“The Birdie” is staying home to roost for another year.

The Purgatory Alpine Ski Team captured its fourth consecutive Southern Series Championship, known as “The Birdie”, the weekend of March 21-22.

Racing on their home mountain, Purgatory team members held off strong challenges from the Flagstaff Area Ski Team (Arizona Snowbowl) and the Taos Winter Sports Team (Taos Ski Valley) – second and third, respectively, in the series.

The series championship was determined by overall point totals accumulated in the season’s three series races: A giant slalom competition at Angel Fire, N.M.; slalom at Taos Ski Valley, N.M.; and combined giant slalom/slalom finale at Purgatory Resort.

Approximately 90 male and female athletes ranging in age from 6 to 15 competed at the Purgatory finale in both age class and ability-level races. Several skiers from strong non-Southern Series teams including Vail Ski and Snowboard Club, Telluride Mountain Resort and Aspen Ski Valley made for tough competition. And warm weather created challenging race conditions that ranged from a hard, icy surface early in the morning to soft, wet conditions in late afternoon.

Top girl performers for the Purgatory Ski Team were Isabella Washburn (three golds, one silver), Maddie Jo Robbins (two silvers), Skylar Thorpe (four bronze), Abbey Shepard (two bronze), and Analise Gates (one bronze). Purgatory girls with top-10 finishes included Elena Gober, Zoe Kiesel, Gracey Hennig, Madison Hennig, Zoe Ramsey, Aleah Austin, Cameron Kelley, and Madison LeSage.

The boys were led by Zach Oliver (four golds), Lucas Robbins (gold), Nick Unkovskoy (gold), Toby Scarpella (two silvers, one bronze), Finn Scarpella (two bronze), Calvin Chase (two bronze) and Holden Bronson (one bronze). Purgatory boys with top-10 finishes included Kaleb Ledbetter, Barron Bronson, Sven Barr, and Jack Englund.

heraldsports@durangoherald.com