The Lake Placid girls Nordic ski team shows off their Section VII Championship patches at the Paul Smith's VIC on Wednesday. Pictured from left, are Holly Erenstone, Maya Garrison, Harley Cohen and Norah Galvin. (Provided photo)

SARANAC LAKE — The Saranac Lake boys and the Lake Placid girls Nordic ski teams took home league titles at the Section VII Nordic ski championships on Wednesday.

The event featured competitions at the Dewey Mountain Recreation Center on Tuesday and competitions on Wednesday at the Paul Smiths VIC.

The two-day competition also saw repeat Section VII Individual Champions from a year ago, with Lake Placid’s Andrew Scanio winning the boys’ race and Saranac Lake’s Tyler Burth winning the girls event.

The competition was fierce during Tuesday night’s team relays at Dewey, with the lead bouncing back and forth between Saranac Lake and Lake Placid throughout the race.

In the end, Lake Placid’s Scanio threw down a blistering anchor leg to lead his team to first place in the relay, and Maya Garrison skied a fast final leg to put the Lake Placid girls on top.

Saranac Lake’s Tyler Burth, left, and Lake Placid’s Andrew Scanio show off their Section VII Championship patches at the Paul Smith’s VIC on Wednesday. Burth and Scanio claimed the individual Nordic ski titles. (Provided photo)

The teams attempted to beat the warming temperatures by moving the season final up a day to Wednesday night. Conditions held up well at the Paul Smiths VIC, as the teams competed on the VIC’s new competition loops out on the biathlon range.

The Saranac Lake boys rose to the occasion, winning the Section VII title over Lake Placid with a score of SL-10 to LP-12. Owen Keal and Sam Ash continued their strong seasons with second and third-place finishes respectively. Aiden Hesseltine had his best race of the season, finishing in fifth place and leading a pack of Saranac Lake racers in fifth through seventh place to secure the win.

Scanio, of Lake Placid, was once again the top boys’ skier, finishing the 7.5K course in a time of 25 minutes, 3 seconds on slow snow.

In the girls’ race, Lake Placid placed three skiers in the top five, securing a win over Saranac Lake by a score of LP-9 to SL-13. The Blue Bombers were led by Holly Erenstone in second place, Garrison in third and Harley Cohen in fifth.

Burth continued her strong season, winning the girls’ race in a time of 30:35. Jordanna Sambugh of Saranac Lake, finished fourth and Pia Morelli was Keene’s top finisher in sixth.

“It’s obviously been a very challenging winter throughout the northeast for skiing- we’ve battled warm temps and inconsistent snow all season,” Saranac Lake coach Keith Kogut said in a statement. “That being said, we were able to pull on a solid season of racing for our athletes, thanks to the support of our local venues. We raced at Dewey Mountain, Mount Van Hoevenberg, Scotts Cobble, Cascade Ski Center and the Paul Smiths VIC this season. They made it happen for our kids, and we are excited and confident about our teams heading into states.”

Fifteen Section VII skiers — nine boys and six girls — will compete at the State Championship Meet at Bristol Mountain in Canandaigua on Feb. 27 and Feb. 28.

Six of the nine boys are from Saranac Lake. They include Keal, Ash, Hesseltine, Mason Stoddard, Morgan Martin and Jake Kollmer. Lake Placid will be represented by Scanio, Aidan Fay and Colin Francis.

On the girls side, Lake Placid will send Erenstone, Garrison and Cohen. Saranac Lake will be represented by Burth and Samburgh. Pia Morelli will compete for Keene.