Husky racers take top spots

By Sue Morning

On Jan. 31, Mammoth High School hosted teams from Bishop, Lone Pine and Lake Arrowhead for the fifth and sixth ski and snowboard races of the season. The first four races were qualifiers for the giant slalom discipline at State Championships; these races qualified athletes in slalom.

Mammoth racers who took top three results were: Snowboard Ladies: Fleur Connolly 1, 1; Candice Berger 4, 2; Men: Tyler Wagner 1, 1; Nate Liuag 2, 3; and Tyler Searles 13, 2. Skiers Ladies: Sierra Gilfoy 1, 1; Kyra McKee 2, DNS; Chelsea Foulke 3, 2; Lynn Regelbrugge 4, 3; Men: Nathan Everson 1, 1; and Griffen Covert 3, 7.

Other Husky Ski and Snowboard Team members who competed were: Sabrina Wilson, Jewell Scholl, Samuel Hein, Kenneth Schreiber, Carlos Morales, Austin Van Winkle, and Edwin Molina in snowboarding. And Torrie Patrie, Sabrina Clevenger, Anya Feeney, Hannah Halferty, Sierra Wilder, Camden DeAngelis, Haven Peabody, Everest Webber, Hayden Mannater and Timothy Wolfe in the ski division.

Mammoth goes Nordic

At the same time as the Alpine team was racing on Mammoth Mountain, members of the Nordic team, along with the Mammoth Middle School Nordic Team, were racing at Tamarack in the CNISSF Mammoth Classic. Mammoth results are as follows: High School Girls: Amanda Kirkeby 2 and Katherine Janisse 30. High School Boys: Trace Calvin 7; Connor Kusumoto 10; Calvin Forsythe 11; Carson Bold 13; Jack Roten 19; Eddie Matthiessen 29; and Jacob Mahler 32. Middle School Girls: Meaghan Thompson 5; Sophia McKee 10; alexia Craven 12; Abby Stroiber 34; Robin Romagnino 40; Annie Matthiessen 42; Mia McBride 49; and Ava Bissonette 53. Middle School Boys: Jared Mahler 3; Dominic Manzano 10; Liam Bassler 14; Cardiff Smith 19; Logan Van Winkle 22; Finnly Bourne 33; Seth Cauzza 43; Tanner Bissonette 60; and Barrett Mannetter 66.

MMST Racers ski strong at Squaw Valley

The Mammoth U16 Ski Team traveled to Squaw Valley, Jan. 31-Feb. 2 for the Wild West Giant Slalom Series. The athletes competed in three giant slalom U16 Junior Championship qualifier races. MMST athletes took the top fifteen spots, including Katherine Brown, who took a pair of fourth place finishes and ended the series on the podium in third place. The men’s competition was unusually tough with the addition of 13 members of Ski and Snowboard Club Vail (SSCV). On the first day the SSCV members took six of the top fifteen spots. MMST racers showed their strength against SSCV with Cody Underkoffler taking two top 10 results (fifth and sixth) and three racers, Kevin Wolfe, Grayson Dozier, and Jimmy Wehsener, all ending up on the front page during the weekend.

MMST “Sharp Limes” Pack Podium at Home

Mammoth Mountain Ski Team U10 and U12 racers had the opportunity to race on their home mountain Feb. 1-2. The Far West North GS Series, originally scheduled to be held at Mount Shasta, was resited to Mammoth due to the lack of snow at Shasta. Ironically the U12 competition on Sunday had to be reduced to a one run race as a result of a snow storm that moved in and made conditions unsafe for the athletes.

MMST’s Chaney Szeto, who started her season by winning the Kittredge Cup, then taking a pair of bronze medals at the North Series slalom races at Alpine Meadows, continued her domination of the U10 Girl’s division.  Chaney’s skiing, described as both “calm and confident,” helped place her on top of the podium both days. Chaney, who’s time in both races would have earned her first in both of the U10 Boy’s races, was quick to show her sisterly love by expressing how proud she was of her sister Siena’s strong skiing and top fifteen place in the U12 Girl’s race.

Joining Chaney in the top 15 on Saturday, were Siena Beeghley in 13th Margerie McGlashan 14 and April Wynn 15. On the boy’s side MMST’s Quentin LeFrancois was at the top of the podium for the U10s, Parker Gumins was eighth and Mitchell Parsons earned 15th. In the U12s three MMST athletes scored medal finishes with Lance Davenport in third, Aidan LeFrancois in 10th and Benjamin Wynn in 10th.

On Sunday, a wealth of “Sharp Lime” jackets ended up on the podium stage when the U10 Boys results were announced. MMST’s Bjorn Karlen was first; Quentin LeFrancois, sixth; Parker Gumins, eighth; Mitchell Parsons, 12; and Andrew Nachman, 15.  Other MMST medal winners for Sunday were: U10 Girls, Elena Messner fifth and Siena Beeghly in ninth; U12 Boys, Aidan LeFrancois, 5, Daniel Schneider 10, and Lance Davenport 11. The next race for the U10/12 teams will be the second Junior VC race scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 16.

Podium Wins For Mammoth Riders at Burton USO

The Burton U.S. Open Snowboarding Qualifiers, presented by MINI, concluded Feb. 2 after two incredible days of slopestyle and halfpipe competition at Seven Springs Mountain Resort, PA.

Under foggy skies, top men and women put down some big runs during the halfpipe competition Sunday and joined the winners from Saturday’s bluebird slopestyle event. Taking the podium throughout the contest were Mammoth Mountain Snowboard Team members Brandon Davis, Trent Wallentine and Kelly Berger. Davis captured second place in the Men’s Slopestyle event, while Wallentine was third in the Junior Boy’s Halfpipe and Berger was third in the Women’s Halpipe.

Additional MMST riders who took part in the contest were: Jenise Spiteri, Danielle Broderick, Drayden Gardner, Joshua Bowman, Jedidiah Sky, Judd Henkes, and Hugh Marsden. At the event, the six best men and three women per discipline earned a coveted spot to compete against some the world’s best riders at the iconic 32nd annual Burton U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships in Vail, Colorado from March 3rd – March 8th, 2014, as well as valuable 4star World Snowboard Tour points and a piece of the $20,000 prize purse.