Johanna Olson passes away at 33
Johanna Olson, 33, the pride of Wadena, Minn. and a brave, inspirational person who had battled brain cancer for 15 years, passed away Thursday, Jan. 3 in hospice care at Bend, Ore. with family by her side.
A passionate runner, Olson moved to Ketchum in 2003 and became the top female footracer in the valley. Along with family and friends, Olson ran the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon in Minnesota Oct. 7 about 12 months after her third surgery for brain cancer. A two-time participant in the Olympic Marathon Trials, Olson last visited Ketchum at Thanksgiving 2012 before returning to fight her final battle at Bend, where she had lived for two-and-a-half years.
Donations for the family are being collected at FootZone in Bend, or make donations to Animal Shelter of the Wood River Valley, Idaho Conservation League, Girls of the Run or a charity of your choice.
Pond Hockey Classic returns Jan. 19-20 to Ketchum
The city of Ketchum and Blaine County Recreation District present the sixth annual Idaho Pond Hockey Classic Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 19-20 at Christina Potters Ice Rink located at Ketchum’s Atkinson Park. Format is 4-on-4 and double elimination (no goalies).
Weather permitting, competition will take place in the “B Division” (beginners and intermediates) on Saturday starting at 9 a.m., and in the “A Division” Sunday at 10 a.m. Cost is $120 for each six-member team, or $20 per person.
Register by Wednesday, Jan. 16 online at activenet021.active.com/ketchumparksrec/. Or call tournament director John Kearney Jr. at 726-7820 and email jkearney@ketchumidaho.org.
All proceeds go to local youth programs.
Ski Free Day is Saturday, Jan. 12
The Blaine County Recreation District and Galena Lodge encourages the public to ski for free on the BCRD Nordic Trail system on Saturday, Jan. 12. That includes trails at Galena Lodge, the Harriman Trail, North Fork, Prairie Creek, Billy’s Bridge and Croy Nordic.
Galena Lodge 23 miles north of Ketchum is also hosting Free Learn to Ski Clinics on Saturday, Jan. 12. Skate ski lessons will be offered at 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., and classic lessons 2:30 p.m. Equipment rental is free during the lessons, and no trail fee is required because of Ski Free Day.
For those looking ahead to the Feb. 2 Boulder Mountain Ski Tour, Fischer athlete Nicole DeYong is offering “Get Ready for the Boulder” clinics on Sundays at 11 a.m. during January at Galena Lodge. The clinics last about 90 minutes and cost $40 to learn race techniques from some of the best. Call the lodge at 726-4010 for more details.
Baseball coach receives award at ABCA convention
Hailey’s James Cordes was honored last weekend during the American Baseball Coaches Association national convention at Chicago, Ill.
Cordes, 30, head baseball coach at Redlands (Ca.) East Valley High School, was named “Regional Coach of the Year” for the West Coast area in the 2012 Diamond/ABCA High School Division 2 selections. Eight coaches across the country were chosen in the Division 2 selections. In all, only 24 high school baseball coaches from the U.S. in Divisions 1, 2 and 3 were honored by the ABCA.
A 2000 Wood River High graduate who played college baseball at the University of Redlands, Cordes (82-31, 46-12 in league games) is entering his fifth season as head coach of the Redlands East Valley varsity baseball team. His 2012 Wildcats (19-8, 12-3 league) won the Citrus Belt League championship for the second time in three years and made the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) playoffs for an 11th straight year. An English teacher at Redlands East Valley, Cordes also serves as assistant coach of the Angels Elite program helping develop prep players in southern California.
High school hockey in Boise
Sun Valley Youth Hockey Midgets dropped a pair of Boise-league high school games last Friday, Jan. 4, in Boise.
Borah of Boise defeated the Suns 8-2 (goals by Eli Conrad and Gus Conrad, assists to Erik Wilander and Rickie Jeneson), while Mountain View of Meridian got past Sun Valley 8-5. In that game, Eli Conrad scored twice to go with single goals by Drew Barsch, Jeneson and Mason Noyes. Credited with assists were Gus Conrad (2), Wilander, Riley Sibbach and Jack Swanson. Playing the net for the Suns was Hunter Dean.
Morgan’s adds Senior “A” hockey win
The New Year started with Senior “A” Hockey League wins by league leaders Morgan’s Fine Finishes (4-1-0) and Sun Valley Auto Club/Grumpy’s (3-2-0) on Jan. 3 at Sun Valley Skating Center.
Morgan’s posted a 7-3 victory over Yoga College (2-3-0) behind 5 goals by Danny Ward. Meanwhile, SV Auto/Grumpy’s nipped Lefty’s Bar & Grill (1-4-0) by a score of 5-4.
Other Morgan’s scorers were Drew Punnett (1 goal/3 assists), Dave Patrie (1/0), Chris Benson (0/2), Dale Johnson (0/1), Jamie Hjort (0/1), Jeff Enos (0/1) and Tyler Hansen (0/1). Yoga scorers were Tate Mills (1/1), Matt Mahoney (1/0) and Jack Weekes (1/0).
Dave Hennessy (2 goals) led Grumpy’s to another victory. Others on his team were Rune Haavik (1/1), Vilnis Nikolaisons (1/1) and Bryan Speth (1/0). Lighting the Lefty’s light were Matt Ward (2/0) and Danny Gariepy (2/0), with assists to John Kearney Jr. and Craig Maxwell.
Formula Sports Skoch Cup alpine racing Jan. 18-20
The Sun Valley Ski Club has announced plans for its 16th annual Skoch Cup sponsored by Ketchum’s Formula Sports. The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) three-day Masters race series on the Warm Springs side of Baldy features two super giant slalom races on Friday, Jan. 18 followed by giant slalom Saturday and slalom Sunday. Register online at skiracereg.com or on Thursday, Jan. 17 from 12 noon to 2 p.m. at Warm Springs Lodge.
Youth Nordic Skiing at Croy Nordic in Hailey
This winter’s Blaine County Recreation District Youth Nordic Ski Program for kids in grades 2-5 is limited to the first 30 participants. Experienced instructors introduce the youngsters to the joys of Nordic skiing through a variety of fun games and activities on skis.
The skiing days are Wednesdays from 3-4:30 p.m. Jan. 16-Feb. 20 at the BCRD Croy Nordic in Hailey, by Lions Park. Mandatory introductory session with a parent is Jan. 16 at BCRD Fitworks, the Community Campus in Hailey. Fee is $85 for six weeks of instruction. The cost does not include rental skis and equipment. Limited partial scholarships may be available. Locked storage in the yurt will be available for skis and poles.
Starting Jan. 23, a dedicated school bus will transport children from school to Croy Nordic. Parents are responsible for picking up child promptly at the end of class at Croy Nordic. For details, registration and questions, contact Janelle Conners at 578-5453.
Squirt hockey tournament this weekend
Sun Valley Youth Hockey’s Squirt program (ages 9-10) hosts an eight-team, two-day tournament Jan. 12-13 at Sun Valley Skating Center. Two teams from Sun Valley will compete along with teams from Boise, Idaho Falls, Salmon, Salt Lake City and Park City, Utah. Sun Valley Black’s round-robin games in the Pioneer Division are set for 8:40 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Saturday, plus 9:20 a.m. Sunday. SV White’s games in the Sawtooth Division are Saturday at 9:50 a.m. and 3:50 p.m., and Sunday at 8:10 a.m. Placement games for fourth- through first place will be Sunday from 10:40 a.m. and 2:10 p.m.
Youth hockey, skating at Rodeo Arena rink
Hailey Ice has announced ice hockey and figure skating classes for kindergarten through 5th grade kids. Beginning Jan. 7 and running through Feb. 4, they include:
· Boys’ hockey: Wednesdays from 3-4 p.m., $30 per person.
· Girls’ hockey: Thursdays from 3-4 p.m., $30.
· Beginning figure skating (previous figure skating experience required) Fridays from 3-3:30 p.m., $35.
· Intermediate figure skating (previous figure skating experience required) Fridays from 4-4:30 p.m., $35.
· Learn to Skate class, Tuesdays from 3-3:45 p.m. for four weeks starting Jan. 15, $25.
Register online at haileyice.org, visit the rink from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, or call Sarah Benson at 720-3086.
PeeWees skate at Salmon hockey
Sun Valley Youth Hockey’s PeeWee hockey team (ages 11-12) went 1-3 during a nine-team hockey tournament at Salmon last weekend. The local skaters fell to Boise Junior Steelheads 3-2 (Tiernan Naghsh 2 goals, goalie Andrew Nelson 20 saves). The young Suns and Davis County, Utah, skated to a 3-3 tie in regulation, but Utah prevailed 4-3 in a three-man shootout in overtime. Klayton Douthit, Teagan McAvoy and Ike Buxton scored with assists from Scout Hutchinson and Sam Ballard.
Boise Hawks slipped past Sun Valley 5-4 (Paxton Bunting 2 goals, singles by Buxton and Luke Marcoullier, assist Naghsh, 22 saves Nelson). The Suns finished on an up note, rolling to a 13-0 victory over Cache Valley, Utah. Nine Suns found the back of the net with four players, Marcoullier, Nelson, Luke Worst and Bunting each scored twice. Slotting singles were Barrett Ott, Sam Fenn, Buxton, Morgan Benson and Naghsh. Goalie was Klayton Douthit (8 saves). Denali Stevens and Anik Zarkos also competed.
