John Jay, Fox Lane skiers finish strong at Hunter

Chase Hamilton of Fox Lane makes a turn in giant slalom. Greg Kaplowitz photos

ohn Jay’s Porter Bysshe (right) finished second in the overall Skimeister standings at the Section 1 boys ski championships. Derrick Crivelli (center) of Brewster, son of John Jay coach Paul Crivelli, was first. Jack Mooney (left) of Yorktown was third.

James Bysshe of John Jay goes into his tuck at the finish line.

By JIM MACLEAN 

It was a long day of skiing as the top skiers from all around the area converged on Hunter Mountain for the Section 1 ski championships Tuesday, Feb. 10.

The top 70 boys and 70 girls in the section earned the chance to compete, and in the end there were four local skiers from Fox Lane and John Jay that earned a trip upstate to compete in the New York state ski championships.

John Jay has been among the top ski programs in Section 1 for the past couple of decades, and once again the Wolves were in the mix at the top as the boys team finished third overall with Porter Bysshe leading the way. Bysshe finished second in the Skimeister standings and earned a trip to the state championships.

“Sectional championships was a great day for Porter Bysshe, he put together four really solid runs and skied exceptionally well,” said John Jay coach Paul Crivelli. “The level of competition was strong, and we’re proud of what he accomplished.”

Bysshe was second in the slalom competition and third in the giant slalom as he finished with a combined time of 141.18 for his four runs. The only skier to finish above Porter in the skimeister standings was Derrick Crivelli of Brewster in first with a time of 139.79. He is the son of the John Jay coach.

The Fox Lane boys team was led by Chase Hamilton as he finished sixth in the overall skimeister standings after four strong runs for a combined time of 145.42 to earn a trip to the state championships. The top 11 boys and girls from the Sectional finals will compete at the states.

“Chase has had a fantastic season this year, placing in the top five in most races and I’m so proud of him for qualifying for states,” Fox Lane coach Jessica Anthony said of Hamilton. “He’s made so much progress, specifically in giant slalom to help get him there.”

Fox Lane’s Brynn Anthony bounced back from an almost devastating mishap to earn a trip to the states. She has been one of the top skiers in the section and was on the state team last year, but her ski released and she could not finish her first giant slalom run, knocking her out of contention for the Skimeister title. She bounced back with a strong run to finish sixth in the standings to qualify for the state team.

“It was a back and forth day for Brynn,” Anthony said of her daughter. “She was in third after the first run in slalom, but finished fourth. On her first run of giant slalom her ski came off towards the bottom of the course, so it all came down to her second run. She showed a lot of poise and experience and dropped the second fastest giant slalom run for run two to help solidify her spot for states. The support of the other female athletes at the finish line was just amazing to watch.

John Jay will also have a girl representing the Wolves up at states as Willow Lutz finished 10th overall to earn her place on the Section 1 state team. Lutz had four solid runs to place sixth in the Skimeister standings.

The John Jay boys almost had another state qualifier, as James Bysshe is an alternate for the state team. James was coming back from an injury and hoping to finish strong to return to states after qualifying last year. He had three strong runs on the day, but he had one costly run in the slalom that knocked him down to 18th overall. John Jay teammate Whit Degenhardt was right behind in 19th place. Nathan Fishkind of Fox Lane was 23rd, and Evan Templeton of John Jay was 35th overall.

“For the boys team to compete the way they did and come away with a third-place finish speaks to the depth of the group,” Crivelli said of the Wolves. “They supported each other throughout the day. James Bysshe battled hard. He had a challenging first run in slalom, but showed a lot of character by coming back with a strong second run. Whit Degenhardt also had a solid day. His consistency has been a big asset to our lineup.”

In addition to Lutz, John Jay had three other girls finish in the top 25 as the Wolves finished sixth overall in the girls team standings. Miriam DiPaolo was 13th, Gemma DelRosso was 17th, and Isabella Dziedzic was 25th for the Wolves.

“On the girls’ side, it was a very positive day, qualifying four girls for sectionals highlights the depth of the program,” added Crivelli. “Willow Lutz did amazing, she locked in and earned her spot for states. Miriam DiPaolo, Gemma DelRosso and Isabella Dziedzic improved each week and the Sectional championships reflected that progress.”

The Fox Lane girls finished 10th in the team standings with four Foxes qualifying to compete at sectionals. Grace Anthony was 29th overall in the Skimeister standings, while Charlotte Upton was 47th and Summer Yaggi was 49th.

“Grace is only a freshman and we were so proud of her to qualify for sectionals in her first year,” coach Anthony said of her younger daughter. “It was a fantastic experience for her and the other girls and she looks forward to qualifying again next year.”

John Jay’s Porter Bysshe and Willow Lutz, along with Fox Lane’s Brynn Anthony and Chase Hamilton, will now move on to compete with the Section 1 team at the New York state championships at Bristol Mountain in Canandaigua, N.Y. on Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 23-24.