It's been a whirlwind of races and results for Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation athletes in the past three weeks. Here are highlights for skiers in various disciplines.
J3 Junior Olympics at Squaw
With nine athletes competing at Squaw Valley, Ca., the SVSEF has dispatched one of its biggest group of qualifiers in years to the J3 Junior Olympics for the top 13-14 year-old Western Division alpine ski racers.
Here are recent results for super giant slalom, giant slalom and slalom events that have attracted 92 boys and 78 girls to the California hill:
Girls: Jordan Fitzgerald 10-SG/18-SL; Samantha Busby 16-SG/23-SL; Haley Cutler 20-SG/8-SL; Madison Milgard 59-SG/56-SL.
Boys: William Harder 7-SG/13-GS; Tanner Josey 13-SG/16-GS; Taylor Cooper 40-SG/45-GS; Austin Savaria 49-SG/68-GS; Jay Fitzgerald DNF-SG/47-GS.
Fink-Debray in Whistler Nor-Ams
SVSEF Olympic Development Team racer Miles Fink-Debray, 22, has been racing against some of the best North American men in a series of Nor-Am races at Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. His best results March 15-20 were: 9th of 88 in giant slalom March 16, 13th GS March 15, 7th of 68 in SG March 19, and 12th super combined March 20.
Park City Devo Tech Series
Harlan Collins, Tanner Farrow and Connor Farrow posted podium results during the Park City (Utah) Devo Tech Series March 17-20.
Collins popped a fifth-place giant slalom result Sunday, the second J1 (ages 17-19). Tanner Farrow's best overall slalom finish was third Thursday, and he was the second J1 in both slaloms. Connor Farrow was the top J2 (ages 15-16) Thursday, in eighth place overall, and he was third in his age class in the Friday slalom.
Here are other top results:
Women: Petra Zeiler 22nd/9th J2 SL; Sofia DeWolfe 24th/14th J2 SL; and Reta Flynt 26th/7th J1 SL.
Men: KJ Savaria 12th/4th J2 SL; Ben Kanellitsas 20th/9th J2 SL; Logan Shipley 38th/23rd J2 SL; Tanner Dirstine 30th/15th J1 GS; and Taylor Adler 39th/24th J2 SL
Nordic Junior Nationals in Minnesota
New England was the dominant team during the USSA Marriott Cross Country Junior National Championships March 7-12 at Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis, Minn.
In the final 10-team Alaska Cup standings, New England (1636 points) outdistanced Alaska (1208), Midwest (933) and fourth-place Intermountain (784, 300 in J2, 260 J1 and 224 OJ). The SVSEF sent 17 athletes on the Intermountain squad.
Breaking down the points, the SVSEF placed eighth of 93 club teams with 444 points. The Wood River High School girls were fifth overall with 699 points behind Stratton Mountain School (877). The WRHS boys stood at 12th with 185.
Top individual finish for the SVSEF was Annie Pokorny's second place of 33 Older Junior (OJ) girls in the March 11 5-kilometer freestyle interval start race. Pokorny (12:45) was 51 seconds off the winning pace of Midwest's Jessie Diggins (11:54).
Also in the March 11 skate races: Max Christman 10th and Daniel Sundali 11th of 55 skiers in OJ men 10k; Sloan Storey 20th of 75 in J1 girls' 5k; and Maggie Williams 4th of 59 J2 girls, just 23 seconds off the top time.
Pokorny earned fifth place in the March 9 mass start classic OJ event over 10k, just 57 seconds back. Other placings: Williams 6th of 59 J2 girls, 41 seconds back; Storey 11th of 75 J1 girls, 58 seconds back; Scotty Phelan 15th of 53 OJ men at 15k and Christman 18th; Torin Tucker 30th J1 at 15k; Stephen Pfeiffer 34th J2 at 5k.
Western Region Junior Championships
Sun Valley put an athlete on the podium every day for six straight days at the Western Region Junior Championships March 8-13 at Bogus Basin Ski Area north of Boise.
Top finishes for boys and girls:
Sierra Fox 2nd overall super giant slalom; Amanda Stelling 1st J2 SG, giant slalom and slalom; Tanner Farrow 1st overall SL, 3rd overall SG; Connor Farrow 2nd J2 SG and GS; Harlan Collins 5th overall SL and 3rd overall GS; Ben Kanellitsas 2nd J2 GS; and Tanner Dirstine 21st GS.
Freestyle Junior Nationals
SVSEF Freestyle program director Andy Ware said the 2011 Junior Nationals at Steamboat Springs, Colo. was a great opportunity for the Sun Valley kids to experience top-level competition and see how they stacked up against the best U.S. athletes.
Highlight was F1 Hannah Haupt becoming the 2011 women's halfpipe champion. Trevor Hattabaugh finished 12th overall and the 5th M2 in men's halfpipe. Alysha Herich was 9th F3 in halfpipe, Parker Nance 2nd F4 in HP and 3rd F4 in slopestyle. Trevor Norris, 15, was 37th and the 14th M2 in the moguls competition.
Others competing were Ben Parker, River Kelly, Morgan Shaver, Claire Siderman, Tanner Bringhurst, Joey Richardson and RJ Bracken.
Mini World Cup
The SVSEF C Home Team conducted its final race of the Mini World Cup Series, a super combined event March 12 (1 run super giant slalom and 1 run slalom). Awards will be held at the Hobson Memorial today. Top finishers, combined times:
Boys: 1—Jake Blackburn 71.12 seconds. 2—Wyatt Minor 75.28. 3—Will Griffith 75.87. 4—Charlie Stumph 76.14. 5—Bennett Snyder 79.93. Girls: 1—Lily Fitzgerald 73.49. 2—Maddie Ferris 74.40. 3—Libby Kaiser 79.03. 4—Alli Rathfon 79.58. 5—Alyssa Ritzel 80.87. Teams: 1—USA 1511.5 points. 2—Austria 1336. 3—Canada 1084.
