Arritola wins Owl Creek Chase in Aspen
Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation Gold Teamer Morgan Arritola, 25, was back in fine form Sunday winning the 21-kilometer (13.0-mile) mass start freestyle Owl Creek Chase race at Aspen, Colo. The hilly terrain suited the racing strengths of Arritola, who prevailed by nearly four minutes over Lenka Palanova, with SVSEF teammates Chelsea Holmes third 4:48 behind and Alexa Turzian fourth overall. Bozeman's Leif Zimmermann captured his first men's 21k Owl Creek Chase race over the SVSEF Gold Team's Matt Gelso, a University of Colorado alum. On Saturday, Gelso won the Aspen 10k classic race by 13.4 seconds over Zimmermann and Holmes won the women's 5k classic in a photo finish over Rosie Brennan (APU), with Turzian coming home fourth.
Rotarun's Slush Cup in Saturday
Alpine skiers ages 12-and-under will run courses at Hailey's family-friendly Rotarun Ski Area Saturday, Feb. 18 for the annual Slush Cup races.
Older racers will compete on the longer race course, and 6-and-under on a shorter one. Awards will be given to all participants as well as special recognition for the fastest. Register is Saturday from 8:30-9:30 a.m., with racing at 10 a.m. The $15 fee includes a lift ticket.
Volunteers are needed for the Slush Cup. Call Erik 788-1350 or email HYPERLINK "mailto:rotarunskiarea@gmail.com" rotarunskiarea@gmail.com.
Youth wrestling sign-ups
Sign-ups for the Wood River Youth Wrestling Club will take place Thursday, Feb. 16 from 5-6:30 p.m. at Hailey's Wood River Middle School. Wrestlers of all abilities, ages 5-14, are invited to attend and must provide proof of insurance. The cost is $35. Practices will take place in the Wood River High School wrestling room. Tournament opportunities are available in March for those wrestlers who are interested. Please contact Scott Castle at 720-1635 with any questions.
Alpine racers run Snowbird FIS slalom
Ten Sun Valley alpine ski racers competed with nearly 90 other Intermountain Division entrants in the Snowbird FIS slaloms Saturday and Sunday on Wilbere Ridge Race Hill in the Utah resort.
Top placings in J1 (ages 17-18): Tanner Dirstine 11th overall (10-J1); Colin Waycott 39th (19-J1); and Connor Farrow 51st (24-J1). Top placings in J2 (15-16): William Harder 18th (5-J2); Cole Caulkins 21st (7-J2); Tanner Josey 25th (11-J2); Garrett Lodge 26th (10-J2); Logan Shipley 43rd (22-J2); Jordan Fitzgerald 18th (13-J2); and Sofia DeWolfe 22nd (15-J2).
Scandinavian Cup cross-country skiing
Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation cross-country skier Mike Sinnott, 27, finished as the top American, in 36th place overall out of 87 finishers with a 39:46 time, in Sunday's Scandinavian Cup 15-kilometer classic race at Albu, Estonia. Others from Sun Valley: Cole Morgan, 17, 63rd in 41:43, the sixth American, and former SVSEF racer Max Christman, 19, of Bend, Ore. 77th in 42:47.
In Saturday's classic sprint, Sinnott also led the U.S. way in 31st place. His best result on the current Scandinavian Cup was sixth in men's sprint freestyle Feb. 8 at Madona, Latvia.
Papoose Club gears up for Quigley Cup, Kindercup
The Papoose Club community service organization will sponsor two free kids' events the next few weeks.
Snow conditions permitting, the sixth annual Quigley Cup cross-country ski event (skate/classic disciplines) is Sunday, Feb. 26 for kids ages 3-13 at Quigley Nordic Center located at the end of Fox Acres Rd., Hailey. Registration is from 10-10:30 a.m. with racing at 11 a.m.
The 56th annual Kindercup alpine ski races for the same age group are Saturday, March 10 on Dollar Mountain.
"Ducks in the Snow" Feb. 17
The University of Oregon has announced that "Ducks in the Snow" will be held Feb. 17-19 in Sun Valley. Events include a visit from Rob Mullens, Oregon's athletic director, and Steve Greatwood, offensive line coach of the Pac-12 champion and Rose Bowl football champion Ducks. It is a fundraiser for the Cowboy Duck Scholarship in memory of Tyler Felton. He was a native Idahoan and a long-time resident of Sun Valley who passed away two years ago. After his death a scholarship was established to help a football player from Idaho attend the University of Oregon.
On Friday there will be a free event open to the public at Whiskey Jacques in Ketchum, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Highlights include Oregon game and sportswear raffle items and a chance to talk with Mullens, Greatwood and Hailey's Tom Drougas, a former Oregon and NFL player inducted into Oregon's Hall of Fame in 2010.
Leif's Combined Race returns Saturday, Feb. 18
The Sun Valley Ski Club has revived its Leif's Combined Race held in memory of Sun Valley cross-country ski legend Leif Odmark. It is set for Saturday, Feb. 18 with two categories, alpine and telemark (snowboarders welcome). The combined event starts with one giant slalom run down Baldy's Cozy ski run, then once or twice around a 2.5-kilometer ski loop at Sun Valley Nordic Center. Fee in advance is $25, if paid by Feb. 17 at the Warm Springs Lodge Race Desk or Sun Valley Nordic at Sun Valley Clubhouse. Your race bib serves as a lift ticket on the Greyhawk lift. Call 622-3003.
Night racing at Rotarun
Thirty-two children and adults took part in Friday's Edward Jones dual giant slalom race under the lights at Hailey's Rotarun Ski Area. It was the second in the four-race Friday night racing series presented by Rotarun and 5B Garage, through Feb. 24. On-site sign-ups are from 5-6 p.m. Fridays, with racing at 6:30 p.m.
Top five kids last Friday were Buey Grossman 39.43 seconds, Bailey Holter 39.90, Reilly Neel 46.50, Bryce Foster 47.06 and Charlotte Woodham 47.70. Top adults were Jimmy Grossman 35.33, Jesse Foster 36.28, Jason Miller 36.65, Pete Watkins 40.01 and Caleb Baukol 40.11. Fastest snowboarder was Bryce Gillespie 50.72 seconds.
WRHS spring sports parent, player meeting is today
Wood River High School athletic director John Rade announced that the 2012 spring sports parent player meeting has been rescheduled for today, Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 6 p.m. meeting in the high school commons area, Hailey. That includes baseball, cheerleading, golf, softball, tennis and track. Practices start Feb. 24.
Volleyball Club fund-raiser is Saturday
To raise money for the Wood River Volleyball Club, there is a reverse coed 4-on-4 fundraising tournament planned for Saturday, Feb. 18 at the Community School gym in Sun Valley. Captains' meeting is at 8:30 a.m. with tournament play at 9 a.m. There will be pool play in the morning. Cost is $20 per player for the second annual meet. You are guaranteed four matches. Teams must have at least two women. Contact Kristyn at HYPERLINK "mailto:krutland12@gmail.com" krutland12@gmail.com for info.
B+ Hockey results
Reed Stokes scored a three-goal hat trick leading Hutch's Bad Dogs past Islanders 7-4 in Sunday's B+ Hockey League action at Sun Valley Skating Center. Josh Green added two goals and the winners also got singles from Ned Burns and Lucy Chubb. Will Hemmings scored a pair for the Islanders and Jay Hedrick had one goal.
Aardvarks outscored Sharks 6-2 behind two goals apiece by Jeff Ballou, Chris Peterson and John Riley. Pete Prekeges and Nic Thomas scored for Sharks. In another game, Vipers blanked Flounders 2-0 behind two goals by Terry Crawford.
Crab feed for WRHS football
The Wood River High School football program is holding an all-you-can-eat fundraising crab feed on Saturday, Feb. 25 from 4-9 p.m. at the high school in Hailey. Cost is $30 per person. Buy your tickets at the high school in Hailey or at these other locations: River Run Auto Parts in Ketchum; Shelley's Deli in Hailey; and Mahoney's and Cowboy Coffee in Bellevue.
