Although it may not have been the finish that Kirsten Huff - the four time defending PVIAC champion - hoped for, the Gateway Regional senior was happy about her second-place finish in the slalom at the State Alpine Skiing Championships on Wednesday.

Nicole Sanzogni an exchange student from Italy took first place for Lenox with a time of 46.96 at Wachusett Mountain in Princeton. Huff finished in 47.89.

"I've never won slalom states," Huff said. "All I can remember is falling last year. I would have liked to have done better in the GS but overall I was happy."

She finished seventh in the giant slalom with a time of 47.83. Danielle Scanlon from Waltham won with a time of 44.77.

Huff's fall in the 2009 slalom put her in 116th place with a time of 51.82.

Because she won the PVIAC championship, Huff's name was with the other league winners in the draw for the order of the racers. Her name was selected first which meant she was the first girl down the mountain in both events.

"A perfect bib is 15 and she was bib one," said Gateway coach Dana Huff, who also is Kirsten's father. "It's just the way it goes - somebody's got to be first."

Leandra Kalesnik and Liz Simonowicz also competed for the Gators, which finished 13th overall with 410 points. Marblehead won the girls competition with 730.

Huff said the slalom course was a little different than the course she is used to at Berkshire East in Charlemont.

"The turns were huge, that was definitely a big thing. I didn't estimate that," she said. "You have to be on the edges of your skis. You have to stay forward on them and always be anticipating what's going to happen next. You always have to be looking ahead."

Dana Huff said he plans to be back coaching Gateway next year even though his daughter is graduating.

"It has been a lot of fun to coach her. I enjoy the entire team - they are a great group of kids. But clearly she was a great role model for the kids to follow," he said. "She set the bar pretty high for them."

Hampshire Regional also competed in the meet, finishing 21st. Red Raiders Bailey Gobillot (51.14) finished 65th in the giant slalom and Caroline George (65.5) was 104th in the slalom.

Boys competition

In his fourth trip to the state championships, Amherst Regional senior Stefane Torras did not finish where he had hoped in either the slalom or giant slalom. He finished 15th in the giant slalom in 47.2, and despite falling in the slalom had a time of 47.36 which put him in 32nd place.

David Graziani of Pittsfield won the giant slalom in 45.68, and Garrett Gagne from Longmeadow won the slalom in 41.26.

Tucker Mientka of Northampton was 21st in the slalom in 46.61, and 48th in the giant slalom in 49.47.

Wellesley won the boys team competition with 723 points, The Hurricanes were 16th with 355, the Blue Devils finished 17th with 351 points and Gateway had 195 points in 21st place.

"I was pleased to have the three guys qualify," said Hurricanes coach Pepe Torras, who is also Stefane's father. Natty Lafley and Alex Casey also competed for Amherst.

"What I learned is you can't come into these big races expecting to have your kids finish at a certain place," Pepe Torras added. "You have to go in and ski each run as it comes up. Just getting into the states is a big deal."

Like Huff, Stefane Torras said he was not as familiar with the courses at Wachusett.

"It was a little weird and it was run on a really flat hill. It was pretty much the heavier you are the better off you are," he said of the giant slalom course. "I managed to pull out pretty well."

The slalom didn't go as Torras planned.

"My game plan was to go all out, and unfortunately I fell but I managed to finish," he said. "Neither run was really one of my better runs. But I had fun anyways."

Stefane Torras added about his father, "My whole life he has more or less been coaching me. It was some pretty good father-son bonding time."

Torras said he wants an opportunity to ski at the college level next year, but is undecided where he will go.

"It's been a great four years," he said. "I'm just really happy I've had the opportunity to race for my school. It was really cool."