Current Intermountain Division alpine ski racers remembered one of the best juniors of another generation when the 16th annual Laura Flood Memorial gate races were held Saturday through Monday on Baldy.
The Intermountain Division A and J1/J2 event was primarily a showcase for the J2 (ages 15-16) class. Local racers representing the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation, Ketchum Alpine Racing and the Hailey Ski Team did well.
Miles Fink-Debray, an independent, won the J1 (ages 17-18) class in Saturday's men's giant slalom and was third behind Hailey Ski Team pacesetters Robin Sarchett, 31, and Nathan Schwing, 26. The top three times were Sarchett's 1:34.24 followed by Schwing's 1:35.41 and Fink-Debray's 1:35.75.
On Monday, Sarchett (1:30.93), J1 winner Fink-Debray (1:32.22) and Sun Valley's Biche Rudigoz (1:32.62) went 1-2-3 in the men's GS.
Earning podiums were J2s Soren Ireland with thirds in GS and slalom, and Tristan Brown second place in Sunday's SL. Brown was third overall among just 24 two-run finishers, .09 seconds out of the lead.
Making the Flood podium among Monday's J1 men were Ben Luck and Bruce Newcomb, placing 2-3.
Among women Sun Valley's Lauren Parsons was second among J1s in Saturday's slalom and Sunday's GS, then she added a J1 second-place result in Monday's series-ending GS.
The Laura Flood combined winners for 2006, both representing Utah's Rowmark Ski Academy, were Courtney Carmichael and Andrew Phillips.
Second-year J1 (ages 17-18) Carmichael won Saturday's SL by 2.33 seconds and placed second overall in both GSs. Phillips, a second-year J2, won the men's slalom Sunday and was fourth and fifth in GS.
In all, 97 racers competed from Idaho, Wyoming and Utah including 29 from local clubs. Snow greeted Saturday's field, but the skies cleared for Sunday's races held on Cozy and Hemingway/Greyhawk. On Monday, it snowed again for a smaller field.
Flood, a Ketchum resident, was an outstanding Sun Valley racer who died in 1990 at the age of 19.
Here are local class placings by race from the Laura Flood Memorial:
J1 men: Miles Fink-Debray 1-GS/1-GS; Matthew Preucil 3-SL/5-GS; Corey Bellinger 4-GS; Bryce Newcomb 5-GS/3-GS; Ben Luck 6-GS/2-GS; Derek Blash 7-GS/4-SL/7-GS; and John David Davidson 4-GS.
J1 women: Lauren Parsons 2-SL/2-GS/2-GS; Laura Speck 7-SL/9-GS/7-GS; McKenna Peterson 8-GS; and Amanda Alexander 10-GS/4-GS.
J2 men: Soren Ireland 3-GS/3-SL/7-GS; Tristan Brown 4-GS/2-SL/4-GS; Travis Stone 14-GS/8-SL; Ryon Campbell 15-GS/9-SL/10-GS; Michael Greer 13-GS/10-SL; Tom Johanson 11-SL/14-GS; Bo Brown 27-GS/17-SL; Scott Isaacs 18-GS/20-GS; Toby Eagan 19-GS/17-GS; and Jack Reidy 28-GS.
J2 women: Katie Rothgeb 4-SL/7-GS/5-GS; Shanny Cohen 10-SL/5-GS/10-GS; Alexis duPont 12-SL/14-GS/9-GS; Grayson Palmer 13-SL/8-GS; and Alisa Durkheimer 13-GS/13-GS.
Proud Flood Memorial racers, from left, Soren Ireland, Teton Brown and Ben Luck. Photo by Willy Cook
