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The slopes were golden for Bishop Strachan’s Bobcats

For three senior skiers on the Bishop Strachan School’s alpine team, OFSAA was the final feather in their caps just before graduation.

Tessa Benson, Steffi Ralph, and Sophie von Teichman are gathered around the communications telephone one March day, sharing their goal for the year: make OFSAA.

“Last year we were really close to OFSAA,” von Teichman said. “After the first race, we were in first by a lot of points and we were like, ‘This could actually happen.’”

Two teammates are not there, Chelsea Atkinson and Grace Raymond, still, the trio available are happy to reminisce about five years of high school at BSS. The open girls’ team won four medals (three golds, one silver) Feb. 26 and 27 in Collingwood.

So OFSAA felt like a reunion of sorts.

“It felt really great, especially since we have been on the team for a few years,” von Teichman said. “It was really nice to make it as a team and to win as a team.”

The troupe earned 35 points in the open girls’ giant slalom and 30 in the slalom. Both good for golds. Ralph earned a medal in each of the two open girls’ races: gold in the giant slalom with a total time of 88.61 on two runs and silver in the slalom with a time of 98.61 on two runs.

“Because we were all on a team together, being able to compete as a team for an overall team award, it felt great,” Ralph said.

The on-going theme was teamwork, and the Bobcats would cheer on their fellow members at the bottom of the hill. That also included coaches Sheila Barclay and John Zufferli.

Though the trio is unsure of where they’ll be in 2019. They’re all hoping to be back coaching at Craigleith Ski Club.

“It was a nice final grad year qualification and OFSAA.”