In the past month, as winter sports have come to an end, the Scarsdale Ski and Swim teams have dominated in their respective States tournaments. In spite of the pressure, these teams have exceeded their pre-season goals and expectations, with many beating personal and even school records.
Ski Team
One Scarsdale team to find success at their States competition was the ski team. Senior captain Elliot Zhang ’24 and Stella Van Arsdale ’26 both represented Scarsdale at States.
In Alpine skiing, there are two main events: slalom and giant slalom skiing. In slalom, skiers navigate a winding course between closely spaced poles or gates. On the other hand, in giant slalom, the gates are spaced at a greater distance from each other than in slalom. In order to qualify for States, a skier has to place in the top three in discipline or within the top eleven when combining their best runs from slalom and giant slalom. Van Arsdale qualified for States by placing in the top three in giant slalom. Zhang earned his spot at States for the second consecutive year with the top combined slalom and giant slalom runs.
The high school team only practiced two or three times throughout the season. However, Van Arsdale put in the extra work, where she “drove up to Bromley mountain in Vermont and trained with [her] club team every weekend.” Not expecting to place in the top ten, Van Arsdale was thrilled to walk away with two medals, where she finished 9th in slalom and 10th in giant slalom.
It is truly remarkable that Scarsdale had two students represent them at States, which included about 130 students from every section of New York.
“I had an amazing time at States and I loved skiing a new mountain,” Van Arsdale commented. “[My] favorite part [about the ski team] was definitely getting to know new people and placing in the top ten at States.”
The ski team’s future is looking bright as it consists of many athletes eagerly aiming for a spot at States next year. Their dedication and talent promise an exciting journey ahead of the slopes!
Swim Team
On March 1st and 2nd, the Scarsdale Boys Swim and Dive team crushed it at their State tournament in Ithaca, New York. Led by captains Kevin Jiang ’24 and Bryan Manheimer ’24, the team placed in the top ten across multiple events, shattering expectations and school records.
Throughout their season, they have gone through a rigorous practice schedule, where club swimmers attended club practices every day of the week, while all other swimmers would be at Scarsdale’s 5 weekly practices. As a result, the swim team saw unprecedented improvements from everyone on the team over the course of the season, with many swimmers beating their personal records across a variety of events.
Fortunately, the swim team’s hard work paid off at States: Jiang placed 1st in the 100 meter freestyle, and the quartet of Jiang, Manheimer, and underclassmen Avi Stahl ’26 and Kieran Lee ’26 placed 2nd in the 400 meter freestyle relay.
“Coming out of the season as the 2nd best team in the state goes to show how hard all of our guys worked throughout the season to improve and perform to continue Scarsdale Swim’s dominance,” Jiang stated.
Despite losing key seniors, Raiders Aqua is setting even higher goals for next season. “For the future, it looks bright for SHS swimming. Next year we should win the section and possibly the state if our younger swimmers step up to the plate,” Manheimer shared.
