HENNIKER – The Concord High girls’ Alpine ski team has been propelled by the 1-2 punch of Mika Taylor and Ellie Worster all season long, but a collision early in a day threatened to rob the Crimson Tide of that advantage.

Taylor, a junior, won the giant slalom after finishing runner-up last season and Worster finished second in both the GS and slalom – completing her afternoon slalom runs with her arm in a sling and one pole – as the Crimson Tide finished second Bedford at the NHIAA Division I girls’ Alpine ski championships on Tuesday at Pats Peak.

Concord held a 10-point lead over Bedford, 363-353, through the morning GS thanks to Taylor and Worster’s 1-2 finish but finished fourth in the afternoon slalom with 339 points, opening the door for Bedford to claim the victory with a total score of 722.

Concord (702), Bishop Guertin (694) and Portsmouth (693) were the top four out of the 18 D-I teams competing.

It was an emotional day on the slopes, but those emotions were all positive early on.

Taylor’s first GS run was 39.92 seconds (the only skier to break 40) and her second run was a 40.90, giving her the individual title with a combined time of 1 minute, 20.82 seconds.

“Mika winning was amazing,” Concord head coach George Golden said. “It was a strong performance this morning.”

Worster, a senior, was second with a combined time of 1:22.19 but collided with a gate on her second run, injuring her shoulder. She still managed to cross the finish line in 41.58 seconds to claim second place, but her status for the afternoon slalom was uncertain.

“I kind of hit the gate and I was like, ‘Something feels weird,’ ” Worster said. “Then I skied more and I was like, ‘I can’t move my arm.’ ”

After getting looked at by ski patrol and with the pain subsiding, Worster opted to compete in the afternoon to help her team.

“Ellie’s back and she’s here and she’s making it work,” Taylor said in between the GS and slalom portions of the day. “We’re all getting strength from that. I think that our team has always been, throughout the season, really strong, supporting each other and cheering each other on. That really helps us get into the right mindset for the start gate.”

“She’s the No. 1 skier in Division I, she’s a trooper, she’s a fighter,” Golden said. “When you see your teammate with a sling around her arm, that gives you motivation to just send it and have your best race of the season. She’s such a good skier, even if she skis conservative and cautiously, she can still have a good result. That’s how good she is.”

Worster went through the slalom course in 38.66 and 41.65 seconds, respectively, for a combined total of 1:20.31, second only to Keene’s Anna Dumond (1:18.69).

Taylor had the fastest slalom run of the entire day (37.99) but missed a gate on her second run and was forced to hike back up in order to complete the course, ultimately putting her out of scoring position.

Junior Emma Pelletier (14th GS, 14th slalom), senior Lilly Merrill (16th slalom, 24th GS) and freshman Sadie Pelletier (40th slalom) turned in scoring performances for the Tide.

“The girls stepped it up and raced as hard as they could. I am so proud of this team,” Golden said. “Not only are they really good ski racers, but they are also all really nice kids. Although winning would have been nice, the girls are still proud of their runner-up finish.”

Taylor and Worster’s seasons will continue at the Meet of Champions on Feb. 18 at Cannon Mountain’s Mittersill Ski Area, where they will face the top 10 GS and slalom competitors from all four NHIAA divisions.