Springboard for Success: SVSEF Athletes Dive Into End-of-Year Competitions

March 9, 2016
|In Cross Country, Alpine, Freestyle, Snowboarding, Sport News
|By Scott McGrew

SVSEF reporting by Julia Seyferth

 

SVSEF hosts Junior Freestyle/Freeskiing Championships at Sun Valley
The Junior Freestyle and Freeskiing Championships are currently underway on Baldy – the event runs through March 13th. Crews have been working hard to prepare for a week of moguls and dual moguls, as well as big air, aerial, halfpipe and slopestyle competitions. SVSEF athletes who have qualified to compete at home are listed below.
 
Moguls and dual mogul athletes:
Alex LaFleur
Wilson Dunn
Luke Rizzo
Hunter Diehl
Henry Cherp (3rd alternate)
Addie Rafford
Katie Markthaler
Eliza Marks
Devon Brown
Sam Smith
 
Halfpipe, Slopestyle, Big Air, Aerials:
Ridge Dirksmeier
Alvaro Jiraldo
Harper Mallett
Jed Waters
Will Griffith
George Murray
Trey Potter
Lachlan McFarland
Luke Higgins
Braden Buchanan
Charlie Price
Sam Ware
Hanna Blackwell
Amanda Brown
Liesl Beyer
Barrett Beyer
Sarah Kope
Joey Markthaler
Dylan Mills
 

Alpine FIS team stands out at U19 National Junior Championships

The FIS Team competed at the U19 National Junior Championships, February 28-March 4.
 
Haley Cutler powered through the week with standout performances; the SVSEF athlete won the ladies’ super G, finished seventh in the slalom, 15th in the first downhill and tied for ninth in the second downhill. Teammate Erin Smith raced with tenacity, earning a fifth place finish in the first ladies’ downhill and 15th in the super G. Skylar Cooley finished 25th in the ladies’ slalom.
 
On the men’s side, Yuri McClure secured 10th in the men’s super G while Jay Fitzgerald took home 29th in the men’s slalom.
 
Full results:
http://www.fis-ski.com/dynamic/event-details.html?event_id=38255
 
 

Nordic Comp Team off to a strong start at Junior Nationals

SVSEF Comp Team skiers who qualified for Junior Nationals completed their first day of racing in Cable, Wisconsin, on Monday, March 7th. The event was a 10km classic interval start for men and a 5km classic interval start for women.
 
SVSEF saw standout performances for the Intermountain team by Peter Wolter, who finished seventh in the U18/U20 men’s category, Lily Brunelle, who was 17th in the U16 women’s race, and Johnny Hagenbuch, who landed in ninth in the U16 men’s race.
 
Wednesday will be the next day of racing with a classic sprint, followed by a 15km/10km/5km freestyle mass start on Friday and a freestyle relay on Saturday.
 
Full results:
http://raceresults.sportstats.us/events.xhtml?eventname=2016%20USSA%20Junior%20National%20Championships&racetype=4&companies=[1,2,9,8]
 
 

SNOWBOARDING

Payton Bacca is on a roll – following a stint at the USSA Revolution Tour last month, the 14-year old competed in the Burton U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships in Vail, Colorado, on March 1. In the past, the event has hosted the likes of Ayumu Hirano, Pat Moore and Hannah Teter, to name a few of the successful snowboarders who can count the Junior Jam as one of their early forays into upper-level competition. The event featured 10 boys and five girls under the age of 14 who were invited to throw down on a 22-foot halfpipe. Bacca stood on the podium at the end of the competition in third in the ladies’ event, behind Tessa Maud in first and Isabella Gomez in second.
 
Results:
http://events.burton.com/burton-us-open/uso-latest/what-went-down-junior-jam/
 
(Information sourced from snowboarder.com / author Mary Walsh)
http://www.snowboarder.com/photos/burton-us-open-snowboarding-championships-2016-judd-henkes-soars-his-way-to-victory-in-the-junior-jam/#s4ICEWHlacmj0uxK.97
 
Chase Josey is also making waves in the snowboarding world. After bringing home bronze in the men’s snowboard superpipe event at the Oslo X Games, he moved on to the U.S. Open in Vail, Colorado, to compete in the longest running halfpipe event. Shaun White won the men’s event, followed by Ben Ferguson and Taku Hiraoka. Josey earned 18th place in the semifinals, preventing him from qualifying for finals, as only the top 10 moved on.
 
Full results:
http://events.burton.com/burton-us-open/uso-results/
 
The SVSEF Snowboard Team held their ground at the USASA King of the Wasatch, a weekend of park and pipe events in Park City, Utah. The weather was beautiful, although rain hit on Sunday; a big thanks to the park crew who salted the course and kept the components in good shape for the events throughout the weekend.
 
Highlights include a third place finish for Elk Spenser in both slopestyle and halfpipe, a win for Aidan Green and Payton Bacca in the halfpipe, and a strong second place finish for Zoe Bacca in two halfpipe events.
 
Full results:
https://www.usasa.org/index.php/events/regional-events
 
 

FREESKIING

The SVSEF Freeskiing Travel Team also spent the weekend in Park City for the King of the Wasatch event, March 3-6. The athletes skied well and took home the hardware to show for it.
 
Results
Slopestyle 1:
Boys (13-15): 4- Jedson Waters
Girls (13-15): 1- Hanna Blackwell
Halfpipe 1:
Men Open Class: 2- Alvaro Jiraldo
Boys (13-15): 1- Jedson Waters
Boys (10-12): 3- Dylan Mills; 4- Sam Ware; 5- Lachlan McFarland
Girls (13-15): 1- Hanna Blackwell
Slopestyle 2:
Men (16-18): 3- Trey Potter
Boys (13-15): 6- Jedson Waters
Girls (13-15): 1- Hanna Blackwell
Halfpipe 2:
Men: Open Class: 1- Alvaro Jiraldo
Men (16-18): 1- Trey Potter
Boys (13-15): 1- Jedson Waters; 2- Will Griffith
Boys (10-12): 2- Sam Ware
Girls (13-15): 1- Hanna Blackwell
 
Full results:
https://www.usasa.org/index.php/events/regional-events
 
 

FREESTYLE

Following a focused season of competition, eight SVSEF athletes have qualified for the 2016 USSA Freestyle National Championships in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, March 15-21. Wilson Dunn, Addie Rafford, Luke Rizzo, Hunter Diehl, Henry Cherp, Eliza Marks, Devon Brown and Alex LaFleur have all received the nod. They will compete in both moguls and dual moguls.
 
 

NORDIC

Members of the SVSEF Gold and Comp Nordic Teams trekked over to the familiar stomping grounds of West Yellowstone for the Rendezvous races. “Everyone had good races and the conditions stayed fast for the races in the AM. Perfect West Yellowstone corduroy,” commented Gold Team coach Colin Rodgers.
 
Isabella Bourret was third in the 5km skate female 14-15 year old category. Joe Hall was sixth in the 25km skate male 13-17 category. In the longer distances, PG and Gold Team athletes all had strong races – in the 25km classic race, Mary Rose (Gold Team) was the top female finisher. Ben Lustgarten (Gold Team) was the second overall male, and Mark Pollock (PG guest from Australia) was third. In the 25km skate race, Comp team coach David Vanderpool was the second overall male. In the 50km skate, Matt Gelso (Gold Team) claimed the top spot, Rogan Brown (Gold Team) was just two seconds behind him in second, and Henry Gorman (PG) was third.
 
Full results:
http://www.skirunbikemt.com/race-results.html
 
Another contingent of the SVSEF Nordic Team is training and racing in Canmore, Alberta, and is ending the trip by watching World Cup races. Skiers competed in the Lake Louise Loppet on Sunday, March 6. The annual event featured a 10km and a 20km classic race that began on the picturesque Lake Louise and then wound its way through narrow, wooded trails. Cash Dart and Anja Jensen both won their 10km 11-14 age groups. SVSEF swept the top three spots in the 20km men’s 15-19 category; Keene Morowitz won, followed by Danny Graves in second and Max Polito in third. Jacob Truxal was seventh and Tim Regan was eighth. Coach Mikey Sinnott also raced, and was fourth in the men’s 30-39 category. On the women’s side, Loni Unser was fifth in the 20km 15-19 category, Katherine Estep was sixth, and Ellie Polk was eighth.
 
Full results:
http://calgaryskiclub.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/loppet_2016_results.pdf
 
 

ALPINE

FIS – Western Region Junior Championships
 
The FIS Team has been putting on the miles for a number of series and races; most recently, they traveled to Schweitzer Mountain in Idaho for the Western Region Junior Championships. Spencer Wright, Kristian DeWolfe and John Blackburn came out strong with fourth, eighth and ninth place finishes, respectively, in the men’s slalom event on March 5. Noah Leininger took 11th in the men’s giant slalom on Sunday, and Sage Rheinschild took 13th in the ladies’ super G on the same day.
 
Giant slalom and super G events still remain.
 
Full results:
http://www.fis-ski.com/dynamic/event-details.html?event_id=37624&cal_suchsector=AL
 
 

IMD Team at Western Region U14 Championships

The IMD Team is headed to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, March 10-13, for the Western Region U14 Championships, the premier event for the team this season. SVSVEF has four girls and four boys competing, which is as many as any other team in the division. Buey Grossman​, Ryder Sarchett, Ridley Lindstrom, Charlie Snyder, Marit Kaiser, Falon Hanna, Sage Curtis and Sage Holter will represent SVSEF at the championships.
 
The athletes are coming off a tough long weekend in Utah at Snowbasin, which featured three super G events. Sage Holter had a notable performance, as she fought hard to qualify for the Western Region U14 Championships. Buey Grossman won overall for the weekend.
 
Results:
Race 1:
Boys: Buey Grossman- 1; Ryder Sarchett- 4; Shaw Dean- 10; Ridley Lindstrom- 13; Charlie Snyder- 15; Falon Hanna- 3
Girls: Marit Kaiser- 8; Sage Holter- 12; Emma MacGuffie- 15
Race 2:
Boys: Buey Grossman- 2; Ryder Sarchett- 11; Shaw Dean- 12; Charlie Snyder- 15
Girls: Marit Kaiser- 11; Sage Holter- 13
Race 3:
Boys: Buey Grossman- 3; Ryder Sarchett- 4; Ridley Lindstrom- 5; Shaw Dean- 9 (tie); Charlie Snyder- 9 (tie)
Girls: Marit Kaiser- 5; Anhwei Kirk- 9; Emma MacGuffie- 11
 
Full results:
http://www.ussa-imd.org/alpine/races15/U14.htm
 

North Series

A number of SVSEF athletes have qualified for the IMD Championships, which take place at Brundage Mountain in McCall, Idaho, March 10-13. The event is for athletes U12 and younger.
 
Qualified Athletes:
 
Boys:
Colin Hanna
Leo Molter
Carter Sammis
Cole Curci
Tommy Normand
Russell Stumph
Taylor Rixon
Colin MacGuffie
John Tumolo
 
Girls:
Jessica Blackburn
Tatum Minor
Hannah Ferris
Paige DeHart
Saba Grossman
Logan Lindstrom
Goldie Kirk
Agnes Kind
Laura Daves
Elgyn Monge
Isabella Hattrup
Mattigan Monschke
Maile Dorland
Niki Cohen
Anabel Viesturs
 
 

Mini World Cup Team

The Mini World Cup Team had the chance to put their skills to the test at Dollar Mountain in Sun Valley. The March 5th event saw a strong field of young athletes who competed with verve and enthusiasm in the super G.
 
Results:
Boys

  1. Max Meucci
  2. Jesse Keefe
  3. Eric Parris
  4. Zephyr Carruth
  5. Sacha Stern-Pre
  6. Luca Broussard
  7. Paxton Sammis
  8. Thomas DeKlotz
  9. Holden Archie
  10. Owen Walker
  11. Bodin Lee
  12. Abel Marx
  13. TJ Campbell
  14. Calder Baty
  15. Alec Wiedemann
  16. Rylan Mann

 
Girls

  1. Lena Nelson
  2. Maya Lightner
  3. Lowie Watkins
  4. Chloe Vogel
  5. Natalie Gowe
  6. Caroline Dean
  7. Charlotte Davis-Jeffers
  8. Ripley Scales
  9. Kendall Felker
  10. Maeve Bailey
  11. Taylor Hovey
  12. Ava Agnew
  13. Scarlet Rixon