CROSS COUNTRY

Gold, PG and Comp Teams

SVSEF’s Bjorn Schou, in green. Photo by Tom Smith.

SVSEF athletes wrapped up racing at Canadian Nationals in Canmore, Alberta. In the senior classic sprints on March 22, Gold Team skiers Deedra Irwin and Mary Rose and Annie Pokorny all made the B final for senior women, and finished seventh, eighth and tenth overall. Laura Anderson was the top U.S. junior finisher, ending up in 13th. In the U16/U18 classic sprints the next day, Katherine Estep made the B final and finished eighth overall, second in the B final.
Full results here

Gold Team

The Gold Team is currently in Fairbanks, Alaska for SuperTour Finals; this event features a week of racing, with fields comprised of the top U.S. skiers, to round out the season. The first race of the week was a 22.5km skiathlon on Monday, March 27. Competitors switched from classic to skate halfway through the race at the 11.25km mark. SVSEF’s top finisher was Matt Gelso, who is coming off races at World Cup Championships, held in Quebec City. Matt finished 12th in a field of 44. Teammate Cole Morgan, who also competed at World Cup Champs, finished 15th; a good result for an athlete who is traditionally sprint-focused. Rogan Brown was 19th. The women’s race was a 7.5km classic/7.5km skate – 15km overall. Kelsey Phinney was 13th, Mary Rose 15th, Annie Pokorny 16th and Deedra Irwin 20th. The next event is a skate sprint on Wednesday.
Full results here

 

ALPINE

FIS

SVSEF had the opportunity to host a FIS Open series, drawing collegiate and top-level athletes to the valley for four days of racing. The first two days featured giant slalom races on Upper Greyhawk, Hemingway and Greyhawk, and the final two days featured slalom races on Hemingway and Greyhawk.
Ella Pepin had a strong, consistent weekend of racing, landing 14th in the first ladies’ slalom, 13th in the second, 20th in the first giant slalom and 22nd in the second. Erin Smith finished 10th in both giant slalom events.
Filippo Collini posted a top-20 result in the men’s first slalom with a 15th place finish. Charlie Lamb showed versatility with two 17th places, one in the slalom and another in the giant slalom.
A National Junior slalom race was held on Monday; Erin Smith and Ella Pepin made the podium in second and third, and Ruby Marden finished eighth. Filippo Collini led the SVSEF men in sixth; Hayden Terjeson was 13th.
 
Full results here
 

Cheeso Day

SVSEF skiers about to drop into the bowls for Cheeso Day. Photo by Adele Savaria.

SVSEF Alpine skiers celebrated the memory of Craig “Cheeso” Kjesbo with a day of skiing the bowls on Saturday. A yearly tradition, Cheeso Day is held in honor of Kjesbo, a former SVSEF coach. Program Director Scott McGrew explained why the athletes take time each year for this special day. “Cheeso embodied everything this organization is about: passion for the mountains, unflappable determination to make the most out of every day, and a profound dedication to the kids of this community.”
 

IMD

The IMD ALpine Team traveled to Snowbird for the Tri Divisional Championships, March 23-25. Competition included Intermountain, Northern, and Alaska Divisions. Despite tough weather conditions, SVSEF found a way to fight through. Notably, SVSEF placed four out of the top five U14 men in the slalom; Ben Goitiandia, Leo Molter, Skye Leininger and Nils Galloway dominated the event.
 
U16’s:
Sage Curtis – 5th GS, 2nd SG, 1st SL
Shaw Dean – 7th in SL
 
U14’s:
Hannah Ferris – 5th in GS, 14th in SG, 1st in SL (was third overall for both U14 and U16)
Logan Lindstrom – 8th GS, 3rd SL
Tatum Minor – 9th GS, 6th SL
Lily Dean – 3rd in SG
Lola Street – 13th in SL
Laci Jermunson – 13th SG
 
Ben Goitiandia – 4th GS, 5th SG, 1st in SL. (4th overall for both U14 and U16)
Jett Carruth – 9th GS, 7th SG.
Leo Molter – 14th SG, 3rd SL
Nils Galloway – 12th SG, 5th SL
Colin Hanna – 6th in SG
Skye Leininger – 4th in SL
Shaw McCoubrey – 9th in SL
 
Full results here
 

FREESTYLE

SVSEF junior freestyle athletes ended their season with the Future Freestylers Mogul Competition on Sunday, March 26. Freestyle & Freeski Prep & Devo Team Manager Jennifer Diehl observed that the kids “showed courage, showed grit, showed sportsmanship and showed us everything they have worked on all season long! This is our amazing future team of freestylers and freeskiers.”
Future Freestylers photos
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

FREESKI

Ethan Marx in first.

Hanna Blackwell traveled to Crans Montana, Switzerland, for the FIS Junior World Ski Championships. Hanna competed in the ladies’ halfpipe; in a tough field and tough conditions (due to weather, they only had one run), she finished eighth. This was great exposure to the world of travel for competition.
Full results here
 
Ethan Marx and his younger brother Abel took on their first Big Mountain competition at Summit at Snoqualmie Alpental, which saw nearly 90 athletes, mostly from the Pacific Northwest, charging down the Chair 2 (Edelweiss Chair) line. Although this was the Marx brothers’ first exposure to a Big Mountain event, you wouldn’t know it; Ethan won his U14 age group, beating 23 other competitors. Abel finished second in his U12 category, in a field of 19.
Full results here