Vail, Colo. December 9, 2021 – It’s been a lively week at Beaver Creek with the FIS National Junior Races (NJR’s) on Tuesday and Wednesday following the past week’s Birds of Prey World Cup event. Ski & Snowboard Club Vail current and former athletes came in strong at the NJR’s, securing five podiums and 16 top ten finishes over the two days of giant slalom racing on the Birds of Prey course. 

SSCV women dominated the competitions and the top ten finishes both days.  On Tuesday, Kaitlin Keane (second) and Kjersti Moritz (third) grabbed their spots on the podium. Both athletes had impressive performances. Other top 10 finishers included SSCV athletes Tianna Bruce (fourth), Carissa Cassidy (fifth), Phoebe Heaydon (sixth), Josephine Trueblood (seventh), and Anna Zubary (ninth) and SSCV alumna Reece Bell (eighth). 

Wednesday yielded equally impressive results for SSCV women as they captured fifty percent of the top ten of the day. Athletes upped the ante from the first day, including Keane who jumped up to first place and Kjersti Moritz who advanced to second.  Bruce was just off the podium in fourth while Liv Moritz climbed up to fifth place, and SSCV alumna Bell took ninth. 

The SSCV men had notable performances between both days of competition.  Sebastian Kohlhofer rounded out the top 10 in 10th. As for Wednesday, Dan Gillis finished with an impressive third place finish.  SSCV alumnus Jack Reich and current SSCV athlete Will Wasserman surpassed Tuesday’s performance with a strong fifth place finish for Reich and 10th place for Wasserman. 

SSCV Men’s Head FIS coach Ian Lochhead said, “The kids being able to race on this hill, immediately following the World Cup weekend, is the equivalent of being able to play Augusta on Monday after the Masters.  It is not only a huge benefit and opportunity for athlete development, but is about as much fun as you can have on a pair of GS skis.  We are incredibly grateful to Beaver Creek and the Beaver Creek Race Crew for making this opportunity possible for our kids!”

“It is great to see our young FIS athletes out on the same run that World Cup racers were on just a few days ago, and performing so well,” said Brad Wall, SSCV Alpine Program Director. “The course was in outstanding condition for an early season race with such limited snow elsewhere.” 

Next up in the Vail Valley for FIS racers are a pair of Colorado Ski Cup giant slalom races on December 20 and 21, the season opener competitions on Golden Peak for the 2021-2022 season.

For a complete list of results go to https://www.fis-ski.com/.