![At the bottom of the third inning, the Lions are still scoreless. Rowe stands at home plate, preparing to bat, while Vandenbrink stands off to the side as the next batter up. Despite having the bases loaded, the team was unable to score any runs. “It’s just the beginning of the season. We’re just going to be playing out best by June, [and] that’s where champions are,” Rowe said.](https://wlhsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IMG_3077-1200x900.jpg)
![All smiles. The group poses for a photo with last year’s book, “This is Our House,” along with their award for third Best in Show. Meikle, who was an Editor-in-Chief for the yearbook last year as well, holds both and stands at the center of the group. “That was an amazing feeling, going and grabbing the third place award,” Meikle said. “All of it paid off. I cried so much over that book, being able to receive [the award] was one of the highlights of my high school career, it was like the coolest thing ever.”](https://wlhsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/8bookpose_philly-1200x800.jpg)
For another year, the Oregon Interscholastic Ski Racing Association State Championship trophy will remain in possession of the West Linn Boys Ski Team. After the boys and girls ski teams won the Combined Team Three Rivers League title, they advanced to the State Championships held at Mt. Hood SkiBowl on March 6-8. The boys team also took home the individual slalom and giant slalom event titles in the TRL. The girls team secured fourth place in both events for the league season.
The boys State Championship giant slalom race on Thursday was dominated by West Linn skiers with its first four racers finishing in the top 15 places. Dalton Tuor, senior, finished first with Trevor Maxwell, sophomore, taking second just half a second behind him. Other top finishers included Jordan Reisterer, junior, in 11th and Colin Maxwell, junior, in 15th. The girls team competed in slalom on Thursday, taking 10th place as a team. Emily McDonald, senior, placed 24th overall in the slalom event.
Friday’s slalom event proved a strong conclusion at the State Championship for the boys team. Trevor Maxwell held a significant lead in first place, finishing almost three seconds faster than the second place finisher. Tuor finished fifth, Colin Maxwell 14th, Reisterer 18th and Christopher McNabb, freshman, 20th. The Combined Team in both events for the boys and girls teams ended up fifth in the state.
With a deep team losing just two senior racers this season, the ski team is hoping to defend its State Championship title for years to come.
