BY MATT SCHOOLEY
Julie Clark and Thomas Joy weren’t ready to stop skiing after Goffstown High School competed at the Division I Alpine state meet, so they didn’t.
Julie Clark and Thomas Joy weren’t ready to stop skiing after Goffstown High School competed at the Division I Alpine state meet, so they didn’t.
Clark and Thomas each qualified for the Meet of Champions, then finished well enough at the MOC to participate in the Eastern High School Championships as well.
At the Division-I competition on Feb. 9, Clark notched a second- place finish in the slalom and fourth-place result in the giant slalom to help the Grizzlies girls team to a fifth-place finish on the day. Joy was second in both the slalom and giant slalom the following day as Goffstown’s boys team also ended the day in fifth. At the Meet of Champions on March 3, Clark was sixth-best in the slalom, and Joy came in seventh in the giant slalom.
“Both of them have competed on skis for quite a few years,” said Goffstown’s head coach, Betsy Moody. “They were young when they started, and they come from skiing families. They work at it and do a lot of practicing. They want to do well.”
Moody loses Clark since the senior graduates later this spring. “She was invaluable all around, very helpful for all the other kids. She would have teammates come to her house before the races. She was an organizer,” said Moody. “Julie doesn’t put a lot of pressure on herself. She’s really good that way. Even when she doesn’t finish, she’s such a good sport about it.”
Joy still has two high school seasons remaining, and Moody said she looks forward to continue her work with the sophomore. “I am really hoping that the next two years he’ll come out and do really well. I am sure he will. He’s quiet a lot of the times, but when we come to practice, he wants to be there.”
The pair wrapped up the ski season with solid finishes at the Eastern High School Championships for Team New Hampshire, which won the event March 14 and 15.
Clark battled a toe injury and only competed in the slalom, where she placed eighth. Joy skied both events, coming in 20th in the slalom and 21st in the giant slalom.