WHS Alpine Carves Its Way To Domination

Author: Ashton Marnik, WHS Class of '26

As New Englanders, it’s safe to say that plenty of locals eagerly await ski trips this February break, whether it be a local day-trip or a destination vacation. Not all avid skiers must look weeks ahead to shred the slopes, though– certainly not WHS Alpine. 

For the first time, Winchester Alpine has trekked to Westford’s Nashoba Valley both Tuesday and Wednesday every week. Prior to this season, snow training was exclusive to Tuesdays, with the other weekdays entailing conditioning or technique review through film. Greater access to on-snow training is not the only change the team has experienced this season, as coaches John “JD” Donovan and Christian Mango were joined by James “Jim” Winn. Having three coaches has proved invaluable due to the team’s size– 47 athletes! Across this large group, skill and experience vary, and three coaches offer more personalized coaching given these differences.

The season opened on January 8th, a relatively warm Thursday at around 40º F at the time of the race. The event was Giant Slalom, or GS, and Winchester excelled. In a group of 86 male skiers, junior Marcus Brady placed second with a total of 41.79 seconds across two runs, and senior captain Juan Carlin ranked third with a two-run total of 42.79 seconds. On the girls course, junior Maddie Miller was the fourth-quickest out of 83 athletes with her two-run total of 46.53 seconds. Also in the top ten was junior captain Marion Donovan, earning seventh with 46.86 total seconds, and senior Maddie Baron, earning ninth place with 47.71 seconds. 

The following week was the second GS race of the regular season. Alpine’s juniors continued to display exceptional promise, with Brady winning the boys' course with a total of 41.46 seconds, Miller placing second for girls with 45.23 seconds, and Donovan ranking seventh with 45.98 seconds across two runs. Senior Maddie Baron also continued her top-ten streak by ranking fifth with 45.60 seconds. 

Following two weeks of GS, Mass Bay West turned to slalom on the 22nd, which entails only a single run per athlete. Marcus Brady made the most of his single chance and ranked third with a 25.61-second race. Both junior captains captured eighth in their respective races, with Otto Knudsen finishing in 27.96 seconds and Marion Donovan in 31.21. In close pursuit of Donovan were Maddie Baron, senior captain Gwen Gaiko, and Maddie Miller, finishing three in a row in eleventh to thirteenth. After this race, the girls' team found themselves at the top of the league.

On Thursday, January 29th, athletes hit the road for the final “regular-season” race of the season, with many postponing afternoon midterms to do so. Upon arrival, the stage was set for glory. Coach JD went as far as to say that the conditions were “as good as it gets, except it would be better if the sun shined on the slope” instead of the backside of the mountain. It was a bluebird day and around 10º F, with little wind chill. Both courses were set quite straight. 

Marcus Brady once again dominated, winning the boys competition overall with his 24.29-second slalom run. Otto Knudsen also shone, with his 26.78-second run securing a fifth-place finish and marking a personal best ranking. Senior Alex Turenne, too, marked a personal best by placing tenth with a 28.56-second run, continuing his breakout season. On the girls' course, Marion Donovan and Maddie Baron snagged sixth and seventh place, with competitive finishes of 26.70 and 26.74 seconds, respectively.

These performances, fueled by hard work since the days of cold, dry-land training in early December, led to history being made. Season records are calculated by how teams fare in relation to their designated dual-meet or tri-meet opponents each race day. The girls' team finished undefeated by this metric, with a 7-0 record, winning them the league – a first for WHS Alpine. The boys' team finished third in the league, with a 5-2 record. 

All three coaches were extremely proud of these athletic achievements, but also went out of their way to commend the sportsmanship and character of their athletes. On the 29th, the energetic support that Alpine exuded each time a teammate stepped up to the start platform attracted the attention of Coach Pete Doolittle of Weston Alpine. Doolittle turned to Winchester skiers, saying, “You guys are awesome, my skiers stand back there by the trees and listen to music.” He went on to repeat this directly to the coaches. But the encouragement lighting up the summit of Nashoba each Thursday is not limited to WHS athletes. Every week, Marion Donovan has returned to the top to lead cheering on the last few athletes from all towns, even when their own teams have dispersed. This did not go unnoticed.

February 5th marked the first day of Mass Bay West “playoffs.” For the league-winning girls, the designated opponent was fourth-seed Concord-Carlisle, while the third-seed boys faced a second-seed Lincoln-Sudbury. Like the week prior, the weather was cooperative, and the atmosphere was ripe for fierce competition, but the event and format were changed. The courses returned to that of GS, and the girls and boys swapped sides of the slope from those they typically race on. On the girls' team, overall second-place Maddie Baron excelled, as did Maddie Miller in fifth and Marion Donovan in eighth. Equally competitive were the Alpine boys, with Marcus Brady also placing second and Juan Carlin in eighth.

WHS Alpine concluded its season at Nashoba on February 12th. Again, the weather was perfect, and two inches of snow fell in the 48 hours prior. Completing their careers at Nashoba, seniors Maddie Baron and Gwen Gaiko placed fifth and twenty-second, respectively. In between was freshman Sophie Mango in sixth, Marion Donovan in ninth, sophomore Raya Gaiko in thirteenth, and Maddie Miller in fourteenth. On the boys' course, seniors Alex Turenne, Will Mango, and Juan Carlin finished their Nashoba careers with finishes twelfth, fourteenth, and fifteenth, respectively. Also performing strongly were Marcus Brady and Otto Knudsen in second and ninth. 

This season was exceptional for Alpine. The girls' team saw one of their most dominant seasons ever, and the boys found momentum after losing some of last year’s exceptional seniors. Given the results of these six weeks, three girls have qualified for states, with a fourth as an alternate: Baron, Miller, Donovan, and S. Mango. Three boys have also qualified for states, with two more as alternates: Brady, Knudsen, Carlin, W. Mango, and Turenne. States will take place in the final week of February at Wachusett.