished 16th. The lady Colonials now have a commanding lead over second place NDA and have made it almost impossible for any to team to over take them for the CMCSL Championship points lead.

01/18/05 Shrewsbury HS Girls Win Slalom

The first Slalom race of the season resulted in another First place finish for the SHS girls skiers. Kelly McKinley took top spot followed by Amanda and Stacy Meader and Dianna Magner in spots 3-5. Rounding out the point scorers, Caitlin Early finished 11th, Jen Russell 12th, Rebecca Vinton 14th and Kate Palitsch 19th. SHS Currently leads their nearest competitor NDA 357 to 182 

01/10/05 Shrewsbury HS Girls Win Giant Slalom

Starting a week late due to poor snow conditions didn't stop the lady Colonials from continuing their domination of the Central Mass Conference. SHS was aced out of the individual first place finish but took spots 2-6 to easily win the two run Giant Slalom 82 points ahead of the nearest competitor. Last years State Finalist team all returned this year but unfortunately will miss last years team member, Sarah Thompson due to a shoulder injury.

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02/25/04 Shrewsbury HS Girls 2nd at 2004 MIAA State Championship

The Shrewsbury High Girls team came up four points (793-789) short finishing in second place for the second time in two years at this years MIAA HS Championship! The morning started off with slalom where both Kelly McKinley and Amy Deluca received medals for top ten finishes. The team was bested by a strong Concord-Carlise team by 7 points. In the afternoon Giant Slalom Shrewsbury girls showed their dominance as the top GS team in the state for the second year. Three top ten, medal runs by McKinley and the Meader sisters, Amanda and Stacie gave SHS the GS victory but left them short of the overall title by a mere 4 points. The Lady Colonials let everyone know they are a force to be reckoned with by receiving the most Individual medals (5) by any girls team at the competition.

02/09/04 Shrewsbury HS Girls Win Slalom

The final race of the Central Mass Conference was held at Wachusett Mt. The 35 gate slalom course was also an invitational race for the Westboro and Algonquin ski teams. SHS girls, with the Meader sisters and Amy Deluca back on their home "turf" crushed the competition, setting the stage for the state championship slalom which will be held on the same course. SHS took the top two spots and easily beat Notre Dame 183 - 122 winning the Central Mass Conference with a 20-0 record.

02/02/04 Shrewsbury HS Girls Win Slalom

SHS girls continue to dominate the Slalom Events in the Central Mass Conf. After a near disastrous first run due to poorly set course. SHS girls pulled it together to to take  2nd, 3rd, 4th, 8th, 13th besting Notre Dame by 43 points. The girls are now 16-0

01/26/04 Shrewsbury HS Girls Win Giant Slalom

SHS girls continue their winning ways with a victory in the Giant Slalom today at Ski Ward. The girls team now leads the Central Mass Conference with a 12 -0 record.

01/20/04 Shrewsbury HS Girls Win Slalom

SHS girls ski team continues to dominate the Central Mass Conference with another lopsided victory Tuesday. Once again SHS racers took top spots as Kelly McKinley and Amy DeLuca both topped the leagues leading scorer MacKenzie Granger from ND with near flawless runs. 

01/12/04 Shrewsbury HS Girls Win Giant Slalom

After missing the first race of the season due to poor conditions SHS girls returned to dominance by winning the first Giant Slalom meet of the season. SHS leading scorer Kelly McKinley was edged out by Notre Dame's McKenzie Granger for top spot but the depth of the SHS squad was too much for ND to overcome. Shrewsbury swept 2nd thru 6th place in the event and beat ND 176 to 104. SPM had 62 points, SB had 44 and Holy Name came up scoreless.

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02/26/03 Shrewsbury HS Girls Alpine Ski Team finishes 2nd at 2003 MIAA State Championship