She’s at the top of the ski slope, ready to charge down the mountain, and she does one thing: Audrey Stambaugh ’27 screams.  

Stambaugh is an alpine ski racer, and that yell at the starting line is one way to get her adrenaline pumping before she has to race. “Ski racing is mostly in your head,” says Stambaugh. “It’s weird. You have to be strong, you have to know what you’re doing, but yeah, your head is the game.” She has startled several referees at the beginning of races, but her technique has worked.

Stambaugh and her fellow teammates just wrapped up a highly successful winter season where three team members–Stambaugh, Julia Krugh ’26, and Adrienne Howard ’26–finished in the top 10 out of 65 competitors in the United States Ski and Snowboard Association PA Cup Championships. All three were selected to the Pennsylvania State Team–the most racers from the school to achieve this distinction since 1999. 

“It was very special that, of the overall state standing, ranking over 50 female racers, Mercersburg had three athletes in the top 10, when only one other team had two athletes in the top spots,” says Krugh, who has been skiing since she was 1 and racing since she was 10. 

Stambaugh went on to compete in the U21/U18 Eastern Finals, a major regional competition, in Gore Mountain, NY, March 27-29, where she placed fourth in the Super Giant Slalom (Super-G).

So, what exactly is alpine ski racing? It requires technical skill, speed, and precision. “High speeds, lots of adrenaline, lots of fun,” says Stambaugh, who has been ski racing since she was 4 or 5. “What we ski here is what we call tech events–[Giant Slalom and Slalom]—and they’re just the smaller turns. Super G is the one speed event we are able to ski in Pennsylvania. The object is to get to the bottom as fast as you can.”

Mercersburg ski racers train at Whitetail, the local ski resort, and compete as members of the Whitetail Ski Club. “I love the team at Mercersburg. Although it is still a small team, it has grown a lot over my time here,” says Howard, who has been skiing since she was 3 and training as a racer since she was 4. “Freshman year, the team consisted of just Julia Krugh and me, but [it] soon expanded. We combine with the Whitetail team, which lets us talk to people we don't usually see at school. It was always fun to go to overnight races with them and share a house and hangout! It was a great team-building experience!”

A typical week in the life of a ski racer can be very grueling: “Because of the travel and the equipment, practice is really a four-hour commitment door to door,” says Dave Holzwarth ’78, P ’11, ’13, who has been coaching ski racing at Mercersburg for more than three decades and is also a member of the science department. “In alpine racing, the athletes have to manage a lot of equipment—different skis for different disciplines, poles, shin guards, arm guards. It’s a lot of responsibility.”

“None of [the racers] ever says they’re too tired or they don’t want to go. Their preparation and enthusiasm are incredible. They represent Mercersburg really well. They show up early, they help set the course, and the other families notice.”

Word of mouth has really been how families hear about Mercersburg’s program, says Holzwarth. “It’s not solely focused on racing here. Families want their kids to get an education first, but still have the opportunity to train and compete. Parents often want their kids out of that resort culture and into an environment where academics come first.”

And that’s exactly how Stambaugh found Mercersburg. She was exploring the school because of its academic strength, and during a visit to campus as a prospective student, she happened to find herself in Holzwarth’s class with a fellow ski racer sitting beside her: “I was in his physics class, and Stewart Allan ’27 happened to be in that physics class as well. So I’m just at a table, and [Mr. Holzwarth] asked me about myself, and I’m like, ‘Yeah, I'm a ski racer.’ He says, ‘I’m the coach.’ It was amazing. And so in that room, I was like, oh yeah, [ski racing] is something I could actually pull off here.”

“Look at me. I’m at a ski academy after all, and my academics are number one in Pennsylvania.”

This serendipity seems to be a theme among the ski racers. Like Stambaugh, Krugh did not choose Mercersburg for ski racing, but she found her home on the team: “Once I decided to come to Mercersburg, my dad discovered Whitetail had a race team, and one of the coaches was a teacher at the academy. We reached out to see if there was a possibility that I could continue my skiing career while at Mercersburg, and he informed us that not only was it possible, but Adrienne Howard, one of my best friends in kindergarten, who moved away, was also going to be a part of the team.”

Howard echoes these sentiments: “Skiing, especially ski racing, has always been a big part of my life, so being able to pursue it alongside my studies at Mercersburg has been an incredible experience. Having Julia Krugh, one of my best friends, on the team has made it even more meaningful, as we’ve been able to spend so much time together on the slopes and really enjoy our time at Mercersburg. Being one of the oldest members of the team, and essentially serving as a captain, has also helped me grow as a leader.”

Alpine ski racing has existed at Mercersburg since the 1990s with the team boasting around 30 racers at one point. Stambaugh finds the history of Mercersburg’s program and the current growth an exciting part of this next chapter in ski racing: “To be a part of something that’s growing here, and it has a lot of legacy here, and to be part of redeveloping that, and also be a part of a little team–really we have a lot of grit, and we have a lot of fun, and it’s been so special.” 

This year’s ski team includes six members: Stambaugh, four-year team members Howard and Krugh, Allan, Isaac Mann ’29, and McKenna Koch ’28. Koch’s father, alum Patrick Koch ’99, was a Pennsylvania Alpine Racing Association State Team member. “I am super close with a small group of people I might not otherwise interact with,” says Krugh. “We are much closer than any of the other teams because we spend so much time with only a few people. Whether we are playing cards in the lodge, singing on the chairlift, racing each other down the slopes, or having a team dinner at Compadres, we are always having fun. It is easy to feel as if skiing is an isolating sport because every result is individual, and having a great team dynamic will not improve your skills, but enjoying each other's company makes everything better and makes the sport even more fun.”

As for the future, Stambaugh will return as a senior next year, and she already has her sights set on the Governor’s Cup—an award last won by Mercersburg racer Katie Miller ’15 in 2015.

“I learned this season that I definitely want to keep going. I don’t really want to leave ski racing behind,” Stambaugh says. “If there’s an opportunity to ski race, I think I’m going to keep doing it.”

Krugh is headed to college, but she is not leaving skiing behind either. “Although I will not be racing NCAA skiing, I am planning on joining a club team in college,” she says. “Skiing has become a part of my identity, and I met lots of my closest friends through the sport. I hope I can create the same connection in college.”

Howard is also going to college next year and plans to continue skiing in some capacity, as it has left an indelible mark on her life: “I’m incredibly grateful for this experience and hope Mercersburg continues to offer an alpine ski program for future students as my Mercersburg Academy experience would have been nowhere near as fun and memorable without it!”

Alpine ski racing is just one of the winter options offered through the Mercersburg Outdoor Education (MOE) program. Whether a student is new to the slopes or just looking to perfect their technique, MOE offers a downhill ski and snowboard program. Experienced skiers and snowboarders who are interested in advancing their backcountry abilities will be most interested in MOE’s ski and splitboard touring program.

“We are proud that our snow programs support every skier and rider, whether you’re stepping onto the snow for the first time, honing your racing skills, or building the fitness and skillset to head into the backcountry,” says Chris Duffy P ’27, director of Mercersburg Outdoor Education. “It’s unique to have a boarding school like ours with a strong community and outstanding academic program so close to a ski resort. We are 15 minutes away from Whitetail. This makes it easier for our athletes to train, do well in their classes, and be part of the social fabric of our school.”

Learn more about MOE on our website.