New Paltz claimed the Section 9 cross country skiing team championships and produced the two repeat individual champions.
Matei Jirka, a senior, won the boys title, skating 7.5 kilometers at Minnewaska State Park in 26 minutes, 37 seconds, the start of a 1-2-3 Huguenots sweep. Nathaniel Johnson (28:46) and Elon Rosenthal (31:04) finished after Jirka. The boys posted 24 points, ahead of Wallkill (15) and Monticello (2).
Dylan Friedman, a senior, won the girls title in 28:03, far ahead of Monticello’s Baya Titus (34:13) and New Paltz’s Gala Dixey (34:30). The girls posted 20 points, ahead of Wallkill (14) and Monticello (8).
The state championships will be held Feb. 23-24 at Bristol Mountain.
The Section 9 boys team headed for states will have the three New Paltz top finishers and teammate Sawyer Ivchenko and the Wallkill trio of Ryder Kilpatrick, Graham Driskill and Gavin Griffin.
The girls team will feature the two top New Paltz finishers plus teammate Ella Brown; Titus; and Wallkill’s Taylor Zavodsky, Tamara Brand and Isabela Brand.
kmcmillan@th-record.com
X / Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Section 9 nordic ski championships for 2026
