Siblings Lauren and Nick Jacobs, both standout ski racers from town, competed at the highest level for their respective teams earlier in March.

Lauren, a Newtown High School senior who races for the Newtown-Pomperaug of Southbury co-op team, skied her final high school alpine competition event. As part of Team Connecticut’s women’s squad, comprising 12 of the best high school ski racers in the state, she traveled to Mittersill Resort in New Hampshire to compete in High School Alpine Eastern Championships. Teams from 15 states across the East and Midwest also sent their top athletes for the annual event. This was Jacobs’ third year participating at high school Easterns (there was no event in winter 2021 due to the impact of the coronavirus) and as in past years, just being there was the highlight of the experience.

“It’s been really fun to represent Connecticut and ski against a lot of the best high school racers,” Lauren said. “It’s always great to become friends with the girls in Connecticut that were my competition the whole season, and then even make friends from other states.”

The NHS senior had a successful race in the Giant Slalom, finishing 16th among 130 girls. She attributes that success to her love of speed and confidence in tackling a course.

“I obviously love to go fast, but it’s also very strategic. There’s a lot of thinking behind every turn and it all comes at you so quickly so it really forces you to be a bit out of your comfort zone,” Lauren said.

This standout on the slopes concludes her final high school racing season with an outstanding record. Over four years of racing, she earned First Team All State every year, she was State Open champion in 2020, State Open runner up in 2021, she was South-West Conference champion all four years, and was consistently Newtown’s top female skier.

This comes as no surprise to her coach Austin Baird, who has worked with Lauren during her junior and senior seasons.

“It has been incredible watching Lauren dominate the ski hill at every race these past two years. She is a highly motivated individual that is a true leader on and off the hill, who served as an inspiration and role model to the other members of the team. I cannot wait to see where life takes her within the ski industry, whether she continues racing or pursues coaching, I know she will excel at whatever she chooses.”

Though Lauren’s college plans are not confirmed, she is hoping to take her love of the sport to a university club ski team.

Lauren wraps up the last few weekends of ski season in her job as a race coach at Stratton Mountain in Vermont, the program in which she grew up racing. She is the head coach of the U8 group and loves sharing her passion for skiing with the next generation of racers.

“Coaching has been such a great opportunity for me to share my passion for the sport and help the younger kids develop into better skiers. It feels good to know I’m making some kind of impact in their skiing careers.”

On the collegiate level, Nick, who is in his third year at Syracuse University, just concluded his junior year season on the club team. The squad competes in the Mideast Conference Empire Division as part of the United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association. The team races in upstate New York against schools such as Colgate, Cornell, RPI, Hobart and William Smith, and University of Rochester, among others.

Nick finished the regular season placing sixth in the league, and while the Syracuse men’s team just narrowly missed a qualifying bid, Nick earned a spot as an individual to compete in the United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association Nationals in Mammoth, Calif. in the middle of March. Though he was scheduled to compete in Giant Slalom, Slalom and Skier Cross, the unprecedented snow and weather in Mammoth forced many cancellations and schedule changes, leaving many competitors to readjust their schedules as well as their outlook.

“It’s totally a bummer that we couldn’t get all the races in this week, but we had a blast competing where we could and the free skiing was probably the best of my life,” Nick said.

The one race that did take place, a single run slalom race, proved to be enough for Jacobs. He finished 30th out of 150 among a national field and was thrilled with the result.

“I just felt really good on the run and carried as much speed as I could while still maintaining control. Slalom is tricky as it is and this course was very rutted and bumpy because of the historic snowfall, so to make it down and finish in the top 30 was really exciting.”