Vail, Colo. April 5, 2022 – This past week, high level alpine athletes traveled east to the NorAM Cup Finals in Sugarloaf. SSCV current and former athletes made the best of tough weather conditions and raced hard over the four days of competition. When all was said and done, SSCV had two former athletes land in the top three overall in this season’s NorAm Cup standings –  Ava Sunshine Jemison first overall and  Allie Resnick third overall. 

 

The NorAM Cup Finals in Sugarloaf was an opportunity for FIS level athletes to compete against other FIS  level alpine skiers on a national stage. The continental cups which includes NorAM cup, Europa cup, and others are the highest level of racing below World Cup which is the highest level of ski racing outside of competing in the Olympics. Qualifying for these races demonstrates high level ski racing potential and ability to compete. The competition was to consist of women’s and men’s downhill on March 23rd, women’s and men’s super-G on March 25th, women’s and men’s giant slalom races on March 26th and 27th, and women’s and men’s slalom on March 28th. However, due to poor weather and racing conditions, the men’s and women’s super-G  and the women’s giant slalom were canceled. 

 

On the day of downhill racing, SSCV women and men raced hard. For the top 15 in the first women’s downhill, former SSCV athlete Jemison rounded out the top ten in tenth place and came in eighth in the second downhill.  SSCV’s Hunter Salani came in an impressive 22nd place as a 2005 year of birth in the first and second downhill.

 

In the men’s giant slalom, for the top 15, former SSCV athlete Bridger Gile came in eighth. As for the women’s slalom top 15, former SSCV athlete Allie Resnick took fifth place, Jemison  grabbed seventh, and SSCV’s Carissa Cassidy and Dasha Romanov took 13th and 15th, respectively. Among the top 15, Gile took third in the men’s slalom, and former SSCV athlete Henry Heaydon came in 11th. 

 

 Below is the list of former SSCV athletes who took 4th through 10th place overall in the NorAM Cup standings as well as  top 10 overall NorAm Cup placements by discipline: 

 

Men’s Overall – Cooper Cornelius 8th

 

Men’s Super G – Cooper Cornelius – 5th Men’s GS –  Cooper Cornelius – 4th

Men’s Slalom – Alex Leever – 6th

 

Women’s Downhill – Ava Sunshine Jemison – 6th

Women’s Super G– Ava Sunshine Jemison – 7th

 

Women’s GS – Allie Resnick – 1st; Ava Sunshine Jemison – 3rd

Women’s Slalom – Allie Resnick – 4th, Ava Sunshine Jemison – 6th

 

“This week has been a challenging week for the girls between the weather and cancellations. Through it all they preserved and battled through very tough conditions,” said Andrew Keating, SSCV Head Alpine Women’s FIS Coach. “We are all very proud of them.” 

 

“It was a very challenging week of weather and snow conditions. We did manage to have two excellent downhill races on really icy snow and bluebird skies,” said Ian Lochhead, SSCV Head Alpine Men’s FIS Coach. “Hunter Salani, our only male Vail downhill racer did a great job, grabbing valuable experience at the NorAM level, and managed to finish inside of the top 30 both races, competing, for the first time, with racers fresh off of their World Cup seasons”

 

“Sugarloaf is a regular stop on the NorAm tour and hosts the US Alpine National Championships roughly every 3-5 years. All SSCV athletes who aspire to NorAm success and US Ski Team selection in their careers will at some point need to compete successfully under pressure at this venue,” said Brad Wall, SSCV Alpine Program Director. “Beyond the results, the experience on this hill, particularly for our younger athletes, is invaluable.” 

 

For full results, go to https://fis-ski.com