Cross Country Racers tackle Junior Nationals 

 
Fourteen SVSEF nordic skiers qualified to represent the Intermountain division at Junior Nationals this year in Telemark, Wisconsin. The group headed east, where they were met with incredibly warm temperatures and a lack of ideal snow coverage; races were cancelled, training on snow was limited and moved to nearby trails and courses were altered to make the best of the conditions. Despite the adversity associated with the weather, SVSEF athletes rolled with the punches, securing impressive finishes when there was the opportunity to race.
 
The week started off with a 10/5km classic race with individual starts. U18 Peter Wolter skied to fourth place, and Henry Raff was 16^th in the same event.U16 Johnny Hagenbuch landed in ninth place. Luk Platil was 23^rd in the U20 age class. On the women’s side, Lily Brunelle placed 17^th in the U16 race, while Anna Gibson was 19^th in the U18 field. Katie Feldman,  an SVSEF alumnus who now skis for Middlebury College, placed sixth in the U20 race, representing New England.
 
Races were cancelled on March 9, but resumed on March 10 with a distance freestyle race; U20 men skied 15km, U20/U18 women and U18 men skied 10km, and U16 men and women skied 5km; all on a 3.7km course. Ella Wolter was 22^nd for U16 women; Johnny Hagenbuch was eighth for U16 men. Anna Gibson finished ninth in the U18 women’s race. Peter Wolter was 10^th, Leo Lukens 18^th, and Carter Ros 21^st in the U18 men’s field. In the U20 race, Luk Platil was 19^th.
 
March 11 featured freestyle sprint races on a 1.3km course. Lily Brunelle, Ella Wolter and Sophia Mazzoni all moved on from the qualifying round to quarterfinals for the U16 women; Brunelle finished in 19^th, Wolter in 21^st, and Mazzoni in 28^th. Johnny Hagenbuch qualified for quarterfinals on the men’s side and landed in 25^th place overall. Anna Gibson and Annika Landis both broke the top 30 for the U18 women; Gibson finished 27^th and Landis 30^th. Peter Wolter continued his string of top-ten finishes, qualifying for and finishing second in the B final and eighth overall. Ben Brunelle made it to quarterfinals and finished 17^th.
 
The March 11 team relays changed format from a 3×3.3km relay to an uphill climb relay to comply with conditions. Ella Wolter skied on an Intermountain U16 women’s team that skied to ninth place; Sophia Mazzoni and Lily Brunelle were both on the 11^th-placing team. Johnny Hagenbuch’s U16 men’s team landed in seventh. The top Intermountain U18 men’s team featured all SVSEF skiers; Peter Wolter, Leo Lukens and Ben Brunelle worked together to finish fifth.
 
Full results:
https://app.box.com/s/48vye2mbzb3c73bwuz1dqoh0x4rze6xr
 
 

Cutler runner-up at Nor-Am Finals 

 
Haley Cutler, Tanner Farrow and Kipling Weisel are currently in Aspen, Colorado, for the NorAm Alpine Finals, where athletes are competing in downhill, super-G, giant slalom, team and slalom events. Haley Cutler podiumed in the women’s super-G for the Junior age group, skiing to second place; this was Cutler’s first NorAm podium. She finished fourth overall. In the downhill events, Cutler took eighth and 13^th overall.
 
Kipling Weisel and Tanner Farrow have been posting consistent results: Weisel took 13^th in the first downhill, 10^th in the second and 17^th in the super-G. Farrow finished 26^th in the first downhill event, 27^th in the second downhill and 16^th in the super-G.
 
The athletes will finish out the week with another super-G, a team event and men’s giant slalom and slalom races.
 
Full results:
http://data.fis-ski.com/alpine-skiing/results.html?place_search=&seasoncode_search=2016&sector_search=AL&date_search=&gender_search=&category_search=&codex_search=&nation_search=&disciplinecode_search=&date_from=01&search=Search&limit=50
 
 

IMD Championships, Brundage, ID

 
The Alpine North team headed to the IMD Championships at Brundage in McCall, Idaho, March 11-13, where athletes competed in giant slalom, dual giant slalom and slalom. SVSEF’s Jessica Blackburn showed consistency with a win in both the U12 giant slalom and the U12 dual giant slalom. Saba Grossman took the win in the U12 slalom. Tatum Minor earned third in the U12 dual giant slalom and fourth in the U12 giant slalom; Paige DeHart followed suite with a fourth place finish in the U12 slalom. Maya Lightner skied to sixth in the ladies U12 giant slalom, with DeHart right behind in seventh. The U10 ladies also stepped it up; Lowie Watkins sped to sixth in the giant slalom, and Natalie Gowe to eighth in the same event.
 
The SVSEF men kept up the momentum; undery snowy skies, Carter Sammis skied to 12^th in the U12 slalom, while Cole Curci led the SVSEF crew in the U12 giant slalom in 17^th. Sammis battled it out in the dual giant slalom to come home with the win in the U12 event.
 
The weekend marked the pinnacle event of the IMD season, and SVSEF athletes approached it with composure and fortitude.
 
Results:
Giant slalom, men, U12
17- Cole Curci
20T- Carter Sammis
31- Colin Hanna
32- Tommy Normand
45- Colin MacGuffie
46- John Tumolo
50- Zephyr Carruth
54- Taylor Rixon
58- Jesse Keefe
 
Giant slalom, ladies, U10
6- Lowie Watkins
8- Natalie Gowe
 
Giant slalom, ladies, U12
1- Jessica Blackburn
4- Tatum Minor
6- Maya Lightner
7- Paige DeHart
10- Hannah Ferris
27- Agnes Kind
28- Elgyn Monge
29- Maile Dorland
31- Goldie Kirk
37- Laura Daves
40- Mattigan Monschke
48- Chloe Vogel
52T- Lena Nelson
55- Isabella Hattrup
63- Niki Cohen
 
Slalom, men, U12
12- Carter Sammis
23- Russell Stumph
26- Cole Curci
38- John Tumolo
46- Tommy Normand
50- Taylor Rixon
51- Colin MacGuffie
53- Jesse Keefe
55- Zephyr Carruth
 
Slalom, ladies, U10
10- Lowie Watkins
12- Natalie Gowe
 
Slalom, ladies, U12
1- Saba Grossman
4- Paige DeHart
9- Hannah Ferris
12- Tatum Minor
14- Jessica Blackburn
21- Chloe Vogel
24- Mattigan Monschke
27- Maya Lightner
28- Anabel Viesturs
43- Maile Dorland
45- Laura Daves
58- Isabella Hattrup
 
Dual GS, men, U12
1- Carter Sammis
See link for rest of results
 
Dual GS, ladies, U12

• Jessica Blackburn
• Tatum Minor

See link for rest of results
 
Full results:
http://www.ussa-imd.org/alpine/races15/north.php
 

U14 regionals, Jackson, WY

 
Several SVSEF IMD alpine racers qualified for the Western Region U14 Championships, held this past weekend at Jackson Hole Resort. In a field of 60 for each gender, the Intermountain region sent 18 girls and 17 boys; four girls of whom were SVSEF skiers, and five boys of whom are from SVSEF.
 
Overall, the Intermountain division dominated the competition, with its athletes claiming more top-15 results than any other; SVSEF athletes amply contributed to these stats. An overall win for Ryder Sarchett was a highlight of the weekend; he had the least number of race points of any male after the three events.
 
Coach James Tautkus was pleased with how the weekend played out. “It was really exciting to have our kids perform as well as they did – all of them consistently finishing in the top half of the races. But the biggest reward was traveling as a division and bringing together the different teams we spend our season competing against; kids from the different teams in Intermountain coming together and supporting one another and taking pride in their division.”
 
On the effects this camaraderie had on the races, Tautkus observed, “I think the vibe was so positive and supportive that it encouraged the amazing results we accumulated as a division. I am so proud of our SVSEF athletes and their rewards for the hard work they put into this season. Their futures are bright.”
 
Results:
Super G, ladies:
7- Falon Hanna
17- Sage Curtis
Super G, men:
8- Ryder Sarchett
10- Buey Grossman
16- Charlie Snyder
Giant slalom, ladies:
10- Marit Kaiser
Giant slalom, men:
2- Ryder Sarchett
11- Charlie Snyder
16- Shaw Dean
(Ridley Lindstrom stood in third place after the first run; however, he busted his boot during the second run.)
Slalom, ladies:
16- Marit Kaiser
19- Sage Curtis
Slalom, men:
2- Ryder Sarchett
3- Buey Grossman
6- Charlie Snyder
17- Shaw Dean
 
Full results:
http://www.ussa-imd.org/alpine/races15/regional.php
 

Upcoming Events 

Championship events are well underway. Freestyle Nationals begin with training on March 16 and continue through March 20. Alpine U14 Tri Divisional Championships are March 17-20 at Snowbird, Utah, and U16 Regional Championships run March 17-20 at Mammoth Mountain, California.