The Hopkinton High School boys alpine ski team saw its season buoyed by strong performances by its two captains, Barry O’Brien and Patrick Meehan, both of whom skied well enough to earn spots in the state meet.

O’Brien finished fourth overall in the league meet to cap off a stellar senior campaign. He also posted multiple second-place finishes during the Hillers’ five-meet regular season schedule.

“He was just a rock star,” coach Andrew Carlucci said. “He brought a lot of leadership and he brought a lot of know-how. He helped coach some of the younger racers. He just took it to a different level this year.”

Meehan, a junior, posted a top-five finish in the league. Carlucci said he helped “bridge the gap” between the two seniors on the roster and the rest of the younger athletes.

“With such a young team, Barry and Patrick did a good job communicating throughout the year and doing what they needed to do as leaders,” the coach said.

Hopkinton boasted several other standout performances, including from freshman Maxwell Shaw.

“He was coming from a free ride background, and he really learned how to race this winter,” Carlucci said. “He was really enthusiastic. He would count how many runs he took, and he would try to get as many training runs as he possibly could.”

Juniors Ethan Faber and Ryan Dow were consistent skiers all year, Carlucci said, with Dow finishing just outside the top 20 at the league meet. The performance was good enough to put him on the cusp of being an alternate for the state meet.

In addition to O’Brien, the program will graduate senior Logan Minka.

“He only skied with us for one year, but he loved it,” Carlucci said. “He came to us from the hockey team. He did it for fun, and he was great.”

Speaking of the state meet, which was rescheduled to Feb. 25, Carlucci said that both O’Brien and Meehan had their sights set on finishing the season as strong as possible.

“For me, finishing two runs in the states is a big achievement, but I know both of them will want better than that,” he said. “My job is not to place any expectations on them, because I know they have huge expectations for themselves.”