Watanabe pulls off SBX podium in Argentina
Olympic gold medalist Seth Wescott, 33, of Sugarloaf, Me. and X Games silver medalist Graham Watanabe, 27, of Hailey have put themselves in line to make the U.S. snowboardcross (SBX) Olympic team for the Vancouver Games.
The 2006 U.S. Olympic teammates finished second and third in the first World Cup of the snowboardcross season Saturday, Sept. 12 on the Pradera del Puma course at Chapelco, Argentina.
Winning Saturday's men's race for 51 men from 25 nations (32 in the finals) was Pierre Vaultier of France. The event was the first in a series of five 2010 Olympic team qualification events for the SBX competitors.
The bronze medal went to the 5-6, 150-pound Wood River High School graduate who built a lot of speed and consistency during the 2009 season. Watanabe said the podium finish makes him hungrier to land a spot on the Olympic team.
Watanabe said, "I'm by no means backing off. It's certainly a good start, but having as strong a team as we have, there is no room for stretching out. I'm going to be pumping it just as hard at every race. I'll to keep knocking down podiums to solidify that spot."
Despite his success, Watanabe remains consistent.
"I'm really trying hard right now to keep the focus the same as it's always been and take every race one by one. I just really want to perform at the top of my game at every race.
"To come into this race hoping for a podium and get it it's really nice. It all just feels like destiny. Stuff is really coming together well. This is like the fifth year that I have been doing SBX and it just feels right.
Maelle Ricker of Canada won the 30-rider women's race (16 making the finals), followed by Bulgaria's Alexandra Jekova in second and Canadian Dominique Maltais in third.
U.S. hopeful Lindsey Jacobellis was looking primed to dominate when a first-round crash took her out of the running and into ninth place.
Hank Dart finishes Wasatach Front 100-mile enduro
Hailey's Hank Dart, 42, finished 19th overall in the Sept. 11-12 Wasatch Front 100-Mile Endurance Run with a time of 25 hours and 34 minutes. He was the 17th man overall in a two-day run from Layton to Midway, Utah. It featured 26,882 feet of elevation gain and 26,131 feet of elevation loss. There were 245 starters led by Geoff Roes, 33, of Douglas, Ak. in 18.30:55, and 156 finishers.
Rim-to-Rim Run in Twin Falls Saturday, Sept. 19
Habitat for Humanity benefits from the annual Rim-to-Rim run and walk Saturday, Sept. 19 in the Snake River canyon at Twin Falls.
The 7.5-mile scenic and challenging course starts at Blue Lakes Country Club's Bass Lake and climbs the Blue Lakes grade, crossing the Perrine Bridge. It winds down the Canyon Springs grade to the golf course area on the south side of the Snake River, where it crosses a footbridge and finishes at Bass Lake.
A $100 "Dash for Cash" prize goes to the fastest man and woman to the top of Blue Lakes grade. Plus, there is a $50 cash prize for the fastest male and female finisher. And there will be prizes for the fastest male and female walkers. Fee is $45, with sign-ups at spondoro.com.
Hole-in-one at Sun Valley
Steve Fleming recorded a hole-in-one Sunday, Sept. 13 on the Sun Valley Resort's second hole of the White Cloud course. He used a 9-iron from the White Tees on the 124-yard par-3. Witness was Michelle Fix.
Top teams in Bellevue Labor Day 5-on-5 Basketball
Tournament organizer Tammy Schofield on Thursday released the names of players on the top two teams in the Bellevue Labor Day 5-on-5 Basketball Tournament.
On the winning DP Team from Burley were Anthony Curiel, Sheldon Lara, Taylor Wilson, Tyler Clark, Gary Coupman and Brandon Gomez.
On the second-place The Murk Show from the Wood River Valley were Keaton Sturges, Buddy Peterson, David Sibrian, Danny Sibrian, Joel Perron, Reno Christino, Bryan Tidwell, Bryson Hollenbeck and Mike Bellamy.
Jon Francis Race to Alturas
Here are results of the Jon Francis Race to Alturas 5-kilometer run on Saturday, Aug. 22 at Luther Heights Bible Camp north of Ketchum. Winners were Joshua Olsen (21:03) and Joanna Kraft (25:04):
1—Joshua Olsen, 17, 21:03. 2—Cameron McCue, 14, 22:04. 3—Nicholas Reedy, 20, 23:45. 4—Alex Clegg, 10, 23:48. 5—Edgar Newstadt, 38, 23:53. 6—Jeff Clegg, 44, 24:34. 7—Joanna Kraft, 18, 25:04. 8—Michelle Chandler, 26, 25:11. 9—Aaron Lindemann, 35, 25:36. 10—SR Burton, 58, 26:09.
11—Ian DuVall, 23, 26:35. 12—Debbie Newstadt, 32, 27:13. 13—Daniel Foregger, 24, 27:39. 14—James Teply, 34, 28:07. 15—Jorgen Vaage, 15, 28:08. 16—Ezra Thomas Jones, 42, 29:10. 17—Ken Maroney, 43, 30:23. 18—Anne Jeffery, 60, 30:36. 19—Mary Helen Green, 49, 31:51. 19—Bart Green, 51, 31:51.
21—Jack Sept, 60, 32:01. 22—Amanda Olsen, 16, 32:34. 23—Katie Thompson, 42, 32:42. 24—Chris Wilmes, 46, 32:45. 25—Jayneann Burton, 29, 33:42. 26—Megan Annis, 14, 34:18. 27—Forrest Ridgway, 20, 36:49. 28—Elise Ridgway, 22, 36:55. 29—Debra Hummel, 34, 37:01. 30—Jessica Denen, 29, 37:35.
31—Erika Thompson, 13, 38:56. 32—Shawna Thompson, 15, 42:52. 33—Teresa Barnes, 16, 42:56. 34—Jacob Barton, 22, 44:10. 35—Libby Driebergen, 25, 45:54. 36—Caryl Bauwens, 25, 45:57. 37—Jana Smith, 23, 45:58. 38—Dawn Teply, 32, 50:09. 39—Elisabeth Ridgway, 51, 50:10. DNF—Cristina Bistricean, Micah Drew, Steve Moore, Ken Briggs, Tessa Nixon, Bob Firman.
Hockey skating skills classes
Instructor Dawn Peterson (720-1795) is giving a series of Hockey Skating Skills classes for ages five-and-up at Sun Valley Outdoor Rink on five consecutive Mondays starting at 3 p.m. The dates are Sept. 21 and 28, Oct. 5, 12 and 19. The group classes (limited to 5-8 skaters) take 25 minutes and are divided by skating levels. Equipment is required—hockey helmet and stick. Contact her at dmpsunvalley@yahoo.com.
Plans set for Baldy Hill Climb
The 31st annual Baldy Hill Climb will again include both hiking and mountain biking events on Saturday, Sept. 26.
The "Cheeso Baldy Double," named in honor of the late Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF) coach Craig "Cheeso" Kjesbo, features a mountain bike race to the top of Baldy followed by a hiking race to the top.
The traditional hike to the summit will ascend the Warm Springs side of Baldy with the recreational class starting at 10 a.m. and the racing class starting at 11 a.m. Sept. 26.
Mountain bikers will ascend the Cold Springs Perimeter Trail with a start from St. Luke's Hospital at 9 a.m. You must finish the mountain bike portion by 10:30 a.m. to download in time for the start of the hike. Organizers will transport a bag from the start of the bike to the start of the hike for you.
The children's event called "KinderClimb," for kids 11-and-younger will be held at 9:30 a.m. in Warm Springs.
Pre-register online at spondoro.com. Forms will also be available at Sturtevants in Ketchum and Hailey, and The Elephant's Perch and Backwoods Mountain Sports in Ketchum. Register early to avoid an extra charge.
Race day registration for the "KinderClimb" and the hiking classes will open at 7:30 a.m. Sept. 26 at the SVSEF Warm Springs Office above Apple's
Bar & Grill. Race day registration for the mountain bike event opens at 7.30 a.m. at The St Luke's Hospital parking lot two miles south of Ketchum. There will be an awards party following the races at Apple's.
Last year there were 228 finishers to the top—111 hiking nd 81 racing. Miles Fink-Debray (37:29) was the men's winner for a third straight year, with Hether Holter (48:25) pacing the women. Hiking winners were Jennifer Schwartz and David Currier, while Bill Nurge and Rebecca Rusch captured the first-ever Baldy Double titles.
Results from Saturday's MS Run
Wood River Community YMCA spokesman Liz Clark said Saturday's 5-kilometer walk and run conducted by the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Idaho raised over $15,000 for the MS Society. Here are results for Saturday's 5k run, held for a second straight year:
1—Scott Tucker, 47, 19:29. 2—Tiffany Larson, 42, 21:02. 3—Laurie Luft, 54, 26:55. 4—Cyndy Garvin, 56, 28:31. 5—Sarah Lipton, 25, 29:05. 6—Katie Matteson, 25, 29:06. 7—Braden Buchanan, 5, 29:19. 8—Pat Buchanan, 32, 29:47. 9—Sarah Torres, 36, 30:27. 10—Suzanne Buchanan, 31, 30:44.
11—Jim Ballas, 62, 33:41. 12—Thomas Gillespie, 11, 33:43. 13—Kristin Fullerton, 33, 33:54. 14—Emily Gillespie, 15, 35:21. 15—Ellen Gillespie, 44, 35:22. 16—Dena Bauchman, 52, 37:52. 17—Stephanie Johnson, 36, 45:22. 18—Alex Lengyel, 6, 45:23.
Match play crowns Valley Club champs
Quality golf highlighted the final matches of the 14th Valley Club championships staged Sept. 11-13.
Match play determined the champions with 16 players in the men's bracket and five in the women's bracket. Both championships were played at scratch with the men playing from the Gold Tees and the women from the White Tees.
Repeating his 2001 men's championship was Carmen Bradley 3&2 over runner-up Rico Albright. In the semi-finals Bradley defeated Dave Cropper and Albright prevailed 2&1 over Todd Conklin.
Other men's quarterfinalists were Phil O'Reilly, Colin George, Larry Lloyd and Jack Dies. Rounding out the bracket were Neil Bradshaw, Baird Gourlay, Whit Atkinson, Dave Hennessy, Chris Stephens, Phil Hebert, Kurt Funkhouser and Steve Miner.
Marilyn Celano successfully defended her 2008 women's title on the 17th hole of the finals 2&1 over former club champion Suzanne Finch Williams. Semi-finalists were Kristen O'Reilly and Laurrine McGowan. Also playing was Elma Cannavino.
Next at The Valley Club are the Senior (55-and-over) and Super Senior (70-and-over) Championships for men and women Sept. 17-18.
