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ENLARGE
INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev.— Get out your brooms, Sierra Nevada College — the Eagles men and women ski teams swept the podium four times Sunday and Monday at Diamond Peak Ski Resort.
The two-day race featured SNC, Stanford University, the University of California, Berkeley, and UC Davis.
The women’s team finished 1-2-3 in Sunday’s slalom race, and did the same Monday in the giant slalom, adding a fourth-place finish to boot.
“Every single day of racing and training, they’re getting better,” said coach Branko Zagar.
He said the Eagles are improving after poor snow conditions kept them off the slopes before winter break.
Sophomore Jonathan Cherry said the training gap between SNC and other schools should narrow as the season wears on.
“A lot of teams have a lot more training than we do,” Cherry said. “But, by the time nationals get here we should be fine.”
Podiums both days and in both genders belonged to the Eagles, as the men won in both slalom and giant slalom.
Freshman Hedvig Spaengs won in the slalom competition Sunday, with a two-run combined time of 1 minute, 36.72 seconds.
Senior Martina Hulten was effusive in her praise of the Swedish freshman, saying Spaengs was a key for the Eagles this season.
“Hedvig helps us a lot, we’ve got a really good team and she definitely helps us, she’s been skiing really well,” Hulten.
Sophomore Laura Hoff, who Zagar said continues to make improvements to her skiing, placed second with a 1:41.20. Hulten rounded out the Eagles’ podium-owning day with a third place 1:41.45.
Senior Hillary Peterson placed 11th with a 2:04.06 while senior Caroline Bergstroem lost a ski and could not finish.
Fellow senior Jessica Bouleau started Sunday to record the amount of starts needed to qualify for nationals in March, but did not finish because of an injury she suffered during a crash last week. Zagar said she’ll resume training near the end of the week.
Men perform well
Not to be outdone, the men’s team swept the first four spots Sunday.
Matyas Mleziva, the reigning United States Collegiate Skiing Association’s overall national champ, placed first (1:25.50).
Mleziva, a sophomore from the Czech Republic, said the team is focused on each race as it comes and not the March USCSA National Title.
“We’re thinking about the troubles we’re having now and not really focusing on (the title),” Mleziva said.
He was followed by fellow sophomore Kevin Sheehan, who placed second (1:27.89). Cherry placed third (1:31.90) and freshman Troy Mott placed fourth (1:33.83).
Cherry said he was pleased with his performance but said he needs to work on his technique as the season goes on.
“I’m having a lot of trouble staying in the back seat too much,” Cherry said. He explained staying in the back seat as keeping his weight too much on the rear of his skis, which renders them hard to turn.
Zagar said it’s a problem that should be relatively easy to fix with time.
Sophomore Gunnar Gottschalk also placed in the top-10, notching a 1:48.86 (sixth place).
Junior Mickey Ross, a leader for the team, started in a situation similar to Bouleau’s, just to tally enough starts to qualify for nationals, and Zagar said he could be ready any day after suffering a knee injury.
Monday’s giant slalom
Bergstroem placed first (1:11.25), Hulten second (1:11.86), Hoff third (1:13.97) and Peterson fourth with a 1:14.99, sweeping Sunday’s GS.
Spaengs lost a ski on her second run and could not finish.
Bergstroem said having a home race is an advantage because the team knows the slopes. She said, however, the team has more work to do to strengthen their slalom performance.
“We’ve skied a lot more GS than slalom so far,” Bergstroem said. “But we’ve got almost two months before nationals.”
Hulten said the team has a good chance of getting to nationals and she, Bergstroem and Bouleau, all in their final year, are anticipating the trip.
“I feel I would be sad not to go to the nationals,” Hulten said. “If we ski well, and if I ski well, we have a good chance of doing it.”
The men also finished 1-2-3-4 in Sunday’s GS, with Sheehan winning with a 1:07.79; Mleziva second (1:09.26); Cherry third (1:09.89); and Gottschalk fourth (1:10.69).
Mott placed sixth with a (1:11.32).
The Eagles are next in action this weekend, but may experience a venue change from Mt. Rose to another local mountain. Check tahoebonanza.com this week for the Eagles’ destination.
The two-day race featured SNC, Stanford University, the University of California, Berkeley, and UC Davis.
The women’s team finished 1-2-3 in Sunday’s slalom race, and did the same Monday in the giant slalom, adding a fourth-place finish to boot.
“Every single day of racing and training, they’re getting better,” said coach Branko Zagar.
He said the Eagles are improving after poor snow conditions kept them off the slopes before winter break.
Sophomore Jonathan Cherry said the training gap between SNC and other schools should narrow as the season wears on.
“A lot of teams have a lot more training than we do,” Cherry said. “But, by the time nationals get here we should be fine.”
Podiums both days and in both genders belonged to the Eagles, as the men won in both slalom and giant slalom.
Freshman Hedvig Spaengs won in the slalom competition Sunday, with a two-run combined time of 1 minute, 36.72 seconds.
Senior Martina Hulten was effusive in her praise of the Swedish freshman, saying Spaengs was a key for the Eagles this season.
“Hedvig helps us a lot, we’ve got a really good team and she definitely helps us, she’s been skiing really well,” Hulten.
Sophomore Laura Hoff, who Zagar said continues to make improvements to her skiing, placed second with a 1:41.20. Hulten rounded out the Eagles’ podium-owning day with a third place 1:41.45.
Senior Hillary Peterson placed 11th with a 2:04.06 while senior Caroline Bergstroem lost a ski and could not finish.
Fellow senior Jessica Bouleau started Sunday to record the amount of starts needed to qualify for nationals in March, but did not finish because of an injury she suffered during a crash last week. Zagar said she’ll resume training near the end of the week.
Men perform well
Not to be outdone, the men’s team swept the first four spots Sunday.
Matyas Mleziva, the reigning United States Collegiate Skiing Association’s overall national champ, placed first (1:25.50).
Mleziva, a sophomore from the Czech Republic, said the team is focused on each race as it comes and not the March USCSA National Title.
“We’re thinking about the troubles we’re having now and not really focusing on (the title),” Mleziva said.
He was followed by fellow sophomore Kevin Sheehan, who placed second (1:27.89). Cherry placed third (1:31.90) and freshman Troy Mott placed fourth (1:33.83).
Cherry said he was pleased with his performance but said he needs to work on his technique as the season goes on.
“I’m having a lot of trouble staying in the back seat too much,” Cherry said. He explained staying in the back seat as keeping his weight too much on the rear of his skis, which renders them hard to turn.
Zagar said it’s a problem that should be relatively easy to fix with time.
Sophomore Gunnar Gottschalk also placed in the top-10, notching a 1:48.86 (sixth place).
Junior Mickey Ross, a leader for the team, started in a situation similar to Bouleau’s, just to tally enough starts to qualify for nationals, and Zagar said he could be ready any day after suffering a knee injury.
Monday’s giant slalom
Bergstroem placed first (1:11.25), Hulten second (1:11.86), Hoff third (1:13.97) and Peterson fourth with a 1:14.99, sweeping Sunday’s GS.
Spaengs lost a ski on her second run and could not finish.
Bergstroem said having a home race is an advantage because the team knows the slopes. She said, however, the team has more work to do to strengthen their slalom performance.
“We’ve skied a lot more GS than slalom so far,” Bergstroem said. “But we’ve got almost two months before nationals.”
Hulten said the team has a good chance of getting to nationals and she, Bergstroem and Bouleau, all in their final year, are anticipating the trip.
“I feel I would be sad not to go to the nationals,” Hulten said. “If we ski well, and if I ski well, we have a good chance of doing it.”
The men also finished 1-2-3-4 in Sunday’s GS, with Sheehan winning with a 1:07.79; Mleziva second (1:09.26); Cherry third (1:09.89); and Gottschalk fourth (1:10.69).
Mott placed sixth with a (1:11.32).
The Eagles are next in action this weekend, but may experience a venue change from Mt. Rose to another local mountain. Check tahoebonanza.com this week for the Eagles’ destination.
