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Show Wed/Thurs/Fri, January 24-26, 2018 The Park Record B-3 Snowstorm helps local Nordic racers see the silver lining In the 11th hour, massive effort maintains race DAVE HANSCOM The Utah Nordic Alliance The snow gods smiled on Utah Nordic skiers last Saturday, generously dumping almost a foot of snow on the Mountain Dell Cross-Country Ski Area, just in time for the second Black Diamond Wasatch Citizens Series race. At bedtime on Friday barely an inch of new snow had fallen. Event organizers considered canceling, but the Mountain Dell grooming crew had confidence in the weather report. Their optimism prevailed, and by 7 a.m. Saturday about 10 inches had fallen. A 3.3 kilometer loop was groomed, and the race was on. Park City junior standout Logan Chamberlain took advantage of the opportunity and COURTESY OF DAVE HANSCOM/THE UTAH NORDIC ALLIANCE Julie Davenport, a Salt Lake City resident and former college racer, skis into the finish line during Saturday’s race at Mountain Dell Cross-Country Ski Area. cruised to victory. He skated the 10 kilometer course in just 29 minutes, 40 seconds -- the only skier to break a half hour. This gave the Wasatch Nordic Academy ski- er a solid lead in total points for the Wasatch Citizens Series. In the first race at Soldier Hollow in Dec. he was just 10 seconds behind two University of Utah skiers. In the women’s race, Julie Davenport led a trio of Parkites. The former college racer turned in a time of 34:20. Not far behind were Roxanne Toly, Katie Susong, and Anita Merbach. Julie also placed third in the first WCS event behind two Ute athletes, putting her in a good position to repeat her overall victory in last winter’s series. Several local skiers were in the medals on Saturday. The Fassio family and the Rasmussens stood out in particular. Savannah Fassio was the fastest woman on the course. Her time of 10:21 for one 3.3 kilometer loop easily outpaced Pearl Harvey and Jenae Rasmussen, who had a tight race for second and third in the under-18 class. All three of these girls are on track to qualify for the Junior Nationals at Soldier Hollow in March. Aiden Rasmussen nipped Heber rival Mason Heimburger for the victory in the under-16 boys group. Their 10:02 lap time was speedier than all but one of the adult skiers. Both are also likely to be on the Intermountain Division Junior National Team. Other members of the Fassio family also went home with medals. Lucas placed second in the under-12, and John got the gold in the novice class. The results show that Dad needs to train harder to catch up with his kids. Several older Parkites skied fast enough to be on top of their age groups. Kirsten Whetstone was the fastest 6064 woman, and Debbie Wagner beat out Nancy Fichter for the 65-69 title. On the men’s side, Torbjorn Karlsen led the 60-65 men, followed by Geir Vik, Tim Dougherty, and DaPlease see Storms, B-4 Local skiers find success in Jackson Hole race series Skiers Summer Combs and Tommy Hoffman shine Submitted by Park City Ski and Snowboard Jackson Hole Ski and Snowboard Club hosted the Wes Barron Speed Series at Jackson Hole Resort Jan. 19-21. The race is scored by United States Ski and Snowboard, but is not a qualifier for age-specific championships. With an open format, the athletes comprised primarily Under 16 (U16) and Under 14 (U14) ski racers, but included a handful of older racers. With more than 200 racers from the Intermountain Region (Utah, Idaho and Wyoming), the format for the series was three days of single-run Super G racing. With very little training on their long Super G skis, 57 athletes from the Park City Ski and Snowboard (PCSS) team inspected the course early morning Friday. Fog and snow made visibility poor and variable. Out of a field of 92 competitors, Mary Bocock of Rowmark laid down the fastest run of the day with a time of 53.08. PCSS’s Summer Combs captured the third-place podium spot with a time of 54.26. It was a strong day for the PCSS women with other top 15 finishes including: Lauren Macuga (fourth), Alyssa Gorsch, sixth, Rebekah Brain, seventh, Mia Hunt, 12th, and Anna Grossniklaus. Despite the challenging weather conditions, 113 male competitors tested their speed skills on the Moran Run. Taking the aggressive line, Tommy Hoffman of Rowmark won with a fantastically fast time of 51.39. Just off the podium in fourth was PCSS athlete Zac Kaufman with a time of 53.05. PCSS had two other male racers in the top 15 with Jack Schaede finishing 13th and Jake Rogers in 15th. There were four who did not finish for the women and 16 for the men, as racers had a difficult time battling both the course and the weather. Saturday morning started early with racers collecting their bibs shortly after 7 a.m. for day two of Super G racing. With cloudy skies but good visibility, it was a consecutive win for Mary Bocock of Rowmark. PCSS athlete Lauren Macuga was just off Bocock’s pace, earning her a third-place podium spot. Summer Combs and Anna Grossniklaus were in fourth and fifth place respectively. PCSS athletes Alyssa Gorsch and Kennedy Heavrin (U14) captured 12th and 15th. For the boys, it was another sensational performance from Tommy Hoffman who earned the top podium spot for the second day in a row. PCSS’s Zac Kaufman moved up a spot and captured a third-place podium spot; plus .93 seconds off the leader. It was a strong day for PCSS male athletes with six other athletes in the top 15: Jack Schaede, sixth, Justin Bigatel, eighth, Aden Lawson, ninth, Benny Brown, 13th, Gunnar Travis, 14th, and Leyton Sheppard, 15th. Under partly sunny skies and temperatures in the teens, the final day of Super G racing kicked off with the girls. For the third day in a row, Mary Bocock set the pace and won the race. Summer Combs of PCSS was blistering fast and earned a third-place podium spot. PCSS female athletes skied well capturing six other top-15 spots: Lauren Macuga, fourth, Alyssa Gorsch, fifth, Anna Grossniklaus, eighth, Pippa Hodgkin, ninth, Mia Hunt, 12th, and Rebekah Brain, 14th. Not to be outdone, Tommy Hoffman won for the third day in the row, earning him overall for the series. PCSS’s Zac Kaufman was just off the pace with a plus . 71 that earned him a third-place podium finish. PCSS had three additional athletes in the top 15 including: Justin Bigatel, fifth, Jack Schaede, eighth, and Aden Lawson, 14th. Park City Ski and Snowboard alpine racers represented their team well at the Wes Barron Speed Series. Next weekend, U16 athletes head to Grand Targhee Resort for a U16 Qualifier including a Giant Slalom and two Slalom races. U14 racers will head to Snowbasin Resort Feb. 2-4 for a U14 Super G qualifier. Park City Ski and Snowboard is a new unified club that merged five local youth ski clubs, including the Park City Ski Team. PCSS was created to better serve Park City’s aspiring athletes and includes: alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, Nordic skiing and jumping and snowboarding programs. For more information, please go to parkcityss.org. PHOTO BY LORELEI COMBS Summer Combs smiles after standing on the podium three days in a row at the Wes Baron Memorial races in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. U.S. Ski and Snowboard announces freeskiing teams Olympic selections include many with Park City ties Park Record staff U.S. Ski and Snowboard announced the U.S. Olympic Freeski Team rosters on Monday night. The selections include two Park City-based athletes in Alex Hall and McRae Williams for the slopestyle team, as well as a handful of other athletes with Park City ties. “Not making the Olympic team back in 2014 was ab- solutely devastating,” Williams said in a press release. “Thinking of having to wait four years to try again and wondering if I’d even still be at the top of my game was hard. To get that redemption now is beyond a dream come true. I can’t even begin to describe the feeling of accomplishment I’m experiencing. It was an extremely difficult battle with many unexpected obstacles but I powered through and it all paid off. Still can’t believe it.” Other selections include David Wise and Maddie Bowman, who both took gold medals in the 2014 Winter Games and will return to defend their halfpipe titles, the release states. Maggie Voisin of the women’s slopestyle is another Olympic returner. She injured her ankle during the Sochi, Russia, Games in 2014, and was unable to compete. Snowboarder Devin Logan will represent the U.S. for the first time in halfpipe and slopestyle as the only athlete competing in two events for the U.S. Freeskiing Team. Torin Yater-Wallace is coming off a strong season which included objective qualification as opposed to his discretionary selection in 2014. assemble Park City’s Premier Co-Working Space NEW YEAR, NEW SPACE • Private Offices • Business Lounge • Semi-Private Work Stations • Conference Rooms • Reception Services For details please contact Angela at 435-200-1312 info@assembleparkcity.com | www.assembleparkcity.com Located in Newpark @ Kimball Junction 2018 U.S. OLYMPIC FREESKI TEAM Slopestyle Men Nick Goepper, Lawrenceburg, Ind. (3/14/1994) Alex Hall, Salt Lake City, Utah (09/21/1998) Gus Kenworthy, Telluride, Colo. (10/01/1991) McRae Williams, Park City, Utah (10/23/1990) Women Caroline Claire, Manchester Center, Vt. (02/02/2000) Devin Logan, W. Dover, Vt. (02/17/1993) Darian Stevens, Missoula, Mont. (10/29/1996) Maggie Voisin, Whitefish, Mont. (12/14/1998) Halfpipe Men Aaron Blunck, Crested Butte, Colo. (04/12/1996) Alex Ferreira, Aspen, Colo. (8/14/1994) Torin Yater-Wallace, Basalt, Colo. (12/02/1995) David Wise, Reno, Nev. (6/30/1990) Women Maddie Bowman, South Lake Tahoe, Calif. (1/10/1994) Annalisa Drew, Andover, Mass. (05/28/1993) Devin Logan, West Dover, Vt. (02/17/1993) Brita Sigourney, Carmel, Calif. (1/17/1990) |