Anthony earns medal at N.Y. state ski championships

Willow Lutz of John Jay finished in the top 25 as a freshman. Brynn Anthony, her mom and Fox Lane coach Jessica Anthony, and Chase Hamilton at Section 1 finals. (FLHS Photo); Fox Lane senior Brynn Anthony medaled in Giant Slalom at N.Y. state championships. Porter Bysshe of John Jay competed at states for the third straight year. Greg Kaplowitz photos

By JIM MACLEAN 

Four times she had earned a trip to the New York state ski championships; this was her last chance as a senior and Brynn Anthony of Fox Lane made the most of the opportunity, earning a medal and a place on the podium and All-State honors.

It is never easy in ski racing — one mistake and you are out of the running, and it is even harder when the competition is the best in the state and you are pushing yourself to the edge. It was a difficult two days on the courses at Bristol Mountain for the New York state championships Feb. 23-24. Each skier gets two runs in both giant slalom and slalom, and you have to finish both in order to compete for a medal.

Anthony is a veteran familiar with the pressure, and she knew what she had to do in order to finish her Fox Lane career on a happy note. She had to come out strong on the first day in her best event, the giant slalom. She finished her first run with a time of 1:07.05, and then she went all out on her second run to cross the line at 1:05.87 for a combined score of 2:12.92 to finish in eighth place to get her medal.

Her Fox Lane coach Jessica Anthony is also her mother, and she knows what it meant to Brynn to get her medal.

“She was very happy to finish her high school career that way,” Anthony said of Brynn. “This was her fourth time making states and her goal was to be top 10. GS is her favorite, and I was very happy she could pull out a top 10. She was also happy with her slalom. I’m happy when she’s happy.”

Anthony followed up her medal-winning performance in GS with a good day on Tuesday in slalom as she finished her first run at 1:06.21 and her second was even better at 1:04.47 for a combined total of 2:10.68 to finish 13th overall.

And with her performance at states, Anthony gets the chance to compete again as she qualified for the Eastern States championships March 7 at Attitash Mountain in New Hampshire.

Fox Lane’s Chase Hamilton also earned a trip to the state championships and he finished all four runs in the boys’ competition. He didn’t let the nerves get to him, competing for the first time at states and finished 20th in GS and 22nd in slalom.

“Chase was competing at states for the first time and it was definitely a difficult course and he did great to finish all four runs,” Anthony said of Hamilton. “Chase has been a joy to coach, the most polite kid, and I was very happy for him to ski like that his first time at states.”

Hamilton made it through a tough course the first day in GS with a time of 1:10.11 on his first run, and he turned it up for the second run with a time of 1:06.92 to finish 20th. He had a great first run in slalom at 59.23 and had one mistake on his second run but was able to recover and finish with a time of 1:05.06 to finish 22nd.

Just being able to finish all four runs was an accomplishment, especially in the boys competition as almost half of the skiers did not finish both runs.

John Jay also had a pair of skiers qualify for the states in junior Porter Bysshe and freshman Willow Lutz.

Bysshe was a perfect example of the course conditions. After finishing second at the Section 1 championships, he was hoping to place and earn a medal at states, but he was unable to finish two runs in either event.

“Conditions at Bristol were challenging, especially as the day went on,” John Jay coach Paul Crivelli said. “When you combine the demanding conditions with athletes who are pushing themselves against the best competition in the state, you’re going to see some racers skiing right on the edge, no one is holding back, they’re attacking every gate, and sometimes that results in mistakes.”

Competing at states for the third time, Bysshe finished his first run in GS with a time of 1:07.19, but he knew he had to be faster on his second run in order to medal and he pushed to the edge and was unable to finish. He hoped to bounce back in slalom, but once again he was unable to finish. He wasn’t alone, as only 35 of the 64 competitors entered in the boys race were able to finish both runs.

“This was Porter’s third appearance at states and he came in comfortable with the atmosphere,” Crivelli said of Bysshe. “He didn’t get the finish he was hoping for, but qualifying and competing against the top racers in the state is an accomplishment in itself. I know he’ll use this experience as motivation to come back next season even more focused and determined.”

While Bysshe was a veteran, Lutz is only a freshman and this was her first time heading up to states. She didn’t let the competition or conditions get to her as she was able to finish all four runs for an impressive performance on the state level.

“Willow handled herself very well, especially for her first state championship,” Crivelli said of Lutz. “As a freshman, to finish all four runs at states is a tremendous accomplishment, and placing 16th and 21st shows she skied with poise and confidence. She did an excellent job managing the pressure. She stayed composed and represented the team very well.”

Lutz started off in GS with a time of 1:11.5, and she really turned it up on her second run, cutting off six seconds on her time to finish at 1:05.74 to give her a 16th place finish overall. In slalom, she started off with a run of 1:09.34, and once again came on strong in her second run with a time of 1:04.98 to finish in 21st place.