Six young Whitefish Mountain ski racers competed this past weekend in a GS/Super G Kombi race held at Bridger Bowl. It was a great introduction to a “speed” event in which components of a Super G race were added to the traditional Giant Slalom platform. Pleasant temperatures and blue skies were welcomed by the 150 racers that competed in 3 separate, one-run races. With just 6 racers competing from Whitefish, they had impressive results, fielding 6 podium finishes and 3 top ten finishes in the 3 races.
With passionate coaching provided by Roy Loman and Zak Anderson, the team continues to be inspired to perform with excellence both on and off the hill. Both coaches felt the team really stepped up and pushed themselves to move to the next level. Coach Loman said, “In the 30+ years that I have been coaching, never I have seen more improvement from a team of athletes. Our group was so able to focus on what they needed to do to move to the next level; and we saw that work in their improvement for every individual on the team. It is seldom that you get that kind of focus and execution from an entire group."
A tenacious ten year-old Colter Upton topped the podium with a 1st place in his age group on Sunday with an aggressive run, following his two 2nd place finishes on Saturday. Eight year-old Marina Kramer demonstrated solid consistency, earning three 3rd place finishes throughout the weekend, in the 7-8 year old girls bracket.
A determined nine year-old Douglas Mercer had 3 top ten finishes--10th, 10th and 7th in his group. First year nine year-old racer William Lewison made fantastic improvements throughout the weekend, finishing more than 6 seconds faster in his final race.
Team leaders Story Crossett and Kristin Van Everen competed in the competitive 11-12 year old divisions and were both good examples of persistence and diligence for their teammates.
The next scheduled Youth Ski League races will be at Great Divide and Discovery followed by the season finale championships held at our very own Whitefish Mountain Resort March 23rd-25th. Wish the Whitefish racers good luck.
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