Oak Ridge Alpine team wins state championship

Oak Ridge High's Alpine team entered the state championship at the Sugar Bowl March 2-5 with the goal of winning it and the team accomplished its goal, placing first in the ski and snowboard competitions combined. Among the team's finishes include the Oak Ridge boys and girls ski teams placing second, while third-place finishes went to girls snowboard, snowboard combined (boys and girls), boys ski, and girls ski. The Oak Ridge boys snowboard team also took fifth. All this added up to Oak Ridge's Alpine team (ski and snowboard combined) to place first in the state. Among the team's top individual performances, Molly Railey and Americo Powers made the All-State Snowboard team, while Ashton Miller and Beau Templet made the All-State ski team. The biggest improvement from their seed entering the competition to where they finished went to snowboarder Americo Powers and to skier Sofia Izraelev. "We have a very small number of athletes with any race experience, but a large number of athletes that are motivated to work hard and learn how to race," Oak Ridge coach Steve McClaine. "Our coaching staff works with the athletes to develop good racing fundamentals and build the depth needed to be competitive as a team. We may not have individual athletes that win races; however, we will place a number in the top 15-to-20 in the large races. If one of our top racers does not have a good race, there are a number of teammates who will ensure the team gets a solid finish for a good score." Oak Ridge athletes competing at 2026 state championships in snowboard include Rae Starr, Molly Railey, Brielle Stewart, Megan Conners, Kade Brown, Skyler Pedone, Tommy Schwartz, Emerson Cobabe, Americo Powers, Nick Gee and Myles Melton. Members of the ski team who competed at the state championships include Emma Campbell, Alivia Chen, Sofia izraelev, Joelle Nyquist, Magnolia Browning, Amanda Guan, Mina Allen, Piper Tatum, Graham Aronowitz, Will Schwam, Brady Steed, Ashton Miller, Brenden White, Olivier Saucier-Cliché, Beau Templet, Caleb Izraelev, Chance Chisholm and Chris Dawson.