Photo: Ski & Snowboard Club Vail nine-year-old Jack Hodgkinson barrels down the slalom course at Golden Peak at yesterday’s U10/U12/U14 Age Class Races.

VAIL, Colo. January 13, 2021 –  This week marked an exciting start to the 2021 competition season for alpine athletes born between 2007 and 2013 at Vail Mountain, the first Age Class Races of the season hosted by Ski & Snowboard Club Vail.  In a field composed primarily of Ski & Snowboard Club Vail athletes, the club captured all but two of the available top 10 finishes for the girls and all of the available top 10 finishes for the boys across U10, U12, and U14 age classes over the course of two days. Rob Worrell, head alpine coach of the U14s, was thrilled by the success of the club overall.  Worrell said  “It’s been a tough year for everyone – including the kids. Having this sport as an outlet over the last year with such high-quality coaching has allowed the kids to progress at an amazing rate. We’re all very excited about the potential for this season.”

That excitement proved to be a huge motivating force for these young athletes as they took to the slopes on Monday and Tuesday. The girls started off the week with two single run giant slalom races in the morning followed by two single run slalom races in the afternoon. 

The morning giant slalom events culminated with SSCV U14’s Solveig Moritz, Viktoria Zaytseva, and Anika Dobson taking 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place for their age division in both races. Among the U12s, SSCV’s Lauren Hopkins, Mari Renick and Xania Gayer took gold,  silver and bronze spots, respectively, in both races while simultaneously clocking faster times than some of their older competitors. The U10 girls also got a taste of vigorous competition with SSCV’s Winter Phillips flying into first in the first race, followed by Alyxandra Sumner in second, and Kalea Barker in third. In the second race, Sumner was surpassed by brisk Barker with Phillips holding on to her coveted spot atop the podium. The slalom races of the afternoon saw Zaytseva and Moritz continuing to vie for the top spots on the U14 podium alongside teammate Katie McDonald, with Zaytseva taking a first and a second, Moritz taking a first and a third, and McDonald taking a second and a third.  U12s Renick, Hopkins and Gayer once again found themselves in the top three, with Renick finishing first in their age division for both races and Hopkins and Gayer trading second and third place positions in the two slalom races. Kristina Shamshuryn, an SSCV U10, demonstrated great skill in slalom – taking home two gold medals while finishing with an impressive time overall in both races. Just behind her in those races was  Phillips who came in second and Gayer who came in third for their age division.

“The U10 team has 24 athletes this year and only three of them consistently raced the age class races last year.  The athletes are doing extremely well and this has been a huge learning curve for all of them,” said Alex Shorter, the head alpine U10 coach at Ski & Snowboard Club Vail, following the Tuesday races. “We started out this season making sure that all the athletes’ planted their poles on the correct side and were carving their skis.  We have now progressed into making sure they know how to ski all the components of courses correctly with combinations, delays and outside gates.  We are practicing starts, how to inspect a course as well as visualization, understanding a course report and how to apply their training on race day.  I am super proud of the U10s as they had standout performances and improved each run at the race.  They are doing a great job having growth mindsets and applying themselves each day.  The athletes managing all their gear and food on race day with limited help from adults was impressive.  This is a great start to the season and we will continue to build on what they learned at the first race.”

The boys kicked off Tuesday’s four races with speed out of the gate and an impressive showing to boot. U14 Jackson Leever took first in three out of the four races that day with Oliver Kullberger also landing himself on the top of the podium.  In their giant slalom first race, U14s Jackson Leever, William Erickson, and Calvin Schaffler flew in at first, second, and third. U12s Aidan Wick, Seger Pomerantz, and Luke Hodgkinson topped the podium for their age division in first, second and third, respectively, trailing a few seconds behind their teammates. Not to be outdone, 8-year-old Jack Hodgkinson also shined in his category, securing the top spot among the U10s in all four races that day. The second giant slalom race saw U14 Oliver Kullberger speed into 1st place ahead of Leever with Oliver Helland trailing just behind him. Luke Hodgkinson, Pomerantz, and Wick reversed their standings from the last race, this time with Hodgkinson taking first and Wick third. U10s Brooks Robinson and Tyler Dolsen joined Jack Hodgkinson on the podium in second and third.

The boys’ slalom races proceeded with many of the same names standing out. Between race one and two, Leever, Erickson, and Helland retained control of the field of U14s. Luke Hodgkinson shot up to first place in both U12 races with Pomerantz close on his heels, alongside teammates Ryder Lanning and Calen White. Another Hodgkinson, this time Jack, also topped the U10 podium for both races, with Giovanni Napoli and Julian Ciszek vying for second and third. 

“We’re all very fortunate that we’re able to do this,” said SSCV’s alpine head U12 coach, Erik Gilbert. “This was a great opportunity for us. And the reason we’re able to do it is because of the athletes and parents’ commitment not only on-snow but off-snow as well.”

And these young athletes have a lot to look forward to if the season continues this way.  Many thanks go out to Vail Resorts, Vail Mountain, Eagle County Public Health and so many others helping to make this season possible.

SSCV Athlete Top 3 Results

Monday, January 11

Girls’ Giant Slalom Race No. 1 – U14

  1. Solveig Moritz
  2. Viktoria Zaytseva
  3. Anika Jobson

Girls’ Giant Slalom Race No. 1 – U12

  1. Lauren Hopkins
  2. Mari Renick
  3. Xania Gayer

Girls’ Giant Slalom Race No. 1 – U10

  1. Winter Phillips
  2. Alyxandra Sumner
  3. Kalea Barker

Girls’ Giant Slalom Race No. 2 – U14

  1. Solveig Moritz
  2. Viktoria Zaytseva
  3. Anika Jobson

Girls’ Giant Slalom Race No. 2 – U12

  1. Lauren Hopkins
  2. Mari Renick
  3. Xania Gayer 

Girls’ Giant Slalom Race No. 2 – U10

  1. Winter Phillips
  2. Kalea Barker
  3. Alyxandra Sumner

Girls’ Slalom Race No. 1 – U14

  1. Viktoria Zaytseva
  2. Katie McDonald
  3. Solveig Moritz

Girls’ Slalom Race No. 1 – U12

  1. Mari Renick
  2. Lauren Hopkins
  3. Xania Gayer

Girls’ Slalom Race No. 1 – U10

  1. Kristina Shamshuryn
  2. Winter Phillips
  3. Alyxandra Sumner

Girls’ Slalom Race No. 2 – U14

  1. Solveig Moritz
  2. Viktoria Zaytseva
  3. Katie McDonald

Girls’ Slalom Race No. 2 – U12

  1. Mari Renick
  2. Xania Gayer
  3. Lauren Hopkins

Girls’ Slalom Race No. 2 – U10

  1. Kristina Shamshuryn
  2. Winter Phillips
  3. Alyxandra Sumner

Tuesday, January  12 

Boys’ Giant Slalom Race No. 1 – U14 

  1. Jackson Leever
  2. William Erickson
  3. Calvin Shaffler

Boys’ Giant Slalom Race No. 1 – U12 

  1. Aidan Wick
  2. Seger Pomerantz
  3. Luke Hodgkinson

Boys’ Giant Slalom Race No. 1 – U10

  1. Jack Hodgkinson
  2. Tyler Dolsen
  3. Dylan Kawamura 

Boys’ Giant Slalom Race No. 2 –  U14

  1. Oliver Kullberger
  2. Jackson Leever
  3. Oliver Helland

Boys’ Giant Slalom Race No. 2 –  U12

  1. Luke Hodgkinson
  2. Seger Pomerantz
  3. Aidan Wick

Boys’ Giant Slalom Race No. 2 –  U10

  1. Jack Hodgkinson
  2. Brooks Robinson
  3. Tyler Dolsen

Boys’ Slalom Race No. 1 – U14

1 .Jackson Leever

  1. William Erickson
  2. Oliver Helland

Boys’ Slalom Race No. 1 – U12

  1. Luke Hodgkinson
  2. Ryder Lanning
  3. Seger Pomerantz

Boys’ Slalom Race No. 1 – U10

  1. Jack Hodgkinson
  2. Giovanni Napoli
  3. Julian Ciszek

Boys’ Slalom Race No. 2 – U14

  1. Jackson Leever
  2. Oliver Helland 
  3. William Erickson

Boys’ Slalom Race No. 2 – U12

  1. Luke Hodgkinson
  2. Seger Pomerantz
  3. Calen White

Boys’ Slalom Race No. 2 – U10

  1. Jack Hodgkinson
  2. Julian Ciszek
  3. Giovanni Napoli

The full list of official  results for this week’s Age Class races can be found at usskiandsnowboard.org/  The above is based on unofficial results.