I AM SVSEF

"I am SVSEF" is an opportunity each week to highlight our athletes for demonstrating the core values of the organization.

Sportsmanship • Citizenship • Character • Teamwork • Creativity • Passion • Perseverance

  ALPINE: Owen Walker is the Alpine "I am SVSEF" athlete for this week. Owen is a member of  both the Mini World Cup team and the Nordic Devo Team. “He comes to team with a great attitude whether we are skiing gates or ripping the bowls,” says coach Sarah. "He is a hard worker and has a passion for skiing, which makes him a great athlete to work with."   CROSS COUNTRY: This week’s nominee is a Prep Team skier; Blake DeHart is recognized for the improvement he’s made in both skiing and attitude over the last couple weeks. Said Prep Team Head Coach Kelley Sinnott, “Blake has been pushing himself harder than ever recently and is demonstrating true passion and perseverance in his day to day training. I find it really great that Blake’s  concentration and hard work have been paying off for him in races; his improved results are really reflecting his hard work. I hope his newfound focus and motivation mixed with his great sense of fun will rub off on his teammates!” PARK & PIPE: Maddie Hothem, a SVSEF snowboarder, is this week’s I am SVSEF athlete for Park & Pipe. According to Pat Lee, Snowboard Team Manager, “Maddie has recently shown a great attitude and pushed herself to become a better snowboarder; anything she puts her mind to, she seems to accomplish. She and her family recently attended the Bogus Basin Slope Style competition and came home with a first place in her division. She is a pleasure to be around, and we are glad to have her on the team.”

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THE WEEK IN REVIEW – 2/21/17

 

SNOWBOARDING

Payton Bacca competes at Junior Worlds

Payton Bacca competed at Junior World Championships in Klinovec, Czech Republic, in the discipline of boardercross. In a field in the individual event that was dominated by Europeans on February 18, Payton won her first heat, besting the number 14 ranked athlete from Czech Republic and the number 19 seed from Australia. Following that round, Payton raced to a final place of 32nd, the third U.S. finisher in the event. In the women’s team event on Sunday, February 19, there were two American teams of two, paired based on their results in the previous competition. Payton was paired with Adalia Flores and was matched against the top-seeded Russian team (with Kristina Paul, who won the individual boardercross event on Saturday), as well as two teams from Czech Republic. Payton finished second in her heat, after passing both Czech competitors. Unfortunately, her teammate crashed in her leg of the race. Of note for team USA was a victory in the men’s team event – this was the first team victory ever at Junior Worlds. Jake Vedder (‘98, Ann Arbor, Michigan) and Senna Leith (‘97, Vail, Colorado) took the win. Payton next competes at FIS Nor-Ams in Colorado, February 22-23. Women's boardercross results  

Chase Josey second overall for FIS World Cup season

SVSEF alumni and Gold Team athlete Chase Josey competed at Phoenix Park in PyeongChang, South Korea, which was the final stop on the FIS World Cup halfpipe tour. The competition served as an official Olympic test event in preparation for next year’s Winter Olympics. Chase qualified second behind fellow American Shaun White on Friday, February 17 in the men’s halfpipe event. In the finals, Chase finished sixth; Australian Scott James won the event, followed by Shaun White in second and Yiwei Zhang of China in third. Chase’s result combined with those from previous World Cup events this season put him in second on the podium for overall World Cup standings this season. Full results here    

ALPINE

Mini World Cup, North Series

For Sunday’s Arkoosh Cup held locally at Rotarun, competitors raced giant slalom in a range of conditions, from blazing sun to whiteout snowstorms. This was the 48th annual iteration of the event, named for the Arkoosh family, who helped develop Rotarun Ski Area. It drew athletes ages four through twelve to Rotarun; a total of 113 competitors attended. Program Director Scott McGrew spoke to the range of athletes there. “It was a super fun event that represented a lot of different elements. There were ski team and non ski team categories, lots of parents and grandparents, and kids of all ages. Despite getting off to a little late of a start as we were trying to get all the right kids into all the right categories, we had an exciting ski race and people were having a great time.” McGrew also commended the coaches for their professionalism in building and maintaining the course, and for putting on a great event for a great cause.

Paige DeHart and Cole Curci won the overall titles, and will have their names etched into the Arkoosh Trophy. Full results here  

FIS

FIS athletes are at Snow King in Jackson Hole, in the midst of the Wild West Classic, a Western Region FIS Open series. Sunday was a giant slalom event, with 79 competitors in the women’s field. Erin Smith was 19th, the top SVSEF finisher. Katelyn Rathfon had a strong race, finishing 26th. She was followed by Skylar Cooley in 27th. Ella Pepin jumped up 14 spots to 37th from 51st. The men did not race on February 19. Monday featured a giant slalom; Haley Cutler was the top SVSEF finisher, coming in sixth in a field of 74. Erin Smith was 19th, Skylar Cooley 30th and Ella Pepin 38th. In the men’s giant slalom on February 20, four SVSEF male competitors broke the top 30, with Filippo Collini in 23rd, Yuri McClure in 25th, Julian Plank in 27th and Will Snyder in 30th. Julian’s result was less than half his starting bib number for the race; similarly, Filippo rose from 41st to 23rd, a jump of 18 places. The racing continues on Tuesday with a slalom, followed by another slalom to round out the series on Wednesday. Full results here

   

FREESKIING

Tai Barrymore returns to the pipe

Tai Barrymore, SVSEF alumni and Gold Team athlete, returned to competition in halfpipe for the first time in over a year. Tai missed last season due to injury. He dropped into the halfpipe qualifiers on February 18 in PyeongChang for the Olympic test event, ending up 16th overall. This meant that he did not move onto the finals – but it was a solid first run back.

 Freeskiing Travel Team

SVSEF Freestyle athletes headed to Aspen for the Aspen Snowmass Open, "one of the last and longest running independent open competitions in the nation." According to Tyler Conway, Head Freeski Coach, "the Aspen Open is the biggest opportunity for unknown skiers to get recognition and to ski the X Games course. Aspen Open has been running for 12 years and most of the winners of this event have gone on to win X Games events, and/or Olympic medals." Will Griffith skied both slopestyle and big air, and Hanna Blackwell competed in the halfpipe. In a field populated with athletes from Canada, France, New Zealand and Japan, Hanna Blackwell finished 14th in the women's halfpipe. Jacob Beebe, a SVSEF Gold athlete, was 35th in halpipe. In the men's slopestyle event, Will Griffith was 39th, and in big air he finished 26th. Full results here