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Show y . i I I Stewart Ilayduk appears to be smiling through the snovvl lakes as lie roars past a gate. Bob Skinner follows in his brother's tracks i . . - 1 Hands low in front of his knees, Mike Wade picks his line lor the next gate. photos by David Hampshire by David Hampshire If you follow the Park City Town Races you are already familiar with the name Skinner (rhymes witli winner). For several years Bill Skinner was one of the hottest ski racers in town, winning trophy after trophy in-the Pro division of the town race series. For two seasons he also served as town race coordinator, a job which included talking to the local media about the races. So, one way oi another, he got lots of ink. Since Bill isn't in town this winter, you might think you have seen the last of the name Skinner. If so, you haven't given enough credit to Bill's baby brother, Bob. Following in his brother's tracks, Bob Skinner had the fastest overall time in Monday's town race, winning the men's Pro class by more than half a second over Victor Roy. He said it was the first time he had ever placed in the top three. Third place went to Tom Reinhardt. About 240 racers signed up for Monday's competition, according to Park City Ski Area Race Department spokesman Geoff Nielsen. That figure was higher than the December town race but lower than expected for the first team competition of the season."""" "T.'.v. The women's Pro class featured a battle between three former World Cup skiers, Kathy Kreiner, Roxanne Toly and Jamie Kurlander Peters. Kreiner, now a coach for the Park City Ski Team, edged Toly for the fastest time on the first run. But Toly, who competes on the women's pro tour, came back to win the second run and record the fastest time overall. Kreiner was second, 17 hundredths of a second off the pace, while Peters finished third. The Pro, Veteran and "A" class racers competed on a dual slalom course on the Clementine run. The team title in the Pro division went to M I S. Incorporated, made up of Kreiner, Reinhardt and Roy Their total time of 184.78 seconds was about 1.7 seconds better than the Millhaus Sports team of Toly, Neilsen and Jerry Jaeger. The winning time in the men's Vet (ages -35 and oldert came "front Steve Bagley, whose two-run , total was .9 seconds better than that ' of Bob Marsh, director of the Park City Ski Team. In the women's Vet class (ages 30 and older), Janie Fausold was easily the fastest skier, finishing 1.4 seconds ahead of second-place Jessie Whitmore and more than three seconds ahead of third-place Jill Merrifield. Nielsen noted that the Vet class is becoming increasingly competitive. , "The Vet class was bigger than the Pro class for this race," he said. Taking first place in the Vet team competition was Cofer Chiropractic, made up of Bagley, Whitmore and Allen Titensor. The second-place team was almost 26 seconds off the pace. First place in the men's "A" division went to another skier with World Cup connections, Jeff Oak, the brother of Cindy Oak, a downhill specialist for the U.S. Ski Team. In second was Roy Moyer while Rob , Rodman, winner of the "A" class in the first town race, finished third. lss than half a second separated the top three men. "One thing about the "A"s, they're always real competitive in first through tenth place," Nielsen said. The times were almost as close in the women's "A" class, with Lea Turner edging Phoebe Bouton and Betsy Bird. The "A" class team title went to Jan's, composed of Bouton, Moyer and Bruce Juhl. In Second, only .8 seconds behind, was the Timberhaus learn of Fiona Hickman, Lee Beebe and Andy Kelly. "That's really remarkable, eight tenths of a second (separating the top two teams) over six runs," Neilsen observed. He pointed out that almost all the races had faster times on their first runs than their second. "The way it really snowed heavy at the end of the day really changed things in the second run." Competition for the "B", "C" and Cross-Country racers was held on the nearby Pick 'n Shovel run. Each skier was given two timed runs on the same course, then allowed to throw out the slower of the two. In previous years this group has raced from the dogleg on Clementine. "They all seem to like that (Pick n Shovel)," Nielsen said. "It's a longer course, and not quite as steep in some parts." The first-place trophy in the men's "B" class went to Bill Dieken, while Sue Hillman finished first among the "B" women. Dieken and Hillman were also members of the winning Peregrine Travel team, joining forces with George Leidig to defeat the Eating Establishment team by almost a second and a half. The winning times in the "C" class were posted by Pat Fleming for the men and Gail Tolle for the women. . Taking. ihe. team trophy was Wolfe's, composed of Tolle, Rocky Babcock and Brian Preston. In the Cross-Country class, Rip Griffith edged Brad Makoff for the men's trophy while Kay Kuchera, winner of Sunday's telemark race (see separte story), finished first in the women's division. The second fastest time among the women was recorded by Lea Turner, (winner of the women's "A" division), while another member of the Skinner family, Joan, finished third. The next town race is scheduled to be held Monday, Jan. 28. Registration Registra-tion will take place all day Saturday and Sunday until noon at the Park City Ski Area. |