Falling in Love with Skiing
Mikayla Milazzo learned to ski when she was 5-years-old.
"My dad took me to Camgaw and I fell in love with skiing," said Mikayla. "I tried snowboarding but I liked skiing more."
Mikayla said she joined the Mt Peter Ski Race Team when she was 10-years-old.
"I like ski racing because you have to be extremely focused to go around the gates and not miss any while still going as fast as you can," said Mikayla.
She explains the size of the mountain determines how many gates are on the course for the skier to maneuver.
Discovering the Ramapo Ski Racing Team
A sophomore at Ramapo High School, Mikayla was "surprised" when she discovered the Ramapo Ski Racing Team when she was scrolling through Schoology looking at the clubs/activities tab.
"I was shocked when I found it under winter sports," said Mikayla. "I knew Ramapo had a ski club but this was so cool."
Ramapo is one of 26 schools in the New Jersey Interscholastic Ski Racing Association (NJISRA). The team-based high school alpine racing league is for both girls' and boys' ski teams, in public and non-public high schools.
The 2026 Season
In addition to Mikayla, the 2026 co-ed roster includes Ella Kirksey, a freshman and Franklin Lakes residents Dylan Teitel, Harrison Ajaeb and Matthew Ajaeb.
The team competes from January to March and practices at Mountain Creek and at Winter for Kids.
"We practice twice a week and have one competition each week," said Mikayla.
The season started in January with icy conditions at Mountain Creek.
"We had to race against senior boys," said 16-year-old Mikayla. "It felt really unfair. They had more experience and more strength."
Mikayla said because of the conditions she skied "cautious" rather than "fast" and timed in at 1:30 to complete the run.
"I didn't love my time but I was focused on not falling and was happy I didn't fall," said Mikayla.
Mikayla's fastest time was 38 seconds at Mt Peter.
Off the Slopes
When not on the slopes, Mikayla volunteers at Christian Healthcare Center and enjoys spending time with her grandmother Rita.
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