Laura Flood Memorial Cup 2017 – Results
February 11
February 12
February 13
The Week in Review: 1/10/17
I AM SVSEF
SVSEF values of sportsmanship, citizenship, character, teamwork, creativity, passion and perseverance are not ones that are newly championed; they are qualities that have held weight and importance for hundreds of years, across many societies, eras, continents. Perhaps we may think of character as the overarching quality that encompasses all of the other SVSEF values; sportsmanship, citizenship, teamwork, creativity, passion and perseverance all fit under the distinction of mental or moral qualities, which, by definition, make up a distinctive individual’s character.
Athletic success is invigorating, affirming and surely within reach of our athletes, in whatever ways they choose to define it. It is certainly something we strive for with these kids, to help them achieve what they have come to define for themselves as success in sport. Perhaps more than this, and in a way not necessarily discernible from an observer’s perspective, our hope is that lessons learned while in the organization become ingrained, so that they may be useful later in life. Yes, an affinity for athletic greatness is all well and good; but in future endeavors, I’d bet that character traits learned here and now will prove much more useful in the different communities, relationships and challenges in which our athletes find themselves.
In 1900, a year before his first term as president, Theodore Roosevelt addressed the importance of character in relation to intellectual and athletic success in an article for The Outlook.
But, in the long run, in the great battle of life, no brilliancy of intellect, no perfection of bodily development, will count when weighed in the balance against that assemblage of virtues, active and passive, of moral qualities, which we group together under the name of character; and if between any two contestants, even in [college] sport or in [college] work, the difference in character on the right side is as great as the difference of intellect or strength the other way, it is the character side that will win. (The Outlook, Vol. 64, 725)
Roosevelt’s assessment of how crucial strong, positive character is for an individual lends itself to SVSEF’s focus on developing “strong minds,” of helping prepare our athletes for whatever is thrown their way, and to set them up for success.
With this in mind, we’re introducing I am SVSEF: an opportunity each week to highlight our athletes for demonstrating the core values of SVSEF.
Sportsmanship • Citizenship • Character • Teamwork • Creativity • Passion • Perseverance
Here are the I Am SVSEF athletes featured for the week of January 9, 2017:
Alpine: Ethan Marx, an eighth grader at Community School and a member of the Alpine USSA Team, has worked really hard throughout summer training and into the on-snow season. A goal this season for Ethan has been to make the flip 30 – to place 30th on his first run in order to be the first competitor out of the gate on the second. This past weekend, he narrowly missed his goal with a 31st place finish – his enthusiasm and positivity around the prospect is infectious, regardless of your interest in alpine racer lineups. According to USSA head coach Will Brandenburg, “Ethan is always helping his teammates out, and his actions and words are good for morale; he is the epitome of what we’re talking about when we think of qualities we’re hoping are instilled in SVSEF athletes.”
Cross Country: Taylor Dorland, an eighth grader at the Sage School, is a new member of the Cross Country Prep Team after switching from alpine. Kelley Sinnott, Cross Country Prep Team Head Coach, observed, “learning a new sport can be very difficult and frustrating but Taylor has shown strong character, passion and perseverance through her learning process. Taylor is the kind of skier that manages to grit her teeth and grin at the same time; she is eager to learn and improve but also finds fun in ever part of cross country.”
Freestyle: Eliza Marks, a 10th grader at Community School, brings a really positive attitude that lends to the dynamic of the Freestyle Team. She shows up training every day with passion and interest. In competition, even on a bad day that doesn’t necessarily go her way, she doesn’t let it get her down and approaches the next challenge with confidence and anticipation. Coach Kurtis Fieguth commended Eliza for “taking to hear the advice we try to give her, and taking it to the snow – she’s made huge improvements over the past month and a half in doing so.”
Park & Pipe: Arlo Curry is a seventh grader at the Sage School and is a member of the Snowboard Progression Team. He comes to training with a great attitude, a smile on his face every day and a level of engagement that indicates a profound interest and enthusiasm for the sport. Said snowboard team manager Pat Lee, “Arlo performs to his highest standard at all times. He embraces challenges that arise and is committed and diligent to working through them. On top of that, Arlo is a great communicator, which is really helpful for the coaching staff.”
THE WEEK IN REVIEW – 1/10/17
CROSS COUNTRY
Comp, PG, Gold Teams
The SVSEF Cross Country Comp, PG and Gold teams are currently midway through the 2017 L.L. Bean U.S. Cross Country Championships at Soldier Hollow in Park City, Utah. For many athletes across the U.S., Nationals are a pivotal week of racing; solid results can help an athlete qualify for World Cups, U23 World Championships and Junior Nationals. Top athletes from programs and universities across the nation are in Utah for the events, with numbers in attendance close to 600. Overall, courses were quite hard, which is befitting for a national championship event. “As hard as our trails are at Lake Creek,” said Rick Kapala, SVSEF Cross Country Program Director, “these trails are a little bit harder, in anticipation of U23 Worlds, which will take place at the same venue at the end of this month.”
Competition opened up on Saturday, January 7 with a 15/10km interval start skate race. The first day of racing was not really affected by inclement weather, which hit Sunday. But for the first athletes, which were the junior girls, it was tough all around, with cold temperatures, slow snow and a very challenging course. A standout performance for the day came from Gold Team skier Kelsey Phinney, who has typically been stronger in sprint events; with a 26th place finish in a field of 263 women in the 10km, Phinney is setting herself up as a viable contender for a spot on the team for U23 World Junior Championships; she is currently sitting in second with two more races to go this week.
Sunday’s classic sprint race came a drastic shift in temperature, and with it a downpour of rain. Despite the unfavorable conditions, morale on the SVSEF team was really good; kids handled it in stride and managed the challenges the weather presented quite well, which Kapala feels may be a natural extension of the relatively new normalcy of weather extremes in the West. Athletes competed on a newly designed sprint course, and were on some natural snow. It was unfortunate that the rainy weather fell on a classic sprint day; every team at one point or another struggled in regards to skis and getting the wax right for their athletes across the board.
The highlight of the day for SVSEF was an American podium sweep, in a way, as Kevin Bolger, who won the men’s sprint overall, is a former SVSEF PG athlete, and Gold Team skiers Jack Hegman and Cole Morgan went two and three.
Other than Peter Wolter, the junior squad is relatively inexperienced at this level, so these races are a great first step at exposure to higher level racing, in anticipation of them aging and getting into the mix. SVSEF junior boys skied quite well, with Peter Wolter, Eli Jensen and Keene Morowitz all qualifying for junior heats (the top 30 moved on from the initial qualifier). Morowitz had a very noteworthy qualifier, which was a really good indication that he has found his form.
Junior girls were led by Anja Jensen, who as a 14 year old very narrowly missed qualifying. Said Kapala, “for us as coaches, we look beyond the wins with developing athletes – cause that’s not going to tell the story of a 14 year old racing against 20 year olds. This was a tough course with tough conditions, and these girls are just getting started, as most are sophomores or young juniors.” A number of Jensen’s teammates just missed the cutoff as well.
Going into the next two days of races, Hegman is looking really strong for qualifying for U23s – he needs one more decent race to nail it down. Hegman is sitting in first for qualifying, as Patrick Caldwell pre-qualified with early season results. Morgan is also looking good, currently in second; if selections were made based off of the first two races, he would make the team. As he is a sprinter, he’ll have a chance to cement that seed in the race on Thursday. Phinney is also sitting well, in second on the list with two races to go. Five to six athletes, male and female, can qualify for U23s.
Matt Gelso, who has posted exceptional results this season, is down for now with a head cold; it remains to be seen if he’ll have another start at Nationals. Noted Kapala, “Gelso is going to World Cup races later this month regardless, so it doesn’t make a lot of sense to push him to the point where it impacts him down the road – we’re going day-by-day with him.” The end goal is World Championships, and even though the process for qualification weighs Nationals a bit heavier than Super Tour races, good results in Europe could get him there. “We want him to go to Europe rested, recharged and ready to race to his abilities; a lot of the competitions there fit his ability set really well,” said Kapala.
Today’s race is a 30/20/10/5 km classic. Athletes will be skiing on a condensed 3.75km loop, made entirely of manmade snow as a result of the rain on Sunday. Thursday’s race is a skate sprint.
Full results here
Devo, Prep, Comp Teams
SVSEF athletes who did not make the trip to Nationals opted for the Snowmaker Classic on Saturday, which is a local classic race. This year, it took place on Sun Valley trails, and athletes selected either ten, five or 3 km for distance. Temperatures were in the double digit negatives when race organizers arrived, and start time was postponed to allow those to rise. This was a good training opportunity for SVSEF athletes, as it gave them experience pushing their bodies on a relatively flat course in extreme temperatures.
Full results here
ALPINE
USSA Team
It was a good weekend for the Alpine USSA team, which competed in Jackson, Wyoming, at Snow King. The event was a qualifier, and SVSEF saw some athletes who made the top 30 for the first time. As a group, the team is in quite a good position to have a number of skiers qualify for Regionals. Overall, 30 girls and 26 boys will qualify, and there are two more opportunities left to make the cut. It was a cold weekend of racing, which made it hard to get a good warm up; the weekend saw less skiing and more time in the lodge. Said USSA head coach Will Brandenburg, “that makes it tough to be able to get into the groove of the weekend; it makes a major difference. The athletes handled the adjustment well.”
Lily Fitzgerald had an amazing weekend; she swept the races, not just for U16s, but overall, and won by over 1.5 seconds each time. At the Eric Hayes Memorial races, she had success but not as much as she wanted to. According to Brandenburg, “she had a good mindset in training the two weeks over Christmas break; she’s been building on her skiing and getting better, and we’re starting to see that hard work pay off. Another highlight of the weekend was having SVSEF boys on the podium for every U16 race; Buey Grossman took second in the first giant slalom, and teammate Jack Smith was second in both the second giant slalom and the slalom.
Full results here
IMD Team
Alpine IMD was in Park City over the weekend for the Park City Jr. IMD Cup. Reflecting on the weekend, head coach James Tautkus said, “this past weekend was a good test of our team’s strength from top to bottom. It affirmed our efforts thus far and indicated where we need to put in the work. As a staff we are very proud of what these athletes have been capable of and hope it encourages them to take their effort to the next level."
SVSEF did well across the events, claiming three out of six first place finishes between men and women. Ryder Sarchett took the men's overall title for the weekend by winning the slalom and the second giant slalom. Anhwei Kirk won the slalom and was third in the first giant slalom. Marit Kaiser was second in both GS races and Nathan Gowe was fifth in the slalom, sixth in the first giant slalom and second in the second giant slalom. Josh Blackburn was fifth in the first giant slalom and his sister Jessica was third in the slalom.
Full results will be posted soon
FIS Team
FIS athletes were also met by extreme cold in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, for the IMD Cup events. Temperatures sat around -25 the first day of racing and -26 the second. Athletes faced the elements head on; top finishes were posted by Jake Blackburn, who had two top-ten results in the giant slalom events, Carter Jendrezek, who finished out the weekend in eighth in the slalom, Libby Kaiser, who maintained consistency across all races, going 16-14-11, and Grace Pepin, who jumped up from results in the 40s and 50s on January 6 and 7 to 15th in the slalom on January 8.
Full results will be posted soon
FREESKIING
The SVSEF Freeski A-team made a trip to Colorado last week. Will Griffith competed for the chance to make the Rev Tour in slopestyle, and Hanna Blackwell spent her time logging significant training hours in the halfpipe.
Griffith skied two stand-up runs, scoring highest on the second. Skiing into the first rail, he spun a front 270 out landing switch, went backwards into the first jump spinning a right side 360 with tail grab landing switch, continued backwards into the second jump spinning a left cork 540 with a Japan grab, skied forward off the third jump spinning a left rodeo 720 with a safety grab, landing forward and sliding the last rail spinning a back 450 out. Griffith, who just turned 16 years old, ended up in sixth place. He competed against Yuki Sato (20 years old) and Gen Sasaki (20 years old), who are both from Japan and who are trying to make a bid for the Olympics in 2018. Said freestyle head coach Tyler Conway, “being at an event like this and seeing what it takes to get first place at this level of competition helps an athlete develop mentally and prepares them for future events.”
Hanna Blackwell also traveled to Colorado to train in Copper Mountain’s halfpipe. This halfpipe is one of two open in North America; the other is in Calgary. Hanna was not the only athlete taking advantage of the feature; David Wise, halfpipe Olympic Gold medalist and three-time X-Games Gold medalist, was training on the same halfpipe. Commented Conway, “it takes a lot of repetition and exposure in the halfpipe to get better. We’re looking forward to having the halfpipe at Dollar complete soon, as it will allow SVSEF athletes to have the advantage of getting in laps and pushing their halfpipe skiing skills.”
Full results here
FREESTYLE
The Bumpin’ at the Bird course at Snowbird proved more than adequate for SVSEF Freestyle athletes, who took to it this past weekend. The event counts towards overall rankings and for qualifying for Junior Nationals and U.S. Freestyle Championships. SVSEF had four boys in top 10 the first day, with Holden Largay winning overall, and teammates Brody Buchwalter, Luke Rizzo and Alex LaFleur going five-six-seven. On the second day, SVSEF had four in top ten again, but this included different athletes, which speaks to the spread and range of the team. Alex LaFleur made a ton of improvements, and coach Kurtis Fieguth commented that his run on the second day was the best he’s seen from LaFleur thus far. Luke Rizzo was on a similar trajectory, making significant improvements over the weekend – both seemed to learn a lot about their form throughout the events. In the girls’ competitions, Eliza Marks finished strong in duals, with a second place finish overall. Addie Rafford was third in moguls. Said Fieguth, “all of our kids skied really well, especially going up against strong skiers in the division; they really held their own.”
Results can be found here (Sunday’s results aren’t yet posted)
The Week in Review - 12/13/16
It’s been an eventful week for SVSEF athletes, with early season races in the books and productive training sessions on fresh snow. Efforts both in competition and practice have been focused, grounding and energizing – now’s the time to put all that training to use, work on areas of improvement, seek challenge and have a grand old time in the upcoming winter season.
Cross Country Gold Team finds Super Tour podiums at Silver Star
Following a strong Super Tour opener at West Yellowstone, the SVSEF Cross Country Gold Team headed north to the Sovereign Lakes Nordic Center in Silver Star, BC, where they spent the week training in preparation for the second round of Super Tour races. Saturday featured a 1.2-km classic sprint, followed by a 15/10km freestyle race on Sunday. The race weekend came with temperatures in the single digits, compared to the sub-zero numbers the team saw all week prior. Julia Kern of the SMS Elite Team won the women’s sprint, followed by Liz Guiney of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project in second, and Kaitlynn Miller, of the same affiliation, in third. Mary Rose qualified for the B-final, finishing 10th overall. Reese Hanneman of Alaska Pacific University took first in the men’s race, followed closely by SVSEF Gold Team skier Cole Morgan, who was 0.87 seconds out of first and who had won the men’s qualifier earlier that day. SMS Elite Team skier Ben Saxton rounded out the podium in third. SVSEF’s Matt Gelso continued his solid Super Tour efforts with a fifth place finish.
Chris Mallory, Cross Country Gold Team Head Coach, gave some insight about the day. "Cole Morgan started things off right for the team Saturday with a blazing fast classic qualifier, winning by four seconds. He opted to double pole the course, which played to his strengths well. After three rounds of racing, Cole placed second on the day to Hanneman in a tough double pole battle down the finishing stretch. It was a great spectating course with a series of four climbs that wound in and out of the stadium. Gelso also skied strong all day, making it to the A Final. He was one of the few to go with kick wax all day and stride the final decisive climb. It was fun to watch the two guys take two different approaches to the course, both having some success."
Sunday's freestyle race featured fresh snow and tough climbs. Scott Patterson of APU took the men’s 15km win in a time of 40:00.2. Gelso maintained the consistency he's shown from early on this season, skiing into second place, 13.2 seconds behind Patterson. Tad Elliot of Vail finished third. SVSEF’s Jack Hegman was 10th, Rogan Brown 11th, and Cole Morgan 28th. APU took home another win on Sunday, with Chelsea Holmes leading the women’s field. Katharine Ogden of SMS Elite was second, and her teammate Erika Flowers was third. Mary Rose led the SVSEF women in fifth; Deedra Irwin skied to ninth, and Annie Pokorny to 23rd. Rose and Irwin's results marked their best races of the season thus far.
Gelso's result on Sunday secured his top spot on the U.S. Super Tour points list, and earned him World Cup starts beginning in late January in Sweden and South Korea.
The Gold Team returns home to Sun Valley for a breather before their next stint at Soldier Hollow for the Senior Nationals the second week of January.
Complete sprint results
Complete distance results
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Cross Country Devo, Prep and Comp Team athletes warm up with local Winterstart races
The snowstorm we saw last weekend left Galena Lodge with over a foot of fresh powder, just in time for the annual Winterstart event. This year, there were two, four and eight-kilometer options for participants. All courses began in the ever-scenic Senate Meadows and headed up Jenny’s Way into the woods before breaking out at the northeastern side of the field. The snow was soft and temperatures cold, which meant slightly slower going. In the men’s two-kilometer race, Blake DeHart finished first in a time of 7:40. Right behind him was Fisher Gardner, who finished second in 7:43. Alex Shafer was third, and Mats Radl-Jones fourth; all are SVSEF skiers. In the women’s two-kilometer race, SVSEF’s Sammy Smith took first in a time of 7:26. Anja Grover was just one second off the winning time, landing her in second place. SVSEF’s Berkeley Canfield finished fourth, Taylor Dorland fifth, Anneka Thompson sixth, and Riley Siegel, the only Devo participant, crossed the line in eighth.
The four-kilometer option headed up Nello’s and brought racers to the southern end of the meadows. SVSEF skiers made up the entire men’s and women’s fields for this length. Sebi Radl-Jones took first in the men’s race with a time of 15:50; Jake Gorham was second. Luci Ludwig topped the women’s field in 16:40, and was followed by teammates Christine Estep in second, Tia Vontver third, Kate Stone fourth, Kate Horowitz fifth and Quinn Closser sixth.
Racers who opted for the eight-kilometer course skied the four kilometer course twice. There were no SVSEF athletes in the men’s race, which was won by Bill Nurge in a time of 27:11. SVSEF alum Alexa Turzian won the women’s event in 30:11, followed by Kristin Monahan, SVSEF Comp Team Coach. Monahan’s athlete Eve Jensen rounded out the podium in third, Gold Team skier Kelsey Phinney was fourth, and SVSEF’s Anja Jensen, Sascha Leidecker and Ellie Gorham were fifth, sixth and seventh.
Complete results
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SVSEF Gold Team skier Kipling Wiesel and PG athlete Haley Cutler stake out top finishes in Canada
Lake Louise in BC hosted two Nor-Am downhills and one Canadian National Championship downhill. According to SVSEF FIS coach Brett Jacobson, “cold temperatures and clean skiing rule up in Lake Louise. Highs of -9 with lows creeping to -30 degrees Fahrenheit all week helped to make an amazing racing surface. Lake Louise staff and volunteers worked their tails off to make one of the best courses available.” SVSEF Gold Team skier Kipling Wiesel and PG skier Haley Cutler made the most of the favorable course – Weisel finished in sixth and eighth in the Nor-Am downhills, and Cutler was fifth for her first race, but did not finish her second. In the Canadian National Championship downhill, Weisel narrowly missed the podium, skiing into fourth. Cutler rebounded from a hard tumble in the previous Nor-Am downhill on a very difficult section of the course, and ended up in sixth for the third event.
At Panorama Resort, the terrain was “unrelenting and challenging, yet consistent.” Cutler came in seventh place in her first super G, and Weisel finished 18th and 13th in the two races. Races at Panorama continue through the 18th of December – look for more results soon.
Complete Lake Louise results
Panorama Results
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Hanna Blackwell competes at Rev Tour at Copper
(words by Tyler Conway, SVSEF Head Freeski Coach)
Hanna Blackwell set out to compete in the U.S. Revolution Tour on December 10, 2016 at Copper Mountain Resort in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. This being an Olympic qualifying season, athletes from all over the world competed in this halfpipe event. The Rev Tour is a stepping-stone to the U.S. Freeskiing Team and serves as a platform for young athletes to make a name for themselves. With limited halfpipe training due to unseasonably warm temperatures, Hanna took advantage of the only halfpipe open in the USA. She skied well for the first competition of the season, finishing in 30th. This shows the importance of the halfpipe and slopestyle ski training that Dollar Mountain provides for the SVSEF Freeski Team; helping us compete with the world’s best.
Complete results
FIS Athletes Start Off Strong at Copper
SVSEF alpine FIS skiers had a successful start to the season on snow with super G and giant slalom races down at Copper Mountain in Colorado. Athletes competed in two super G and two giant slalom events. In the women’s first super G on November 28, Haley Cutler, a SVSEF PG athlete, skied to 15th place. Skylar Cooley was 18th and Erin Smith was 24th. Kipling Weisel, a SVSEF Gold Team skier, grabbed the win in the men’s event on the same day with a time of 1:06.81. John Blackburn was 34th and Spencer Wright was 39th. In the second super G race on November 29, Cutler finished sixth, Smith 8th and Cooley 22nd. In the men’s race, Wright was 42nd and Blackburn 45th. The athletes transitioned to giant slalom for the following two days. On November 30, Cutler cruised to 17th and Ruby Marden to 49th. Cooley and Smith did not finish their first run of the day. Blackburn skied to 55th on the men’s side, and Wright to 76th. On December 1, Cutler finished 11th, Smith 23rd and Cooley 38th for the women. Blackburn skied an impressive race, as he started with bib 76 and finished in 28th in the men's event. Filippo Collini skied into 57th and Wright finished 64th.
Full results: http://data.fis-ski.com/alpine-skiing/results.html