A Sara-Placid squirt hockey player skates with the puck during an Empire State Winter Games squirt hockey game at the Saranac Lake Civic Center on Feb. 3.(Provided photo — Cole Meredith/Empire State Winter Games)

LAKE PLACID — New York Ski Educational Foundation’s Anja Robertson of Northwood School in Lake Placid and West Mountain’s Hudson Montgomery won a pair of gold medals each during the Empire State Winter Games Alpine Super-G events on Feb. 2 at Whiteface Mountain in Wilmington.

Robertson, skiing under cloudy skies and temperatures that hovered in the mid-30s, opened the day winning her first women’s race on the 744-meter, 32-gate course on Draper’s Drop in a time of 56.64 seconds. She won her second race on her home course in a time of 56.90.

West Mountain’s Piper Dock claimed the first race’s silver medal, finishing about one second behind in 57.65, while her teammate Shayla Byrne raced to bronze in 57.95.

In the women’s second race, Holiday Valley’s Carissa Dunlap claimed silver. She finished her race run in 57.12 and Vivian Bishop of the Brantling Ski Racing Association crossed the line in third place. She swept through the 32 gates in a single-heat time of 58.80.

Montgomery was able to hold off Windham Mountain’s Jack Conneely in both of his races. Montgomery won his first event in 53.90, just .37 seconds ahead of Connely, who raced to silver in a time of 54.27. Michael Stevens claimed the bronze medal, crossing the finish line at the bottom of Draper’s Drop in 54.45.

Amelia Evans of Saranac Lake competes in the U14 girls 4.2K classic start race at the Empire State Winter Games in Lake Placid on Feb. 4. (Provided photo — Joohee Na/ESWG)

Montgomery won his second men’s race in 54.11, while again holding off Conneely by only .40 seconds (54.51), while Andrew Williams of HoliMont Ski Club earned a bronze medal finish in 55.59.

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Giant slalom

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Robertson, and Marshall Hudson, also of Northwood School, raced to gold medal finishes during the Alpine giant slalom event at Whiteface Mountain on Feb. 3.

At left, Massena River Queen's Madison Blinn, of Lake Placid, battles for the puck with a Vermont Flames player during a U14 Girls game at the Empire State Winter Games in Lake Placid on Feb. 4. (Provided photo — Malcolm Taylor/ESWG)

Hudson emerged victorious in the men’s race, working his way through the Draper Drop trail’s 34 gates and 34 directional changes in a single run time of 1:41.5. He was a full second clear of West Mountain’s Hudson Montgomery, who finished second in 1:42.5.

Lake Placid native and NYSEF skier Michael Mezzetti earned the bronze medal, crossing the finish line in 1:43.10. Each medalist competed in the ESWG’s U16 division.

Robertson posted a single-run time of 1:46.30, securing victory in the ladies category. HoliMont Ski Resort’s Carissa Dunlap, participating in the U18 division, earned silver with a 1:48.70. Rounding out the podium was Mia Kerl of Holiday Valley Ski Resort, clocking in at 1:49.50.

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Slalom

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Robertson and Montgomery claimed podium spots in the slalom event on Feb. 4. Montgomery claimed his third Games victory, skiing to a two-run time of 1:36.0. Robertson wrapped up her racing weekend in a time of 1:40.6, earning a bronze in the girls race.

In the Alpine skiing slalom event, competitors rapidly maneuver through a series of gates. Participants completed two runs, and their final time is calculated as a combination of each. The course on Draper’s Drop featured 59 gates and a vertical drop of 153 meters on Feb. 4.

Jackson Magnus, who skis for Northwood School in Lake Placid, won the silver medal in a time of 1:38.9, while Windham Mountain’s Jack Conneely claimed bronze. Conneely, who won two men’s Super-G silver medals Feb. 2, finished his two race runs in a total time of 1:41.0.

Jane Rathbun, of HoliMont Ski Resort, won the women’s event. She outraced the 43-skier field with a combined time of 1:39.10. The silver medal went to West Mountain’s Talbot Muirenn, 1:40.20.

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Cross-country

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Three cross-country skiers from the Tri-Lake Region felt right at home on the Dewey Mountain trail system in Saranac Lake. The three combined to sweep the boys U12 2.5K Freestyle Mass Start cross-country ski race podium on Feb. 2.

William Preece, of Lake Placid, 11, won the race, about 1.5 miles, beating six other racers in a time of 9:45.5 seconds. That was a slim seven seconds faster than Henry Hann, a 7-year-old from Saranac Lake, who finished in the silver medal spot with a time of 9:52.5. The race’s bronze medalist was Lake Placid’s Tyler Erenstone, 11. He completed his race in 10:42.2.

Rhea Mackey, 11, of Keene, captured the Girls U12 2.5K Freestyle Mass Start bronze medal. She completed the course in 12:33.1. The Feb. 2 winner was Grace Bartlett. The 11-year-old from Old Forge. won the event, beating six other skiers in a time of 10:23.9, while the silver medal went to Mallory Cosh, 12, from Queensbury.

On Feb. 4, Pepper Laxson and Cadence Kennedy, both of Bloomindale, took two of the three podium spots from the girls U14, 4.2-kilometer mass start cross-country race held in Lake Placid.

Laxson, 13, skied past seven other racers in her age group to win the 2.6-mile event in a time of 13:17.7. Jordan Guidry, 13, of Old Forge finished the course in 13:31.4, while Kennedy, 13, claimed bronze with a time of 13:53.9.

Feb. 4 proved to be the sunniest and coldest day of Nordic racing and the 10 skiers that made up the boys’ U14 field, that also raced 4.2-kilometers, took advantage of the ideal conditions. Liam Stoddard, 13, of Saranac Lake, paced his age group, finishing first in 11:32.6. He held off 13-year-old Charles Hinsdill, of Remsen, who finished second, in 12:20.3 and Colt Grimm, 12, of Pittsford, clocked a time of 12:26.3.

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Moguls

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A stunning day on Whiteface Mountain in Wilmington led to stiff competition for the moguls’ competition on the Lower Valley Trail on Feb. 3.

Emma Giulietti of the Stratton Mountain Ski Club took home the gold in the girl’s event, as well as in the female U13 age category. She blasted down the 154-meter bump filled course in times of 22.61 seconds and 23.00 and registered a final score from the judges of 77.73 points.

Khloe Vance, of the Killington Mountain Ski Club, took silver overall and topped the female U15 category. The judges gave her a final score of 75.04. Her ski club teammate Symma Gans rounded out the overall podium and took second on the female U15 leaderboard with a score of 70.20. She had runs clocked in 24.90 and 25.44.

Moguls separates itself from other Alpine skiing events, as the sport combines balance, style and speed. Athletes take two runs, with the judges taking their highest score. Competitors will take on moguls, as well as two jumps over the course of their run to hit the highest score possible.

Abram Mayer, of the Stratton Mountain Ski Club, grabbed first place overall and in the male U15 age category with a score of 76.47. His first run down the course was clocked in 18.30, while his second run was recorded in 28.54. His ski club teammate Douglas Hamilton took second overall and first in the male U13 category, scoring 75.53. Joseph Perillo, of the Sugarbush Freeski Club, scored third overall and second in the male U13 category with a close score of 74.79.

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Biathlon

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Sean Kennedy, 47, of Chelsea, Quebec, took first place in the men’s masters 40-49 category of the Feb. 3 biathlon competition at Mount Van Hoevenberg. He completed the event with a time of 28:29.8, hitting three targets at the first shooting event and none in the second. Peter Vile and Steve Halasz, 48, of Saranac Lake, took home silver and bronze with times of 28:32.1 and 29:44.8, respectively.

Biathlon is an event combining precision marksmanship and cross-country skiing. Athletes compete in a 10K sprint for men and a 7.5K sprint for the women’s race while stopping twice to shoot five targets. Each miss of the target adds time to the athletes’ final score.

Greg Caza, 51, of Chelsea, Quebec, took home the gold in the masters male 50-59 category. He topped the leaderboard with a time of 30:02.6 and four total targets hit. Sean Halligan came in second with a time of 30:23.1, while Eli Walker, 53, of Intervale, New Hampshire, snagged bronze with a time of 31:00.0.

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Luge

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Riley Dombard, of Downer Groves, Illinois, and Emryn McCarty, of Swampscott, Massachusetts, showed that they were the fastest sliders during the Feb. 3 Youth A luge race at Mount Van Hoevenberg.

Dombard, 15, finished his two runs in a time of 1:33.495 seconds. He was just a slim eight-hundredths of a second ahead of the race’s silver medalist, Michael Montegari, 14, of Remsen, who finished in a two-run time of 1:33.575.

Sinatra Robles, of Castleton, Vermont, claimed the bronze medal for the race that featured 15 to 18-year-old athletes. His combined time was 1:34.089.

McCarty, 14, of Swampscott, Massachusetts, slid past the six-sled field with a pair of first place runs and recorded a total time of 1:33.066, en route to the women’s Youth A gold medal. She was followed by Abby Lorz, 15, of Ottawa, Ontario, in 1:39.469 for the silver medal and Zolo Ananopoulos, 15, of Westmont, Illinois, in 1:40.721 for bronze.

Landon Kozik, 13, of Norfolk, Massachusetts, won the men’s Youth B event, open to athletes ages 10-14. He finished in a time of 1:39.510. Lake Placid native Max Zayonc, 11, grabbed the silver medal, 1:39.975, while Warren Briggs, 13, of Madrid, won the bronze medal in 1:40.077.

The Youth B women’s title went to Delilah Salgado, 11, of Ashland, Massachusetts, who beat the five-sled field with a total time of 1:37.643. Emmelina Campos, 12, of Clarendon Hills, Illinois, finished second in 1:40.413, and Madison Sorrell, 12, of Piqua, Ohio emerged as the bronze medalist in 1:44.089.

In the Adult Masters race, Lake Placid’s Matt Gannon won gold, Anthony Shimkonis, of Wilmington, North Carolina claimed silver and Kara Potter, of South Lake Tahoe, California, raced to the bronze medal.

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Hockey

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The Vermont Flames defeated the Massena River Queebs in the U14 girl’s hockey gold medal game on Feb. 4 at the Lake Placid Olympic Center.

The Flames opened the three-day tournament Feb. 2, skating to a 1-1 draw against Saugerties before topping Rhode Island on Feb. 3, 3-1, to reach the championship game.

Massena came into the title game with a 1-0-1 record, too. They opened play with 1-0 victory, Feb. 2, over Rhode Island, before tying Saugerties 3-3, on Feb. 3.

In the U12 girls hockey tournament, the Saugerties Fillies defeated the against Hanover Wild to win the gold medal on Feb. 4. Winter Plank scored twice, once in each of the last two periods, to lead the Saugerties Fillies to a 3-1 victory.

The Fillies opened the three-day tournament on Feb. 2 with a 3-0 loss to Canton before coming back to top Utica 4-0. On Feb. 3, Saugerties and Massena shared a 2-2 draw before the Fillies went on to beat Canton 4-3 in overtime to secure a spot in the championship game.

The Hanover Wild started out hot, beating Utica and Massena 2-0 on Feb. 2. Hanover then skated past Clifton Park 3-1 on Feb. 3, sending them to the U12 championship with Saugerties.

The Fillies squirt team also took home the gold medal topping championship game versus Massena Raiders on Feb. 4 with a 2-0 win against the only team they lost to this weekend.

Saugerties began their weekend with a 3-1 win over Clifton Park, followed by a 4-2 loss against Massena on Feb. 2. On Feb. 3, their 3-0 blanking of Watertown sent them to gold medal game on Feb. 4.

Massena reached the medal game with a pair of wins on Feb 2. They opened the tournament, shutting out Watertown 4-0, then handing Saugerties their only loss of the tournament.