Steven Petro Invitational While warm weather and slushy conditions postponed last week’s SCIL competition, the return of cold winds and snow has the slopes at Mountain Creek prepared to host this Friday’s Fourth Annual Steven Petro Memorial Invitational sponsored by the NJISRA. After a battle with brain cancer, Steven Petro, a 2000 graduate of Newton High School, passed away on Sep. 1, 2002. Petro had a passion for skiing, whether it was exploring the trails of Vermont with his friends or racing through the gates with his teammates. For the first two years of his high school career, Newton High School did not have a race team. So he decided to start one. Together with Coach David Pede, he walked through the halls of the high school to recruit skiers. He was made captain of the first Newton High School Race Team. Petro, as well as many of the teammates he recruited, had no prior race experience. But one would never know from Steven’s actions. On the day of the first race, when everyone’s stomachs were filled with butterflies, he said, “If I can do it, we all can do it." As the first boy racer for his team to ski the course, his words proved true and the team’s first race was a success. For the last four years, the mountain has honored him with the invitational race. The proceeds of the event benefit the Steven Petro Memorial Scholarship, awarded to a Newton High School graduating senior. Danielle De Vita, a close friend of Petro who created the invitational and scholarship said, “The race and the scholarship help to keep Steven’s name alive, but his memory will be forever in the hearts of those who loved him”.