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Show Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, March 3-6, 2018 The Park Record B-3 PCSS skiers shine in Sun Valley alpine race series Athletes compete in final U16 qualifier Submitted by Park City Ski and Snowboard PARK RECORD FILE PHOTO Geneva Humbert at the Utah Nordic Alliance’s Black Diamond Wasatch Citizens Series 5K race at Soldier Hollow on Feb. 10. Cross-country juniors will finish season at the Hollow Junior national championships start this weekend BEN RAMSEY The Park Record All season, youth Nordic racers have been pushing themselves to the point of exhaustion in hopes of qualifying for one event: the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Cross-Country Junior National Championships. From March 3-10, athletes from around the country will converge on Soldier Hollow for the biggest event of their season. Of the nearly 400 athletes will suit up, between 15 and 17 will represent Park City Ski and Snowboard, Wasatch Nordic and Team Soldier Hollow to compete. If any of those athletes wins one of their four races, they will be named a national champion. But, the competition will be fierce. According to Zachary Hall, biathlon program manager and wax technician at Soldier Hollow, athletes at this level have been training for several years (even those that are coming for the first time, at age 14). The younger athletes will likely have spent 300 hours a year training, while the older ones — the age limit is 20 — can train up to 700 hours a year. Sarah Studebaker-Hall, cross-country program manager and head coach for Team Soldier Hollow, said most athletes won’t have a certain finishing time in mind for their Nordic races regardless of their training. “It’s not like track or cross-country running times, because it depends so much on snow conditions,” Studebak- Continued from B-2 Rails, pipe and jumps second-place finish. Caye said though the Revolution Tour is fun, it’s also serious. Local Competitors: M 18-20: Tucker Hefler – pcss Daniel Fischer -- Wasatch Nordic Logan Chamberlain – Wasatch Nordic Skylar Patten -- PCSS Lane Myshrall – PCSS Felix Firth -- Team Soldier Hollow F 18-20: Sarah Morgan – Wasatch Nordic Savanna Fassio – PCSS Jenae Rasmussen – Wasatch Nordic Pearl Harvey – Team Soldier Hollow Geneva Humbert – PCSS ALT: Masha Johnson – PCSS MU16: Aidan Rasmussen – Wasatch Nordic Mason Heimburger – Team Soldier Hollow FU16: Sabine Wilson – Wasatch Nordic McKinley Hibl – PCSS ALT: Tory Peters -- TUNA er-Hall said. Zachary Hall added that the athletes pick the speed they compete at based on the conditions they ski in — warm and “sloppy” conditions being slower than cold, hard snow. “Then there’s a team of coaches waxing those skis to make them as fast as possible,” he said. “So when an athlete wins, it’s a whole group effort that got them there.” So far, Studebaker-Hall said, conditions are looking fairly cold in the mornings, making for quick races. There will be four races over the eight-day event, all of which will be free to the public. The races are scheduled to start on Tuesday with a classic individual start race — either 5K or 10K depending on age. Wednesday features a skate sprint, then Thursday will serve as a practice day for Friday’s 5k, 10k, and 15K mass-start skate races, which the Halls said would be fun events to watch. “There’s a lot of jockeying for position,” Zachary said of the 75to 100-person competitions. Saturday’s 3x3K classic relay will have fewer racers, but will have a clearly visible head-tohead element as teams from different regions compete against each other. The Halls said the best place to watch is from the building in the center of the course, which gives a near-panoramic view and allows spectators to see the race’s drama across the course. There will also be food trucks — Waffle Love on Tuesday and Lola’s Street Kitchen on Wednesday and Saturday. Spectators are welcome to bring a picnic. Soldier Hollow’s lodge will be open for refreshments, and will rent out Nordic equipment when races have concluded each day. For a more detailed schedule go to utaholympiclegacy.org/soho-events/. “They can get really, really competitive, especially if you are younger, because a lot of kids feel like this is their only chance to progress up into upper-tier competitions, but that’s just going to make you do worse,” he said. “You just have to learn to take it easy, go with the flow and have fun.” Park City was the third destination in the tour’s four-stop circuit after Copper Mountain, Colorado, and Waterville Valley, New Hampshire. The tour will conclude with a weeklong stop at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area in California. “After Rev. Tour, you go up to Grand Prix and Dew Tour with the big boys — the pros,” Caye said. That will entail “big competitions, big jumps, big scores and big tricks — a lot of hucking,” Caye said. Get the top local news stories delivered directly to your inbox with a new weekly email update from the Park Record! Sign up now at bit.ly/prrecordroundup The Sun Valley alpine team hosted the Laura Flood Memorial competition at Sun Valley Resort February 24-26. This race series was the final Under-16 qualifier for the Intermountain Region. 150 male and female racers took to the slopes to test their skills on both giant slalom (GS) and slalom (SL) courses. Saturday’s race began with a slalom course set on Hemingway with approximately 50 gates per course. Slalom is a two-run test where the winner has the best-combined time of two separate runs. Out of a field of 74 female competitors, U19 Lily Fitzgerald of Sun Valley won the race with a total time of 1:33.54. Looking exclusively at the U16 racers, Danika Mannelin of Rowmark showed some dynamic skiing to win the top spot on the podium with a time of 1:37:42. Park City Ski and Snowboard (PCSS) alpine athlete Annika Severn-Eriksson was just of the pace with a 1:38.07 to capture 2nd. Six PCSS women demonstrated some solid technical skiing placing them in the top 15: M. Hunt (fourth), A. Grossniklaus (fifth), L. Macuga (eighth), A. Gorsch (12th), C. Haaijer (14th) and E. Ryan (15th). There were a total of nine racers who did not finish (DNF) a course and five who were disqualified. With temperatures in the low teens and overcast skies, the men’s first race started around 11am. Sun Valley’s Spencer Wright (U19) charged the entire course to win the race with a time of 1:25.45. The top U16 racer was Oliver Parazette of Jackson Hole. PCSS athlete Jack Schaede felt the rhythm of the course and earned the third place podium spot. Five PCSS athletes placed in the top 15 and earned solid points to qualify for championships including: J. Bigatel (fifth), B. Brown (seventh), M. Biskup (10th), G. Travis (12th), Z. Harlow (14th). For the men, 24 racers out of 82 did not finish one course. Sunday was another day of racing in cold temperatures but the discipline shifted to giant slalom. The athletes competed on Greyhawk to Hemingway runs, with approximately 35 gates per course and 305 meters of vertical drop. Zoe Michael of Rowmark was able to handle the steep pitch and snag the top podium spot with a time of 1:50.93. Four PCSS athletes had strong finishes: L. Macuga (sixth), A. Grossniklaus (seventh), M. Hunt (12th), and P. Townshend (15th). The men’s races followed the girls, skiing on the same track. Jack Schaede of PCSS was able to arc turns down the entire course to get the victory. He shared the podium with teammate Zac Harlow who earned third place. J. Bigatel was just off the podium in fifth, while Z. Kaufman earned 10th and Jake Rogers 12th. There were a total of 26 DNFs for the women and 27 DNFs representing 35% of the field, significantly higher than ex- pected in giant slalom. On the final day of racing mother nature brought snow flurries and variable visibility. Mary Bocock of Rowmark threw down two remarkable runs to earn first place with a time of 1:52.47, almost 4 seconds faster than the competition. Anna Grossniklaus also showed some impressive giant slalom skiing to earn the third place podium spot. The following teammates demonstrated notable GS skiing to earn top 15 finishes: L. Macuga (eighth), M. Hunt (10th), L. Stemler (11th), and C. Haaijer (14th). For the men, it was another impressive show by Oliver Parazette from Jackson Hole. He earned first place by putting together two blistering fast runs for a combined time of 1:51.44. PCSS athlete Zac Kaufman was just off the podium in fourth followed by J. Bigatel in sixth. Other PCSS athletes showed athletic skiing to earn top 15 spots including: G. Travis (10th), B. Brown (11th), J. Pollard (13th), M. Biskup (14th) and J. Rogers (15th). This was the final qualifier for the U16 racers from the IMD region. PCSS had four athletes podium and 29 top 15 finishes across the three-day race series. Based upon points earned during the season, racers will head off to one of two championships. The PCSS will have 21 athletes competing at the U16 Western Region Championships at Alyeska Ski Resort in Alaska and 23 athletes competing at Tri-Divisionals at Snowbasin. Both Championships run March 22-25 and racers will compete in the three disciplines of super g, giant slalom and slalom. Rowmark skis to the top Local girls stand on multiple Sun Valley podiums Submitted by Rowmark Ski Academy Under snowy skies, Sun Valley hosted the final U16 alpine skiing qualifier of the season last weekend with one slalom (SL1) and two giant slalom (GS1, GS2) races. Rowmark Ski Academy racers came Continued from B-1 Sports briefs HIKE WITH BASIN RECREATION Join Basin Recreation for a free guided moonlight hike on Saturday, March 31 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Hikers will meet at the Silver Star Café to hike Armstrong trail by 6:30 p.m. Bring a light or head lamp, snow boots and yak-trax, or snow shoes depending on conditions. Dogs are welcome with a leash and a light. There’s no need to register in advance. Email Angie at agreenburg@ basinrecreation.org for more infor- home with plenty of hardware. Parkites Danika Mannelin and Zoe Michael won the slalom and first giant slalom respectively, with teammate Mary Bocock winning the final GS of the weekend. Park City resident Ellie Nichols took two podiums, with second place finishes in both GS races. Other strong Rowmark finishes included Park City resident Lindley Friedman’s 11th (GS1) and 13th (GS2). On the men’s side, Parkite Carter Louchheim had two podiums with a win (tied with Jackson Hole’s Oliver Parazette) in the second GS race and a second-place finish in the first GS race. Fellow Park City resident Tommy Hoffman had an impressive weekend as well with top-10 finishes in both GS races (fourth in GS1, ninth in GS2). Teammate Jimmy Bocock followed suit with ninth (GS1) and seventh (GS2) to round out the qualifying season. The U16 skiers next move on to Western Regionals in Alyeska, Alaska in late March. mation about upcoming hikes and adventures with Basin Recreation. org or call 435-615-5401 for more details. HOMESCHOOL P.E. LACROSSE COACH WANTED The PC MARC is offering a weekly one-hour physical education class for homeschoolers. This class engages 5-to-12-year olds in physical activity while also developing relationships with their peers. Homeschool P.E. is held every Friday from Feb. to May. For more details and to register go to parkcityrecreation.org or call 435-615-5400. YOUTH AND ADULT KARATE World Champion Sensei Nikki Ikeda is offering Shotokan karate classes for a variety of ages and skill levels at the PC MARC. The session started on Feb. 26. Days, times and fees vary per class and space is limited. For more information and to register, visit parkcityrecreation. The Park City High School girls lacrosse team is looking for an assistant JV coach. The position is available immediately for the spring season and potentially beyond. This position is part time but requires attendance at practices in the evening approximately four days a week and games, which are sometimes on the weekend. For more information contact Simone Nixon at 801-5542805. WINTER DROP-IN SPORTS Park City MARC is hosting drop-in basketball, fustal, volleyball, and badminton every week through February and March. Go to parkcityrecreation.org or call 435-615-5401 for dates and times for each sport. |