Norway ski team junior Brooke Bittinger raced to a pair of second-place slalom finishes in a four-school race hosted by Norway at Pine Mountain on Thursday.

BREITUNG TOWNSHIP — Norway High School’s ski teams held a four-school home alpine race at Pine Mountain on Thursday, with the Norway girls claiming a team victory.

Marquette, Houghton and Ironwood joined Norway in the event.

Norway put on a double race in one day that included four timed runs of slalom and four timed runs of giant slalom, with a typical race being two runs in each event.

The Norway girls team won the first race, beating Marquette for the first time in many years. The Knights took second in the final race, trailing Marquette by just 8 points overall.

Norway was led by juniors Gabby Carey and Brooke Bittinger, who took first and second in both slalom races. Carey added a second and fifth place finish in the giant slaloms while Bittinger turned in a seventh and eighth.

Freshman Megan Bittinger placed third and fifth in the two giant slalom races and added a seventh place in the first slalom. Sophomore Maria Fornetti added a pair of seventh place results, along with a ninth and 10th place.

Sophomore Peyton Johnson skied to an important 16th place in the slaloms to help the team score.

On the boys side, senior Jake Munn took three fourth place finishes and sophomore Max Mayol Massagues earned his best results of the season with a 10th and 11th place.

“We had a great day of racing today,” said Norway head coach John Bittinger. “Our girls really stepped up after a rough first race in Houghton last week. Gabby and Brooke’s one-two finish in both slalom races really set the tone for our girls as a team. They were dominant at a time we really needed them.”

Norway was down a racer when freshman Finnley Lutz had to scratch due to an injury sustained the night before the race.

“That put added pressure on the remaining girls to finish since four results in each event are required for a team score and we only had five total girls. We were a hooked tip away from claiming the top team spot in both races, but unfortunately Megan’s ski caught a gate at the bottom of the second run after she was sitting in 6th place on her first run and was disqualified in that race,” Bittinger said.

Both boys skiers were much more consistent, he said. “Jake is getting stronger with each race. Max has also improved substantially in his short time racing. Cracking the top 10 in his first year of racing is impressive.”

The Knights will compete at Marquette Mountain on Jan. 28.

Girls Team Results:

Race 1 –

1st: Norway – 41 points

2nd: Marquette – 45 points

3rd: Houghton – 73 points

Race 2 –

1st: Marquette – 43 points

2nd: Norway – 51 points

3rd: Houghton – 80 points

Boys Team Results:

Race 1 –

1st – Marquette – 41 points

2nd – Houghton – 67 points

3rd – Ironwood – 80 points

Race 2 –

1st – Marquette – 37 points

2nd – Houghton – 57 points

3rd – Ironwood – 72 points