Leonard goes out on top
Individual glory is something Micaela Leonard, a senior standout skier at Shenendehowa, had already accomplished prior to traveling to compete at the state championships at Canandaigua’s Bristol Mountain last week.
As much as the senior hoped to once again fare well in state competition, she entered her races Monday and Tuesday with a laser focus on one thing.
“I definitely had expectations,” Leonard said. “I wasn’t sticking to them very strictly because this week, since I got the individual title last year, me, Sara (Mcfarlane) and Allison (Bach) were focusing on the team title instead of our individual places. That was definitely in the back of my mind, how hard could I push myself and still put points on for the team.”
Leonard pushed hard and excelled for the Plainsmen. She came in third in the slalom with a two-run time of 1 minute, 38.28 seconds. Leonard hit the mountain a day later and scorched the giant slalom layout with a time of 2:15.16, winning by 2.5 seconds. The senior collected the overall Alpine title for the second straight year and combined with Mcfarlane and
Bach to bring home the team championship.
“It is really hard to explain. It is bittersweet, but going out that way is very satisfying,” Leonard said. “All the years all built up to this. It was a good feeling.”
For her efforts, Leonard has been selected as the Times Union’s Girls’ Athlete of the Week for Feb. 27-March 5.
The big casualty from the two days of racing was not the competition Leonard bested, but her nose that suffered sunburn, windburn and frostbite.
The state championships marked the third time Leonard had competed at Bristol Mountain. The senior came away loving the courses set up by the New York State Public High School Athletic Association’s ski
officials.
“Especially for the slalom, I loved the setup. I thought it was really fun,” Leonard said. “It was really rhythmic. You could kind of let your skis go.”
Before departing Shenendehowa, Leonard still has a girls’ lacrosse season to compete in for the Plainsmen prior to playing the same sport at RPI. Between academics and lacrosse, Leonard says skiing will be beyond those two pursuits. She is grateful with how her final scholastic skiing competition turned out.
“It was a really good way to end my high school career,” Leonard said.