The Middle Park High School Alpine ski team has returned home from the state championships with a fourth-place overall finish.

The Colorado High School Activities Association’s Alpine Skiing State Championships took place from Feb. 20-21, when 12 schools competed on the slalom and giant slalom courses at Aspen Highlands.

In the first year the state Alpine skiing championships have been held separately from Nordic, the Aspen High School boys won the overall state title. Steamboat Springs took second, and Summit rounded out the podium in third.

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In the past, the overall team championship was determined by combining results from Alpine and Nordic, but the two sports are being individually recognized this winter. The Nordic state championships are Thursday and Friday in Steamboat Springs.

Of the 22 athletes on the team, the Panthers qualified eight girls and seven boys for state, according to head coach Lisa Mirabito, who emphasized that the team’s depth will give it room to grow over the next three years.

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Giant slalom

In the giant slalom race Thursday, Feb. 20, junior Maggie Bellatty finished her two runs in a combined time of 1 minute and 16.11 seconds, placing sixth and earning all-state honors, according to Middle Park Alpine ski coach Ryleigh Sutcliffe.

Also for the girls, sophomore Jess Heid placed 12th in 1:18.91, senior Rylie Riggs placed 13th in 1:19.14, and freshman Emmie Riggs placed 19th in 1:20.74, rounding out the top 20 for the Panthers.

The Middle Park girls Alpine team tied with the Battle Mountain Huskies to win second place in the giant slalom at 154 team points. Aspen High School earned first place on its home turf.

Among the boys, junior Alek Guziur placed sixth in a combined time of 1:21.42, sophomore Alex Burke placed 14th in 1:25.91, and freshman Freddie Stokeld placed 19th in 1:28.71, rounding out the top 20.

The boys placed fourth in giant slalom with 147 points.

Slalom

The final day of the state Alpine skiing championships concluded Friday, Feb. 21, with the boys and girls slalom.

On the girls’ team, Heid received all-state in slalom after placing 13th with a total time from the two runs of 1:16.74. Rylie Riggs was close behind in 14th in 1:18.03, and Bellatty and Emmie Riggs rounded out the top 20 in 16th and 17th places with times of 1:19.49 and 1:19.64, respectively.

The finishes put the girls in fifth place with 143 points for slalom.

On the boys side, senior Alex Noerdlinger was the top finisher in seventh in a time of 1:07.90. Guziur placed 11th with a combined time of 1:08.89, freshman August Applequist finished in 13th in 1:10.10, junior Salvador Stokeld in 14th (1:10.58) and Burke in 16th (1:11.70).

Guziur and Applequist received all-state honors, according to Sutcliffe.

The boys’ team won third place in the slalom with 154 points, behind the Aspen Skiers and Steamboat Springs Sailors.

To culminate their championship performances, Heid, Guziur and Rylie Riggs were Colorado Cup recipients. This award recognizes students who are accomplished in slalom and giant slalom.

In addition, five Panthers were selected to represent Colorado at the Western Nationals in Grand Targhee in March, including Rylie Riggs, Marloes Adriassne, Guziur, Salvador Stokeld and Noerdlinger, coach Mirabito said.

“All our athletes put in an incredible effort all season long, and they deserve to be recognized,” Sutcliffe wrote in an email to Sky-Hi News.

Austin Colbert of the Aspen Times and Cody Jones of the Summit Daily News contributed to this report.