The Bridger Ski Foundation Alpine teams had a busy spring season. Here's a roundup of where they've been:
Drake and Anders competed at the Western Region Junior Championships at Alyeska in Alaska. Freya qualified to race at the Western Region U16 Championships in Sun Valley. Liliane, Nora, Ida, and Remi all traveled to Tri Divisionals at Grand Targhee. (Wolfy qualified but was on the injured list.)
Coach Kenny reports that the team dynamics are great and everyone is working really well together.
Devo and U14 athletes went to Red Lodge March 4th and 5th for the last regular YSL race and U14 qualifier. BSF had 55 athletes attend this race, and they skied well. It is great to see everyone making progress throughout the season. At this race, U14’s solidified their spots to either U14 Western Regionals or Tri-Divisionals. BSF had three U14’s qualify for U14 Western Regionals, and eight qualify for Tri-Divisionals.
BSF had 45 athletes competing at the last YSL Champs at Big Sky. The weather started cold each day but got sunny and nice, making great race days. When the sun is out on race day, it makes for fun vibes. All the athletes showed improvement at YSL Champs. For some, that was making all the gates, or finishing 2 runs, getting top 10, or being closer to the leader's time. Success is measured in many different ways and coaches saw new success for all.
BSF finished 2nd in the Peter Maxwell Carnival Team Award, which is calculated from all the YSL races throughout the season. Congrats to Jack Stephenson who won the Boys Individual Overall for YSL Champs.
BSF hosted OHG at Bridger Bowl March 10-12. With a field of about 75 athletes it was a great 3 days of racing. The weather was sunny and the snow was firm which made for a great race and good spring vibes. The athletes had a good time dressing up. Some teams went with themed costumes. Bridger girls rocked Canadian Tuxedos on Saturday, while Silver Run boys had matching dresses on Sunday. It was a great last race for the 2023 to host at Bridger, and an opportunity for U14's to race with U16's and get a good feel for the next level of racing.
Congrats to Drake Fricke & Anders Holtenman, who qualified for this race at at Alyeska, Alaska. This race series battled new snow and soft conditions, but they were able to get some of the races off.
Drake placed 8th overall in Slalom and was 3rd for the U18's. In GS he placed 14th overall and 6th for the U18's. He earned at 3rd place in the Overall for U18-U21!
U16 WR Champs was held at Sun Valley, Idaho. Freya Barboeisel attended with Northern Division coaches from Big Sky, Red Lodge, and Whitefish. It was reported that the group had a great time in the Valley of the Sun.
Soren Fricke, Dayne Free, Addison Stephenson attended U14 Western Region Champs at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, Wyoming. This race had challenges of new snow and soft conditions, but the stoke was high and the athletes and coaches had a great time.
Dayne Free placed 26th in Super G, Addy placed 25th in Super G, Soren placed 18th in Slalom and 19th in GS.
BSF had a large number of athletes representing at Tri-Divisionals at Grand Targhee: Ida Lunden, Lillian Hallau, Nora Halverson, Remy Pellerin, Nadine Hansen, Nora Haugan, Lena Haugan, Eilee Lenz, Neva Halverson, Sylvie Hallau Gunnison Milhoan, William O'Brien
BSF represented Northern Division well at Tris. We had some solid Super G skiing from all athletes with notable finishes from Nadine Hansen, Nora Haugan, and Remy Pellerin. Conditions were soft with heavy snow coming down and fog rolling out and athletes adjusted to the conditions to make the best of it. GS was cancelled for 40+ inches of powder! BSF and Northern Division were among the first to the hill and the last to leave. BSF ladies said it was the "best race day ever!" So happy we could enjoy racing and epic powder skiing together. Targhee worked hard to get the slalom races off, but conditions made it challenging.
Nadine Hansen was 3rd overall in Super G and 1st for U14's, Nora Haugan was 4th overall in Super G and 2nd for U14's. Remy Pellerin was 6th overall in the Super G. Lillian Hallau placed 17th overall in Slalom and 9th in the U16's, Nora Nadine Hansen placed 18th overall in Slalom and 9th in the U14's, Nora Halverson placed 27th overall in Slalom and 11th in the U16's.
Nadine Won the U14 Overall for Tri-Divisional!
A small group of BSF 2nd year U12's and 1st year U14's went for Spring Fling race weekend at Grand Targhee, Wyoming. Intermountain division hosts this race as an opportunity for their 2nd year U12's and 1st year U14's to ski race together in a fun way. The atmosphere was similar to OHG in the way of athletes are there to ski and have fun with no pressure of placement or qualifying. Field sizes were small with about 85 athletes total. The race had GS, parallel dual slalom, and 2-run Kombi. Targhee was able to build extra terrain which was utilized in each course set. After the scored slalom race was completed, the course were left open for anyone to race each other. It was very entertaining to watch athletes and coaches race one another. Ending on Kombi was great way to close out the weekend. The courses utilized all the terrain and encouraged athletes to do tricks off of one of the rollers. Coaches were cheering on all athletes that went for the ticks. Both Kombi course sets included doing a whirly bird and then ducking under a gate right before the finish. In the afternoons Rowmark Ski Team organized group games and invited all athletes to join. BSF was in the mix for some games of tug of war in the snow. Spring Fling was a blast, despite the weather not being very spring like. This did allow for some great free skiing when we weren't racing. I hope that BSF can return to Spring Fling next season!
