North Tahoe High School secured the overall team victory in the Tahoe Basin Ski League's first giant slalom race on January 7 at Sierra-at-Tahoe, navigating challenging weather and course conditions. South Tahoe placed second, while Incline took third in the team standings.
The Tahoe Basin Ski League alpine ski season kicked off with a giant slalom race at Sierra-at-Tahoe on January 7, where North Tahoe High School emerged as the overall team winner. Teams from South Tahoe, Incline, Truckee, Whittell, Douglas, Carson, and Sierra Lutheran High Schools competed amid wind, snow, and significant ruts on the course.
North Tahoe head coach Gretchen Lancaster Sproehnlef highlighted the difficulty: “It wasn’t an easy race, by any stretch. For some of our kids, it was the first time they had been in a course this year. We had wind, snow, and pretty big ruts. They really rose to the challenge though, we are proud of them.”
In the girls' team division, Truckee claimed first place, followed by North Tahoe in second and South Tahoe in third. The boys' team results saw North Tahoe in first, with South Tahoe and Incline rounding out the top three.
Individual performances were tight, especially among the top girls. Truckee's Cali Byrnes won with a combined time of 69.03 seconds, edging out North Tahoe's Ashlyn James (69.11) and Addison Jones (69.14). In the boys' category, South Tahoe's Max Fish took the top spot at 69.38 seconds, nearly two seconds ahead of North Tahoe's Tanner Michejda (71.19), with Incline's Luke Lombardi third at 72.66.
The season had a delayed start, with the first two races canceled and a holiday break interrupting preparations. Five more competitions remain before the state championships at the end of February.