Nordic racers succeed in Norway, Aspen
Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation Olympic Development Team racers and other alumni posted solid results during races last weekend in Norway and at Aspen, Colo.
In Europa Cup classic races Saturday at Beitostolen, Norway, Ketchum's Morgan Arritola skied to a respectable 12th place—the second U.S. woman—in a loaded women's field. Usually a sprinter, Simi Hamilton had a breakthrough 19th place out of 486 skiers. He was the top North American.
The Aspen Nordic Ski Festival featured SuperTour classic racing Saturday at men's 10-kilometer and women's 5k distances, and the 21k (13 miles) Owl Creek Chase Sunday.
In the SuperTour 10k event, University of Colorado's Reid Pletcher (27:41) earned his first-ever college victory in third place of 81 finishers behind 2011 Boulder Ski Tour winner Sylvan Ellefson of Vail (27:15). Mike Sinnott (30:43) was 33rd. In the women's 5k won by CU's Joanne Reid (15:35), SVSEF racer Nicole DeYong (16:04) was ninth of 99 racers, Denver University's McKayla Cappel 16th (16:35), CU's Alexa Turzian 45th (17:54) and University of Utah's Mali Noyes 57th (18:46).
Sylvan Ellefson (57:03) also won Sunday's Owl Creek Chase with Pletcher 11th (1.00:05) and Sinnott 14th of 39 racers (1.00:46). Utah's Maria Graefnings (1.05:44) led 20 women, followed by DeYong (1.08:03) sixth, Turzian ninth (1.08:40) and Cappel 20th (1.12:04).
Arkoosh Cup for kids is Saturday at Rotarun
The 45th Arkoosh Cup is Saturday, Feb. 19 at Rotarun Ski Area west of Hailey. The event was established in 1966 as a way to thank the Arkoosh family for "the magnificent asset they provided our community," said Joan Davies of the Rotarun Ski Club. Starting time is 10:30 a.m. with registration at the Hailey slope three miles west of town opening at 8:30 a.m. Age categories for boys and girls are 4-and-under and 5-6, and, for Non-Ski-Team and Ski Team divisions, there are 7-8, 9-10 and 11-12 classes. Registration fee for all divisions is $15. There will be trophies. Call 788-6204 or 788-2348.
WR Youth Wrestling Club registration is Monday
Sign-ups for the Wood River Youth Wrestling Club will be Monday, Feb. 21 at 6 p.m. followed by the first practices in the Wood River High School wrestling room, Hailey.
Wrestlers of all abilities, ages 5-13, are invited to attend and must provide proof of insurance. The cost is $35. Tournament opportunities are available in March for those wrestlers who are interested. Contact Scott Castle at 720-1635 with questions.
Mites hockey in Idaho Falls
Sun Valley Youth Hockey Mites (ages 7-8) coached by Peter Whitehead, Tizz Miller and Billy Sprong went 4-1 during last weekend's Idaho Falls Mites Invitational tourney. The local kids won their games by scores of 15-1, 9-0 and 15-1, and dropped a 7-3 game to Bozeman (Mt.). Weekend scoring totals: Fletcher Stumph 9 goals/0 assists; D.J. Gralenski 8/2; Huck Sprong 8/0; Seamus O'Connell 6/0; Slater Whitehead 4/3; Alex Daves 3/2; Colby Speth 1/1; Deke Burrell 1/0; Alex Lengyel 1/0; and Tuffer Manning 1/0. Also skating for the Mites were Owen Miller and Jake Rushton.
Bowl-o-Rama for Big Brothers and Sisters is Saturday
Wood River High School student Deven Duke as her senior project is holding a fund-raising "Bowl-o-Rama" for the Big Brothers, Big Sisters youth mentoring organization of Southwest Idaho. It is Saturday, Feb. 19 at Mountain Sun Lanes, Bellevue.
The event will feature four-member teams competing against each other, along with raffle prizes and food. The cost is $44 per team, which works out to $11 per person for three games of bowling and shoes. There are two sessions. The session for kids up to age 15 begins Saturday at 12 noon. The session for adults 16-and-up starts Saturday at 5 p.m.
If you can't bowl Saturday, stop by the organization's office at The Community Campus in Hailey to make a contribution to the cause. For details, contact Duke at 721-1004 or duke.deven@gmail.com
Softball clinic Feb. 19
The high school softball season doesn't begin until Feb. 25, but the Wood River High School team as part of team member Josie Dawson's senior project is presenting a one-day softball fundamentals clinic on Saturday, Feb. 19 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It is designed for girls in grades 5-8. Location is the high school gym in Hailey. Admission fee is $10 per person, with proceeds to the high school softball team. Each participant will receive a t-shirt. Call Dawson at 720-9386 or coach Dale Martin at 720-5133 for more information.
Batting cage open in Hailey
The Blaine County Recreation District will have its gym and batting cage at The Community Campus in Hailey open to the public on Saturdays from 3-5 p.m. starting Feb. 19. There is a $5 drop-in fee, 578-5458.
Youth baseball training
The Sawtooth Baseball Academy is conducting a spring program for area 10U and 12U (70-foot) players. The $85 program will consist of individual and team instruction, as well as four consecutive Saturday double-headers beginning April 16. Visit sawtoothbaseball.com for details.
Senior Hockey update
Morgan's Fine Finishes kept climbing out of the basement and tied SV.com for third place last Tuesday with a 4-2 victory over SV.com. Morgan's had to mount a comeback to do it, since Matt Ward gave SV.com a 2-0 lead in the first period on assists from Ryan Enrico (2) and Shannon Flavin. Dave Hennessy got one back for Morgan's in the second, then Hennessy's second goal tied it 2-2 in the third. Steve Marcone pushed home the eventual winner, and John Stevens added an empty-net tally.
Yoga College issued only the third loss to Grumpy's/SV Auto Club 5-0 as Yoga goalie Cody Levitan stood on his head. It was 3-0 after one period. Yoga goals came from Tate Mills (2), Taylor Rothgeb, Brad Dredge and Don Saver.
Standings are Grumpy's 8-3, Yoga 6-5, SV.com 4-7and Morgan's Fine Finishes 4-7.
B, B+ Hockey results
Results reported from Sunday's senior hockey games at Sun Valley Skating Center:
Vipers 2, Hutch's Bad Dogs 1: Tim Jeneson and John Riley scored for Vipers, assisted by Dan Gorham and John Cortum. Doug Wilson had the Bad Dogs goal, assists to Kipp Mills and Mark Elsbree;
Sharks 5, Rangers 2: Scoring single goals for the Sharks were Annie O'Sullivan, Danny Thomas, Jeremy Fryberger, Gary Norbom and Dave McCormack, assists to Thomas, Fryberger, Norbom and Curt Martin. Pete Prekeges tallied a pair of Rangers goals, John Heinrich and Dave Thomas credited with assists;
Isles 9, Senators 3: Leading the Isles scoring parade was Eric Wingard (2 goals), singles by Sheila and Anthony Naghsh, Jim Slanetz, Jay Hedrick, Ryan Laughy, Todd Avison and Jeff Ballou. Nats goals came from Merri and Gunnar Whitehead, and John Ellison Jr.
Coyotes 10, Hawks 5;
Flyers 2, Blues 0.
