While snow may not be plentiful in Western Massachusetts right now, the local Nordic ski teams took their show on the road for the opening meet of the season on Saturday at Prospect Mountain Ski Resort in Woodford, Vt.

Mount Greylock’s Quinn McDermott won the boys’ 5-kilometer race with a winning time of 14 minutes, 22 seconds, helping the Mounties to a first-place team finish with 12 points. Lenox was second (39 points), followed by Wahconah (42), Mohawk Trail (83) and Amherst (98).

The Mohawk Trail boys team, which co-ops with Hampshire Regional was paced by Vincent Gauthier, who nabbed 16th overall with a time of 18:16. Augustus Niswonger, who attends Hampshire, was next in 20th overall (18:26), followed by Curtis Casey in 28th position (19:26).

Emmett Johnson (29th, 19:39) and Seth Healy (34th, 21:38) rounded out the top five finishers for the Warriors.

On the girls side, Mount Greylock’s Anne Miller was the overall winner in 18:29, helping the Mounties secure a clean sweep of the team event with 17 points. Lenox (34), Wahconah (35) and Amherst (51) followed. Mohawk Trail had no varsity girls compete in the event.

In the boys’ JV race, Mohawk Trail’s Aidan Gauthier took 23rd overall and teammate Sam Barrows was 31st. Charlotte Niswonger was fifth in the girls’ JV race, while teammates Corinne Somes was seventh and Anya Read nabbed 11th. Aymeric Loucka finished fourth in the JV 3K mixed race.

Boys basketball

Athol 55, FC Tech 52 – Ben Kearney drilled the go-ahead 3-pointer with just seven seconds remaining, and visiting Athol captured a tight 55-52 victory in Hampshire League action on Friday night in Turners Falls.

Athol coach Brian Patria said his team switched defenses in the second half to limit touches by Franklin Tech star Ty Sadoski.

“Defensively we put pressure on them creating turnovers and we made some baskets,” Patria said. “Credit to Franklin Tech, they played hard, and Sadoski made shots.”

Kearney finished with 16 points for the Bears, which were led offensively by Conall Tontodonato’s 22 points. Angel Castillo tossed in six points in the victory.

Sadoski led all scorers with 26 points for the Eagles, including 19 in the first half. Noah Ausikaitis joined him in double figures with 12 points, and Robert Belval added seven.

“Very competitive game for the last three quarters,” Franklin Tech coach Tim Artus said. “My team is growing every game and I believe good things will happen for them as the season develops because of their growth and work ethic.”

Pioneer 59, Mahar 37 – Holding a 24-19 halftime lead, the visiting Panthers exploded in the third quarter, outscoring the Sens by a 19-7 margin in the period en route to a 59-37 victory on Friday night in Orange.

Pioneer’s Josh Wood continued a torrid offensive start to the season with a game-high 17 points. Kurt Redeker (13 points) and Brayden Thayer (11) joined him in double figures, and Alex McClelland tossed in nine points.

Mahar’s Hunter Martin led the offense with 10 points, while Lucas Isrow followed with nine points and Will Barnes added eight.

Duggan 74, Turners Falls 47 – In action from Thursday night, the Thunder trailed 40-18 at halftime in an independent road loss.

Levin Prondecki and Branden Truesdell led the way with 11 points apiece.

Wrestling

Mahar shines at Tomkiel Holiday tourney

It was a big performance for the Mahar wrestling team at the annual Phil Tomkiel Holiday Tournament at Agawam High School on Friday.

The Agawam boys team finished with a team-high 220 points, followed by second-place Mount Pleasant (160). On the girls side, Agawam captured the title with 108 points, followed by Chicopee (60).

The Senators finished fourth as a team on the boys side with 128 points, and the Mahar girls’ team was 11th with seven points.

Mahar had a pair of individual runner-ups on Friday. Domanic Cacciolfi reached the finals of the 138-pound weight class before falling to Mount Pleasant’s Miguel Arandia. In the 113 pound weight class, Abduli Gilmore also moved through the bracket and earned a championship appearance before being edged by Putnam’s Rovin Rojas, 6-5, in a tight title-bout.

Cameron Doyle reached the semifinals at 182 pounds and eventually took third place in the weight class thanks to a 9-5 decision in the third-place match over Mount Pleasant’s Miguel Perez.

Sayyid Roberts also finished third for the Sens at 145 pounds, where he pinned Hampden Charter’s Ezekiel Cherival in the third-place match.

Luke Chiodo (160) and Xander Roberts (152) scored fifth-place finishes in their respective weight classes.

In the girls’ tourney, Mahar’s Raedyn Bennett finished fifth overall.

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