McQuaid wins Section V Class A alpine ski title
SOUTH BRISTOL — McQuaid sophomore Max Sertl turned to his teammates and said, “We’ve got to get the sectional team trophy together, all five of us.”
Even though it was a good day for Sertl, he said it was an even better day for the McQuaid Alpine Skiing team.
The Knights, behind alpine combined champ Sertl, claimed their first Class A team title in five years Monday in Section V Alpine Skiing at Bristol Mountain.
“The second run in the (afternoon) slalom I started thinking more about the team,” said Sertl, who finished third in the morning Class A giant slalom and tied for first in the afternoon slalom with Brighton’s Jake Ahlman. “I was thinking, ‘I’ve got to get down and I can’t blow out, because our team’s got to win.’ That was more important.
“The tie was fun, because Jake and I are friends. It was a great day. I’m lost for words right now. I’m very excited.”
Alfred-Almond won the Class B team title for the first time since 2007.
It was an equally strong day for Brighton’s Sam Golini, who won the Class A giant slalom after finishing second in each of his two runs. His time of 1 minute, 18.18 seconds was .61 faster than Honeoye Falls-Lima’s Drew Tallon.
Michael Williams of Lyons, the regular champion from the Wayne/Finger Lakes League, finished first in the Class B slalom (1:12.41) and Matthew Williams completed a Lyons sweep with his victory in the giant slalom (1:22.06).
Williamson’s Zach Cappon finished second in both in the slalom and giant slalom in Class B.
McQuaid finished with 460.11 points, 2.83 ahead of Brighton. Defending champion Pittsford Sutherland (464.16) was third and Canandaigua was fourth (466.20).
Alfred-Almond utilized a similar team concept to win its first team title in three years, knocking off two-time defending champion Naples. The Eagles finished with 517.09 points, almost six points ahead of Livonia.
“We were a little bit deeper than the other teams and the conditions were really favorable,” Alfred-Almond coach Todd Bialecki said. “It was a technical course and we have really technical skiers on our team.
“They’ve got a great team concept and they are always there to help each other, ready to boost each other up when they are running their races. That attitude carried us through.”
Sertl and three of his McQuaid teammates — Andy Peck, Seery Donnan, and Michael Wolcott — qualified for the state meet on Feb. 23 and 24 at Bristol.
McQuaid coach Bill Eve attributed the team’s success to ideal conditions and strong strategy.
“We had everybody as early seeds in the second run (of the afternoon slalom), which gave us a little better snow to work on,” said Eve. “The first runs of each race our assistants helped us make adjustments and helped us decide on tactics and strategies. We were able to adjust really well.”
WCLEVELAN@democratandchronicle.com
Alpine skiing state qualifiers
The following skiers qualified for the state meet on Feb. 23 and 24 at Bristol:
Sam Golini (Brighton)
Drew Tallon (Honeoye Falls-Lima)
Max Sertl (McQuaid)
Ryan Smith (Livonia)
Michael Williams (Lyons)
Nick Kreuter (Webster)
Jake Ahlman (Brighton)
Andy Peck (McQuaid)
Seery Donnan (McQuaid)
Michael Wolcott (McQuaid)
Max Noto (Pittsford Sutherland)
Nick Balta (Pittsford Sutherland)
