Adirondack's Hinsdill wins state title in Nordic Skiing: See how other local athletes performed

With over three years left in high school, Cora Hinsdill has reached the mountaintop.

The Adirondack freshman won the NYSPHSAA Nordic Skiing Individual State Championship Tuesday at Bristol Mountain in Canandaigua.

Over a dozen local athletes traveled west to Bristol, and while Hinsdill was the only state champion, numerous other athletes, and teams experienced success.

Here’s who else did well:

Nordic Skiing

Hinsdill traveled to Gore Mountain for last year’s state championships, where she finished in 11th place.

The freshman said increased weight training and more experience helped lead to a better performance in 2023.

Due to fresh fallen snow, Monday’s conditions at Bristol Mountain were excellent, and Hinsdill used day one to her advantage. She landed in first but had to put up a solid score in day two as the scores from both days were averaged together.

Instead of snow, plenty of rain fell on Bristol Mountain Monday night into Tuesday morning. This caused much worse conditions for the skiiers.

Cora said the level of wax on her skis contributed to her title. Hinsdill’s father and coach, Rob, said Cora dealt with the tough conditions on Tuesday by not focusing on anyone else in the race.

Cora, who will travel next to the Eastern State Championship March 10-12 in Ripton, Vermont, said the peak she reached as a freshman will motivate her even more as her high school experience continues.

Outside of Hinsdill’s crown, the Camden boys Nordic skiing team finished fourth. Blue Devil senior Jerome Seidl performed the best of any Section III boys in 16th overall.

On the girls’ side, Old Forge’s Ellie Bartlett claimed sixth and Alivia Hopsicker 12th.

Finally, Seidel and Adirondack’s Aya Knitel won the Sportsmanship Award for Section III.

Alpine Skiing

The Blue Devils success on the Nordic side carried over to alpine. Camden, led by Josh Plumley, earned a fifth-place team finish out of eight schools. Section V’s Pittsford took the crown.

Camden coach Betsy Bernable attributed the team’s success to the program at Woods Valley Ski Area, bringing in skiers like Plumley at a young age.

“That builds into what we are developing here,” Bernable said. “They start with us in middle school and through high school. So there’s been this continuum of training for kids like Josh.”

She noted that Camden’s achievements impress even more given that Woods Valley doesn’t maintain the incline that many other ski areas do.

“Woods Valley has 600 feet of vertical, and we are competing against kids who train at Stratton Mountain in Vermont with 2,000 feet of incline.”

Plumley himself landed in seventh in the slalom and ninth in the Giant Slalom, out of over 60 skiers.

The senior hoped for a top five finish in the GS, but the poor conditions Tuesday made that more difficult. Still, he leaves Bristol satisfied with his performance.

“It’s good to end on a high because I’ve been racing for six years,” he said.

Plumley ended in 19th and 14th place at states in both events last season.

Bernable admits the conditions provided a challenge, but Plumley should still be proud of what he accomplished.

“He internally beats himself up, all racers do,” he said. “They could be a number one finisher, and they still find things they did wrong. I am always impressed with his ability to bounce back.”

RFA’s Austin Howard ended in 15th place in the slalom, and Holland Patent’s Brian Tolbert in 18th. In GS, Howard landed in 24th.

On the girls side, Old Forge’s Grace Heath finished 31st in slalom, and New Hartford’s Claire Friedel in 26th in GS.

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Adirondack freshman wins 2023 state title in Nordic Skiing