Bret Harte High School’s inaugural alpine ski team concluded with impressive individual performances as the team prepares for California-Nevada Interscholastic Ski & Snowboard Federation (CNISSF) League Championships.
In the final Giant Slalom on February 9 at Sierra‑at‑Tahoe, Emma Shawkey finished third with a combined time 76.59, Lois Miles placed 8th (79.17), and Karly Ritchie‑Shields finished 10th (81.08). Kenan Dragomanovich recorded a DNF after unclipping from her bindings while pushing off at the start gate.
The entire team qualified for the League Championships scheduled for the first week of March at Sugar Bowl Resort in Donner, where they will face top high school programs from across California and Nevada. The CNISSF League includes six divisions comprised of schools of varying sizes.
All‑Division Women’s Ski season standings were notable for Bret Harte:
Marley Garner (Amador/Argonaut) — 1st, 398 points
Kenan Dragomanovich (Bret Harte) — 2nd, 396 points
Emma Shawkey (Bret Harte) — 3rd, 391 points
Lois Miles (Bret Harte) — 10th, 374 points
Final season results by discipline:
Women’s Giant Slalom
Kenan Dragomanovich — 4th, 196 points
Emma Shawkey — 6th, 193 points
Lois Miles — 11th, 183 points
Karly Ritchie‑Shields — 12th, 178 points
Women’s Slalom
Kenan Dragomanovich — 1st, 200 points
Emma Shawkey — 2nd, 198 points
Lois Miles — 7th, 191 points
Assistant Coach Tyra Dragomanovich praised the team’s effort: “I’m really proud of on‑snow coach Nick Shawkey and my ‘redneck racers’—our hand‑me‑down basketball jerseys converted into ski bibs with iron‑on numbers. We were the complete underdogs coming into this league. Bret Harte is one of the smallest schools in the league, representing Bear Valley as our home resort. We finished last as a team in our division, but individually we placed in the top 10 and all four qualified for one or both disciplines at State Finals.”
Winners at League Championships go on to Western Regional High School Championships scheduled for March 15-18 in Loveland, Colorado. Athletes represent their high school as individuals and California and Nevada as a team. They will be competing against other athletes from California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
View CNISSF standings at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wYL8XNRyrfIcuDjpgtO2oS_8618-nYWkzKMmaJRiJlQ/edit?usp=drivesdk. Photo courtesy of Bret Harte Alpine Team, formerly the Bret Harte Ski and Snowboard Team.