FREESTYLE

SVSEF athletes competed at U.S. Freestyle Championships in Steamboat Springs, CO, March 30-April 1. Athletes took to the course on Voodoo, with moguls qualifications on March 30 and 31, finals on March 31, and dual moguls on April 1. SVSEF had some topnotch results in fields representing the best talent in the country. Field sizes were 50 and over, and ages ranged from 14 to 29.
Eliza Marks was SVSEF’s top female finisher in the moguls competition, ending up 41st overall. Katie Markthaler was right behind in 42nd, Esmee Verheijen 49th and Rainey Wilson 51st. Two SVSEF athletes broke the top 20 in the men’s competition; Holden Largay, who has had an exceptionally strong season, finished 13th overall. Teammate Luke Rizzo stepped it up and finished 20th, and Wilson Dunn was 37th; all solid results in a field of 60 athletes.
In duals, Eliza Marks moved into the round of 32 and finished 24th overall. Rainey Wilson, Esmee Verheijen and Katie Markthaler did not finish. Wilson Dunn ended the weekend of competition with an impressive 18th place finish in duals. Holden Largay was 22nd overall. Luke Rizzo moved into the round of 32, but crashed halfway through his run, putting him in 31st.
Full results here
 
 

SNOWBOARDING

SVSEF snowboarders headed to Copper Mountain Resort for USASA Nationals; in that group, veterans like Payton Bacca made the return to the yearly event, alongside some fresh faces who are just starting to get the feel for national-level competition. Nearly 2,000 athletes are in attendance, representing all 32 regional series. SVSEF is part of the third largest series in the country, and the quality of riders that are making an appearance at nationals is being noticed.
SVSEF athletes are doing well across the board, scattered as they are throughout various disciplines. There have been a number of top 10s, lots of kids landing runs, working really hard, and learning from the experience.
Competition began April 2 and continues through April 6. Maddie Hothem rode to 12th place in the halfpipe Breaker Girls (12-13) category, in a field of 26. Zoe Bacca finished 14th in the same age class. Olive Gilbert secured 23rd in the halfpipe in her Menehune (10-11) age class. Jack Verhaeghe finished 13th in Menehune (10-11) boardercross, and Caleb Hothem was 30th in the field of 63. Nico Lerner finished 17th in Grommet (8-9) boys in the halfpipe.
Payton Bacca, who is competing in the NorAm class against top-level U.S. and international athletes, rode to the boardercross small final, finishing eighth overall. Phebe Ericksen had a big result, grabbing a second place finish in the halfpipe Junior Women (16-17) age bracket in a field of 14. Coach Andy Gilbert observed that “it’s been a long time coming for Phebe – it was really cool to see someone with such a great attitude and work ethic be so successful. She had great amplitude on her air, and she’s been pushing really hard to learn some new tricks at the end of the season; it has certainly paid off.”
Competition continues tomorrow with slopestyle and halfpipe.
Full results here
 

CROSS COUNTRY

Gold Team

The Cross Country Gold Team finished out their season up in Fairbanks, Alaska, at the SuperTour Finals. Following the skiathlon, athletes competed in a skate sprint on March 29. Matt Gelso made it to semifinals and ended up seventh overall. Cole Morgan made heats and finished 30th overall. In the women’s race, all SVSEF Gold Team women advanced to heats. Kelsey Phinney advanced to the finals and had a strong finish in fifth. Annie Pokorny skied to 14th overall, while Mary Rose was 23rd and Deedra Irwin 25th.
A mixed 4x5km relay followed sprints; SVSEF’s team of Annie Pokorny, Matt Gelso, Kelsey Phinney and Cole Morgan finished sixth overall in a field of 24 teams.
The final event of the week was a mass start skate race, with distances of 50 and 30 kilometers for men and women. Rogan Brown was the top SVSEF male finisher in 13th. He was followed by Cole Morgan in 22nd and Jack Hegman in 36th. Matt Gelso did not start. Mary Rose was the top SVSEF female finisher, just missing the top 10 in 11th. Annie Pokorny wasn’t far behind in 14th and Deedra Irwin finished 22nd. Kelsey Phinney did not start.
Full results here
 

ALPINE

FIS

FIS athletes are in the midst of competition at Mammoth, fresh off of strong results at Nationals. Athletes have completed one giant slalom and one slalom event; they continue with one more giant slalom and slalom and two super G races.
John Blackburn and Yuri McClure broke the top 10 in the first giant slalom, finishing sixth and ninth. Both athletes again made the cut in the second GS, going seventh and tenth. Filippo Collini was just out of the top 10 in 11th. SVSEF had a nice string of finishes in the top 20 as well, with Spencer Wright, Will Snyder and Max Noddings going 15-16-17. Haley Cutler was fifth in the women’s first slalom and ninth in the second. Teammate Erin Smith finished eighth in the second slalom.
Results here
 
 

USSA

Qualified SVSEF athletes competed at U16 Nationals at Sugarloaf in Maine, March 31-April 3. Athletes competed in super G, slalom and giant slalom. A giant slalom scheduled for April 4 was cancelled.
A highlight of the event was Alli Rathfon’s third place overall title, following a seventh place finish in the super G and a spot on the podium in second in the giant slalom. Ryder Sarchett also had standout results in his age class, taking first for U14s in the super G and slalom, and second in the giant slalom.
Lily Fitzgerald’s top finish was fourth place in the giant slalom, and Maddie Ferris’ best result was in the slalom in 22nd.
In the slalom, Bennett Snyder narrowly missed the podium in fourth. Jack Smith had a stellar race and finished 10th. Ryder Sarchett had his best result of the week, finishing 19th, as did Wyatt Barth in 24th. Jack Smith’s best came in the super G, where he finished fourth overall.
Super G – Women
Super G – Men
Slalom – Women
Slalom – Men
Giant Slalom – Women
Giant Slalom – Men

All disciplines

The Gary Black Jr. Memorial, formerly known as the Hobson Memorial, took place on Sunday, April 2 and invited SVSEF of all disciplines to compete in a dual style slalom and end the day with a BBQ and awards. Athletes came decked out in costumes of all sorts; fitting for an end-of-the-season celebration under bluebird skies.
Jessica Blackburn and Ben Goitiandia were the overall winners for the day. Tommy Normand received the 2017 Cheeso Mountain Kidd Award. Full results can be found here.
David Concannon took more than 700 photos of the event and is willing to share with parents and friends of SVSEF.  Please feel free to reach out to him at david@explorerconsulting.com to see if he captured your son or daughter at the Gary Black Jr. Memorial.
Full results forthcoming.