Osgood, a sophomore, and a Birmingham Unified ski team captain, was the only member from Seaholm and the only girl from the BU team who made it to the state finals.
Although she didn’t do as well as she hoped, Osgood looks forward to her junior and senior years, where the possibility of scoring is even higher.
“[I] definitely want to go to states again, and hopefully place a little bit better,” said Osgood, who finished 45th in the state. “Senior year I’m hoping to crack top 20 or maybe top 15 in states.”
For Osgood, this goal is far from unattainable. Her final time in the women’s giant slalom -- 1:08.58 -- was less than five seconds away from the top 20.
“If [Osgood] keeps going the way she’s going she can certainly be one of the top skiers in the region and certainly one of the top skiers in the state,” BU ski coach, Joe Minock said.
Osgood started skiing when she was still a toddler, inspired by her parents who both skied on their high school teams. She didn’t officially join a team, though, until her freshman year at Seaholm.
“She’s an amazing skier,” Sophomore teammate Naomi Tashiro said. “She was amazing from the beginning and she’s amazing now.”
In alpine or downhill skiing on a high school team, there are two different types of events; Slalom and Giant Slalom (GS).
Slalom involves poles placed closer together, and therefore has much quicker and shorter turns. In Giant Slalom, the poles are placed further apart. Osgood qualified in both events.
“She did great on her first run,” Minock said. “On her second run she had a little bit of a tough time but the courses were really, really long and I can’t blame her.”
While Osgood has raw talent, she didn’t make it to states based on genetics alone. To be a state skier means to give up weekends and practice hard every chance given.
“It’s really demanding, I go up north every weekend and I don’t get home until, like, 7:30 most nights,” Osgood said. “It’s just really tiring.”
Osgood loves the sport and plans to continue throughout college and after, despite social opportunities she has to give up.
“I definitely plan on skiing the rest of my life,” Osgood said.
With the grueling and sometimes daylong practices, Osgood and some of her teammates do their best to make every minute enjoyable and fun.
“We always roar at the beginning [of each race],” Osgood said. “It’s just kinda funny, you push outta the start gate and do this big roar.”
In skiing, as with any sport, role models can be important and influential. Osgood looks up to Olympian and World Champion Skier Lindsey Vonn.
“Lindsey Vonn, she’s amazing, Osgood said. “She’s American and she won two or three medals in the last Olympics.
As for advice, Osgood doesn’t have any. She believes anyone can ski.
“Just join the ski team,” Osgood said.
