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ENLARGE
Bonanza Photo - Jen Schmidt Lila Lapanja, a first-year J3 on the Diamond Peak Ski Team, breezes through a flat section during a race at Sugarbowl Sunday. Lapanja's two best finishes during the Junior Olympic qualifiers this weekend were second place on Saturday and seventh place on Monday.
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ENLARGE
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Bonanza Photo - Jen Schmidt Luca (last name), a second year(?) J-3 for the Diamond Peak Ski Team, charges into a hairpin on the first steep section of the slalom at Sugarbowl Sunday afternoon. Luca's finishes....etc. etc.
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Several Diamond Peak Ski Team J3 racers returned home this past holiday weekend with podium finishes, solid results and qualifying points in the bank.
Maintaining their excellent reputation as one of the best alpine race venues in the area, Sugar Bowl kicked off the 2008 Wild West Junior Olympic Qualifier Series by hosting three days of exciting slalom Saturday to Monday in challenging conditions ranging from blue skies to blizzards.
To top a job already terrifically done, Sugar Bowl also had their own Olympian, Daron Rahlves, come out on Saturday to light up the crowd and hand out the awards to some very deserving racers.
The girls
Maintaining their excellent reputation as one of the best alpine race venues in the area, Sugar Bowl kicked off the 2008 Wild West Junior Olympic Qualifier Series by hosting three days of exciting slalom Saturday to Monday in challenging conditions ranging from blue skies to blizzards.
To top a job already terrifically done, Sugar Bowl also had their own Olympian, Daron Rahlves, come out on Saturday to light up the crowd and hand out the awards to some very deserving racers.
The girls
First-year J3 racer and Diamond Peak Ski Team racer Lila Lapanja grabbed good points and a silver on the first day when she finished with a combined time of 1 minute, 29.72 seconds after two tight runs, just 15-hundreths of a second behind Squaw Valley veteran Foreste Peterson.
"Oh, it's so hard to look at the scoreboard when you're that close!" said Lapanja while checking out posted times.
Lena Andrews, also from Squaw, rounded out the top-three, with a time of 1:29.93; Diamond Peak teammates Makenzi Malvey and Ginetta Sagan delivered times of 1:59.21 and 2:20.37.
Sunday dealt a tougher hand for Lapanja when she hooked a gate and hiked during a smoking first run. She came back with a good second-run time and finished 35th overall. Peterson, Andrews and Incline's Kelsey Higgins - skiing for Squaw Valley - placed first, second and third, respectively.
"Oh, it's so hard to look at the scoreboard when you're that close!" said Lapanja while checking out posted times.
Lena Andrews, also from Squaw, rounded out the top-three, with a time of 1:29.93; Diamond Peak teammates Makenzi Malvey and Ginetta Sagan delivered times of 1:59.21 and 2:20.37.
Sunday dealt a tougher hand for Lapanja when she hooked a gate and hiked during a smoking first run. She came back with a good second-run time and finished 35th overall. Peterson, Andrews and Incline's Kelsey Higgins - skiing for Squaw Valley - placed first, second and third, respectively.
Sagan clocked a 2:23.51 and was pleased with her very first Far West races.
"I definitely think the competition is harder (than Tahoe League)," Sagan said. "But I like the competition. My favorite day was Sunday because I improved my first run time by five seconds in my second run."
Lapanja had a modest comeback on the last day of racing and finished seventh overall (1:35.06), second in her age division. Malvey completed the race with a 1:58.87, and it was Peterson and Andrews again in first and second, followed by their teammate Melissa Daniels in third.
The boys
"I definitely think the competition is harder (than Tahoe League)," Sagan said. "But I like the competition. My favorite day was Sunday because I improved my first run time by five seconds in my second run."
Lapanja had a modest comeback on the last day of racing and finished seventh overall (1:35.06), second in her age division. Malvey completed the race with a 1:58.87, and it was Peterson and Andrews again in first and second, followed by their teammate Melissa Daniels in third.
The boys
On Saturday, all of the Diamond Peak men finished in the top 30, therefore all gaining points toward their Junior Olympics goals. Luca Genasci led the charge with a fourth-place time of 1:25.99, followed by Alexander Fulton in sixth (1:26.60), Erik Johnson in 22nd (1:34.40) and Alex Tanner in 27th place with a combined time of 1:41.74.
Mammoth's Bryce Eller took the top step that day followed by Sal Monforte and Michael Suglian, both from Squaw, in second and third.
With changing weather and course conditions, day two was testing for the men, but Fulton finished with a strong 1:30.21 to put him in fourth place and Tanner got points in the bank with a 1:32.98 for sixth overall. Both Genasci and Johnson had trouble on the course and did not place. Eller and Monforte again took the top two spots, followed by Squaw's Max Axelrod with the bronze.
Genasci rallied on the last day and grabbed a podium finish with a solid silver and a time of 1:32.80. Erik Johnson placed 14th overall (1:37.47), but teammates Tanner and Fulton both hit a tricky spot on their second run and did not finish. Genasci was joined on the steps by Montforte in first and Sugar Bowl's Zach Aucella in third.
Mammoth's Bryce Eller took the top step that day followed by Sal Monforte and Michael Suglian, both from Squaw, in second and third.
With changing weather and course conditions, day two was testing for the men, but Fulton finished with a strong 1:30.21 to put him in fourth place and Tanner got points in the bank with a 1:32.98 for sixth overall. Both Genasci and Johnson had trouble on the course and did not place. Eller and Monforte again took the top two spots, followed by Squaw's Max Axelrod with the bronze.
Genasci rallied on the last day and grabbed a podium finish with a solid silver and a time of 1:32.80. Erik Johnson placed 14th overall (1:37.47), but teammates Tanner and Fulton both hit a tricky spot on their second run and did not finish. Genasci was joined on the steps by Montforte in first and Sugar Bowl's Zach Aucella in third.
What's next
The momentum literally shifts now when the Wild West series continues with Super-G Qualifiers at Mammoth Mountain, Feb. 9 to 11. The Wild West Series consist of nine races - three slaloms, three super-Gs and three giant slalom races.
Racers are rewarded New World Cup Points for their best five-out-of-nine results; the top 28 men and 18 women then earn a spot in the Junior Olympics at Bogus Basin, Idaho, on March 21 to 24. The USSA Junior 3 Olympics is a championship event for racers ages 13 and 14 from the five divisions of the Western Region.
For information on Far West Skiing, visit http://www.fwskiing.us/site3.aspx.
The momentum literally shifts now when the Wild West series continues with Super-G Qualifiers at Mammoth Mountain, Feb. 9 to 11. The Wild West Series consist of nine races - three slaloms, three super-Gs and three giant slalom races.
Racers are rewarded New World Cup Points for their best five-out-of-nine results; the top 28 men and 18 women then earn a spot in the Junior Olympics at Bogus Basin, Idaho, on March 21 to 24. The USSA Junior 3 Olympics is a championship event for racers ages 13 and 14 from the five divisions of the Western Region.
For information on Far West Skiing, visit http://www.fwskiing.us/site3.aspx.
