Mammoth athletes kick off 2015 winter race season
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MHS skier Griffin Covert captured first in the Inyo/Mono Alpine Races on Jan. 9. Photo courtesy: Sue Morning. -
Todd Hensley, bib 14, Peter Mayfield, 16, and Isaac Kreisman, 10. Photo courtesy: Katie Morning. -
Left to right: Amanda Kirkeby, coach Bryce Tiernan, Alexia Craven, and Meaghan Thompson. Photo courtesy: Katie Morning.
The first 2015 Inyo/Mono Alpine and Snowboard races were held Jan. 9 at Mammoth Mountain, with athletes from Mammoth High School, Bishop High School, and Rim of the World High School from Lake Arrowhead competing.
After a year’s absence Devin Tubbs, who rejoined the MHS Snowboard Team this season, was clearly the winner, finishing well over 10 seconds ahead of the second place male finisher in both races. Returning team member Sam Hein followed Tubbs, placing third and fourth, while Carlos Morales was fifth and seventh. The top three MHS snowboarders were backed up by Tyler Searles, Edwin Molina, Dylan Van Kampen, Kristian Martin, and Devin Soucy, who all had a top ten finish.
2014 CNISSF State GS Women’s Champion Fleur Connolly continued to dominate the girl’s snowboarding field, taking both wins for the girls and second only to her MHS teammate Devin Tubbs in the overall times.
MHS skiers also captured first for all of their races, with returning team members Sierra Gilfoy winning both races for the women and Griffin Covert for the men. Lynn Regelbrugge followed Gilfoy with a pair of second place finishes and the sole new member of the women’s team, Mallory Podosin, landed in fourth for her first high school race. Podosin moved up to take third place in the afternoon race. Hayden Mannetter was second in both of the men’s races, and Brenden Torrance was third and fourth.Teammates Mason Forsythe and Tim Wolfe both had top ten finishes in both races.
Kangaroo Classic
The first Far West North Series race, the Kangaroo Classic U10.U12 North Series Slalom, was held at Alpine Meadows January 10-11. MMST newcomer Jean Song, a second year U10, had a first run that landed her in third place behind two Squaw Valley skiers. In the second run, Song turned on the heat and finished second, but her advantage wasn’t enough to move her out of third. Hamilton ended up taking both runs and the win by 5.16 over the second place finisher. Two other MMST girls landed in the top 15, with Siena Beeghley taking eighth and Piper Wilkison in 14th.
The U10 Boys placed two racers on the front page, with the December 2014 Kittredge Cup standouts Bodie McMillan in fifth and Gregory Gazarian in seventh.
The U12’s saw Neave Anderson finish in fifth for the girls, while Liam Gooch was sixth in the boys. Following Gooch were the LeFrancois brothers, with the younger Quentin beating his older brother Aidan by .44 in the first run. Aidan came back to take the second run by .05, but not enough to overtake his brother.
On Sunday, Beeghley moved up to third for the U10 Girls and Song took sixth. They were joined by Wilkison in 12th and Regan Clute in 14th. The U10 Boys had three front-page finishers, with Gazarian in 10th, Jace Urdi 13th, and Cooper Hindshaw in 15th.
Lakes Basin Skate Race
On Sunday, Jan.11, Tamarack hosted the Lakes Basin Skate Race. Wade Perry and Cabot Godoy tied for first place in the 2k Kids. The 5k Juniors race was also a very close finish, with Meaghan Thompson (U16) edging out Alexia Craven (U14) for a 0:10 win. Local Todd Hensley, Mammoth Middle School P.E. Teacher, won the 15k Adults race. Second place went to Mammoth Middle School Coach Isaac Kreisman, and third place to Peter Mayfield of Tahoe.
