Rocky/Central Region alpine racers celebrate the Regions Cup win at the U19 National Junior Championships held at Copper Mountain this past week.  Five women and 11 men from Ski & Snowboard Club Vail qualified to take part in this event, a huge accomplishment in and of itself.  SSCV competitors took home nine top ten finishes, making a huge contribution to the Regions Cup win.

Copper Mountain hosted the United States Ski and Snowboard Association’s U19 National Junior Championships from February 28 through March 3.  The U19 National Junior Championships play host to the nation’s top U19 alpine athletes (birth years 1997, 1998 and 1999) from the Eastern, Rocky/Central, and Western regions.  Competitors gathered to compete head to head, vying for national titles in Slalom, Giant Slalom, Super G and Downhill races during this championship series.

Karen Ghent, Ski & Snowboard Club Vail Alpine Program Director, shared, “What a week it was for Ski & Snowboard Club Vail athletes, not only with podium finishes and personal bests, but also with their huge contribution to the Rocky/Central Region winning the Regions Cup for best overall performance this past week among the three USSA regions in the country.”

Ski & Snowboard Club Vail qualified more athletes for the U19 National Junior Championships than any other club in the Rocky/Central Region with five women and eleven men achieving this honor as listed below.

Girls (year of birth)

Hannah Fallon (1999)

Carleigh Leyman (1999)

Griffin Mueller (1997)

Zoe Spanos 1997 (for Australia)-did not compete

Nellie Talbot-(1999)-qualified but competed in 2016 Junior World Ski Championships

Boys (year of birth)

Ryan Collins (1998)

Colbey Derwin (1997) (for New Zealand)

Jacob Dilling (1999)

Bridger Gile  (1999)

Jack Keane  (1998) (National Training Group)

Colby Lange (1999)

Matt Macaluso (1999)

Logan Martin (1997)

Tagert Mueller (1997)

Kyle Negomir (1998)

River Radamus (1998) (US Ski Team D Team member)

Matt Underhill, Ski & Snowboard Club Vail’s Head Men’s International Ski Federation coach, shared his thoughts: “It is quite an achievement for all of these SSCV athletes to have qualified for this national junior championship event, especially with the expansion of the number of birth years eligible to qualify going from 2 to 3 years without a corresponding increase in the number of competitive spots.  To see several of our U19 men on the podium is very impressive.”

Top ten performances at U19 National Junior Championships included-

-River Radamus in 2nd and Jack Keane in 3rd for men’s slalom

-Carleigh Leyman in 9th for women’s slalom

-River Radamus in 2nd, Colby Lange in 3rd and Jack Keane in 5th for men’s giant slalom

-River Radamus in 1st and Kyle Negomir in 3rd for the men’s super g

-Kyle Negomir in 1st for the men’s downhill

In addition, River Radamus took 1st and Jack Keane took 5th in the combined downhill/slalom.

Doug Elsey, Ski & Snowboard Club Vail’s Head Women’s International Ski Federation Coach shared, “Our athletes have been working hard all year long, both in the gym and on-snow to qualify for this event.  We were excited to see how our athletes compare to their peer group on a national level and to see a top ten finish from one of our women and several personal bests.”

Top three results for each event and all Ski & Snowboard Club Vail athlete results for each event click here.  For a complete list of results go to www.fis-ski.com.