The Hopkinton High School girls alpine ski team is small and relatively young, but the Hillers brought enthusiasm to the slopes this winter and a level of experience that belies their ages.

“It was a team of seven, and they were mostly from ninth and 10th grade, but they had a lot of previous skiing and racing experience,” said coach Andrew Carlucci. “They honestly did really well.”

Freshman Caitlin Leary earned an alternate spot at the state meet by virtue of a top-20 finish at the league meet. Alexandra Cohen, another freshman, finished just outside the top 20 and showed exceptional promise.

“They had a really strong, building season,” Carlucci said. “They were competitive and always wanting to ski, always wanting to get better. From the get-go, they were ready to do it.”

Carlucci said that both Leary and Cohen have a good chance to qualify for the state meet outright next season. In addition to the pair of freshmen, the Hillers also received quality contributions from sophomore Ryan Cunningham.

“She was a mogul skier, so she brought a different style of racing background, and she did really well,” her coach said. “It’s a different discipline and skill set to go from mogul skiing to ski racing.”

Rounding out the HHS roster this winter were freshman Hannah Borzumato, sophomore Ella Turnbull and juniors Paula Kroymann and Miyu Imai.

“They were just energetic, enthusiastic and always trying to get better every day,” Carlucci said.

All four girls were skiing competitively for the first time, he added.

“They showed a ton of improvement,” Carlucci said. “Even though it was their first time racing, they gained more and more confidence as every single race went through.”

Hopkinton’s ski season consisted of five competitive meets and one “fun” race at the end of the year. While the team is on the smaller side, all but Kroymann and Imai, who are exchange students, figure to be returning next year. Carlucci said that the five returning skiers will try to encourage other Hopkinton students to join the program next winter. The fact that this is an Olympic year could help, as large audiences watched the world’s best compete in Italy this month.

“I think having the Olympics exposes people to understanding the basics of the sport,” Carlucci said. “The more they see it, the more people want to do it.”

Regardless of whether the team is bigger next season, the roster is guaranteed to feature skiers with considerable competitive runs under their belt.

“I have pretty high expectations for how they will do,” Carlucci said.