J3 Racers Attend Topolino Shoot-Out

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — Diamond Peak Ski Team’s J3 racers Lila Lapanja and Ty Sprock rang in the New Year on Jan. 2-6 to attend the 2009 Western Region Topolino Shoot-Out at Mission Ridge Ski and Board Resort in the mountains near Wenatchee, Wash. In three runs of slalom and three runs of giant slalom in this race, one boy and one girl with the best points from two-out-of-three results for each discipline earns a trip to Italy for the Trofeo Topolino International Race.

The Trofeo Topolino, or “Mickey Mouse Trophy,” has been held in Italy every February since 1960, with more than 60 countries sending athletes. Sponsored by Disney, Topolino is known as the world’s most prestigious event for young alpine racers; the United States sends six racers, two from each region.

Sprock’s challenge was 31-racers deep, with an extremely talented and competitive field. He ended up with a seventh-place overall finish, and a top-three spot in GS out of all of the first-year J3 racers.

Eric Haferman of Bridger Ski Team from Bozeman, Mont., earned the trip to Italy.

Lapanja, nursing a rib injury, gave it what she could and placed fourth and fifth in slalom; and third and seventh in GS, finishing fifth overall out of 21 female racers.

Squaw Valley’s Tenaya Driller, who won two slaloms, took the prize in a thrilling finale that played out in the last run of GS after the other two top points-holders fell.

Incline’s Grace Dolan, who races for Sugar Bowl, placed 15th overall, with her best results in slalom on day one.

Next for the J3s is the Wild West Series Junior Olympics Qualifier Races, which kicks off this weekend, Jan. 24 to 26, at Northstar-at-Tahoe, for three days of GS. The Wild West Series consist of nine races — three giant slaloms, three slaloms and three super-Gs races.

Racers are rewarded “new” World Cup points for their best five-out-of-nine results; a select group of J3 racers in the Far West Region then earn a spot to compete in the Junior Olympics at McCall, Idaho, on March 19 to 22, 2009.

Diamond Peak’s J3 team also will join all J1s, 2s and 3s and Mids (racers more than 19 years of age) in the USSA Open Series, which resumes Jan. 30 at Boreal; last week’s downhills at Northstar were postponed because of a lack of snow.

For complete results, visit the Far West website at www.fwskiing.org.

J4, J5 skiers kick off season in style

Area J4 and J5 racers kicked off the Far West season with a giant slalom race Dec. 20-21 at Boreal. With a lack of snow coverage, Boreal had to set up the start of the race midway down the mountain, resulting in less of a vertical drop than is typical for this course.

Diamond Peak’s J5 girls performed well on the 20th, with Amanda Pretti placing second with a combined time of 1 minute 14.81 seconds. Teammates Erica Kennedy and Alyssa Kennedy finished in seventh and ninth places, respectively (1:19.53; 1:21.90). For the J4 girls, Hannah Johnson raced to a fourth place (1:08.19).

In the J5 boys division, Nelson Bedient scored a second place finish (1:11.23), while Winston Pretti skied to 13th place. For the J4 boys, Diamond Peak’s Zane Bensing placed third (1:06.19), while teammate Ian Reeves finished 11th (1:08.91). J4 boys Gavin Chen (17th place) and Hunter Pitts (23rd place) both skied well for Diamond Peak.

On day two, the young racers faced blizzard-like conditions, and Boreal faced issues with its timing system, resulting in only one timed run for Sunday’s race.

Still, Diamond Peak racers performed well in all age groups, as the the J5 girls pulled down three top-10 finishes. Amanda Pretti skied fast (39.96) to take the podium with a second place finish, Erica Kennedy earned sixth place (42.49) and Alyssa Kennedy finished in 10th place (44.25). For the J4 girls, Hannah Johnson once again placed fourth (37.30) while Lauren Keller raced to a 12-place finish (38.63).

In J5 boys division, Nelson Bedient recorded a 39.71, earning him seventh place, while Winston Pretti had a save after a near-fall to earn 14th place. In the J4 boys division, Zane Bensing skied fast again (36.56) to earn a seventh-place finish, while Ian Reeves and Hunter Pitts skied well to earn 15th- and 23rd-place finishes,respectively.

“The kids skied great in their first race of the year,” said Diamond Peak Ski Team head coach Josee Lacasse. I’m excited about having such a dedicated group of talented athletes and look forward to a great season for the Diamond Peak Ski Team.”