Cutler, Josey on podiums and pages as SVSEF's Co-Athletes of the Week
Being able to capitalize is key.
Casting aside any hint of doubt, focusing on the present challenge, staying calm and collected and knowing your strengths can make all the difference, especially when you’ve got just a chance or two to show your stuff.
Two athletes practiced this to a T in their respective competitions over the weekend, making them the SVSEF Co-Athletes of the Week.
Haley Cutler, a member of the FIS team, has had a standout racing season, capturing a number of wins and podiums and showing consistency throughout. The skier traveled to Copper Mountain, Colorado, for the U19 National Junior Championships – a series that runs through Saturday, March 5. Competing against top skiers from across the country, Cutler was one of 17 women who qualified to represent the Western Region at the series. After a seventh place finish in the slalom on Sunday, which was a big accomplishment in its own right, Cutler came out charging in the super G and took home the win in a field of 49 competitors. This title secured Cutler’s place at the U. S. National Alpine Championships here in Sun Valley, March 22-27, which will draw the likes of U.S. National Ski Team members and collegiate racers.
“We’ve been training and building towards this series, NorAm finals and U.S. Nationals. To win this super G is big; it shows she’s been working hard and doing a good job, and shows her training and racing leading up to this point has prepared her to do that,” said FIS Head Coach Nate Schwing.
There is one more championship event left in the series; the downhill takes place on Friday, March 4. Although Cutler is well rounded across the board, super G and downhill are her strengths – with the momentum she’s built, we’re looking forward to seeing how it plays out.
The X Games features some of the best winter sports athletes from around the world, and SVSEF Gold Team snowboarder Chase Josey was invited to participate in the event in Oslo, Norway, this past week. In the men’s snowboard superpipe final, Josey stomped his runs, impressing the judges and the crowd alike with his smoothness and technical strength. In his final run, Josey perfectly executed a double Michalchuk into a front side 1080 double cork and a switch double crippler – a trick that hardly any other riders are throwing down – which translated into a bronze medal for the 20-year old. A large feat, given this is only his second X Games appearance and he is competing against the likes of Iouri Podladtchikov and Ayumu Hirano, the 2014 Olympic halfpipe gold and silver medalists.
“This is definitely kind of vindication for what happened in Aspen at the X Games. The event got cut short because of snow; Chase didn’t have a clean first run, and unfortunately it was the only run he got. He was looking like a contender for that event,” said SVSEF coach Andy Gilbert. “For him to go to Norway and be the top American rider, putting himself on the podium and contending with an Olympic gold medalist (Iouri Podladtchikov), it says a lot about where his riding is at right now.”
Josey is currently at the U.S. Open in Vail, Colorado. It is the longest running halfpipe event, and among riders it is considered the most prestigious.