Alpine champions were crowned last week at Alpine Meadows as the top high school ski racers descended upon the resort for the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association Tahoe Basin Ski League state championships.

The first of two days of racing was held under warm, sunny conditions on Wednesday, Feb. 16, on Alpine Meadows’ Yellow Trail.

North Tahoe senior Brenna Ritchie crushed the first run of the morning to give herself more than a half-second advantage. Truckee’s Amber Hansford made a strong push to claim the slalom title with the fastest second run of the day, but it wouldn’t be enough, as Ritchie held on to claim the slalom state championship with a combined time of 1 minute, 17.38 seconds.

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Hansford came in second with a total time of 1:17.93. Tate Lylah Kelly was third with a combined time of 1:21.20. North Tahoe’s Ella Costello was fourth with a total time of 1:24.53, and Truckee’s Audrey Rawson was fifth with a total time of 1:24.88. Truckee and North Tahoe skiers combined for eight of the fastest 10 times of the day.

As a team, the Truckee girls took first place with a high score of 211 points. North Tahoe was second with 206 points.

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North Tahoe senior Toby Gajar tasted state gold as a freshman, winning giant slalom. Last week, Gajar struck gold again, posting the fastest time in both runs to claim first place with a combined time of 1:13.94.

Teammate Emmett Roberts was second with a total time of 1:14.66.

Tyler Lamperti led Truckee with a combined time of 1:15.17 to take third place. North Tahoe’s Jackson Sanford took fourth place with a total time of 1:16.15. Truckee’s Aidan Peterson was fifth with a total time of 1:18.61. Like the girls, the boys from Truckee and North Tahoe posted eight of the day’s 10 fastest combined times.

As a team, the North Tahoe boys took the slalom title with 212 points. Truckee was second with 199 points.

State racing shifted to giant slalom the following day, and again the North Tahoe boys and Truckee girls led the way, capturing team titles.

On the boys’ side, Lamperti led Truckee with a total time of 1:01.59 to win the giant slalom state title by nearly a second. Truckee’s Peterson was second with a combined time of 1:02.56.

From there, the North Tahoe boys registered eight of the next nine fastest times. Gajar led the Lakers with a total time of 1:02.99 to take third place. Jackson Rantz (1:03.83) was fourth, Sanford (1:03.91) was fifth, Prince Ilano (1:04.41) was sixth, and Luke Buchanan (1:04.44) was seventh.

On the girls’ side, Truckee’s Hansford captured giant slalom gold with a combined time of 1:02.38. Teammate Tatum Akers was second with a combined time of 1:02.76.

North Tahoe’s Ritchie followed her slalom title up with a third-place finish in giant slalom, posting a total time of 1:03.01. Teammate Regan Clute was fourth with a total time of 1:03.44. Truckee’s Lylah Kelly was fifth with a total time of 1:05.01.

Justin Scacco is a staff writer with the Sierra Sun. He can be reached at jscacco@sierrasun.com