Press Release-Ski & Snowboard Club Vail U16 alpine racers dominate at Rocky Central U16 Regional Championships-March 7, 2015

Ski & Snowboard Club Vail (SSCV) U16 alpine racers were a dominant force at the United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) Rocky Central U16 Regional Championships in Steamboat Springs this past week, taking 22 of the top five podium spots across four events.  This championship series featured the top performing 14 and 15 year old men and women from the Rocky Central Region competing in Slalom, Giant Slalom, Super G and Downhill.

“We were thrilled to see 40 of our U16 men and women qualify for this regional championship series, the most of any program in the Rocky Central Region, a testament to the hard work of the athletes and the coaches throughout the season in getting these athletes to where they needed to be to compete there”, stated Karen Ghent, SSCV Alpine Program Director.  “Not only did we see our top athletes execute top performances, we were also thrilled to see some athletes step up and surpass their rank with some outstanding competitive finishes, like Taylor Brandt, Elise Balin, Eric Negomir, Keelan Woodard, Chad Mulligan, Michaela Strizencova, Cameron Woodland, and Matt Macaluso who showed up with game and turned in some impressive results – a true testament to the hard work and focus of our athletes in the most competitive field and toughest skiing they have seen all season.”

Rob Worrell, SSCV U16 Head Coach, stated, “This week turned out to be what every coach hopes for-to see their athletes not only dominate on the podium, taking 22 top 5 finishes, including 5 gold medals, but also to see so many athletes achieving personal bests out there.  It really speaks to the depth of our team and the hard work of our coaches all season long working alongside these athletes to help them achieve their dreams.”

Top SSCV Performances

Outstanding performances for the SSCV women included Nellie Rose Talbot taking 1^st in Super G and 2^nd in Downhill, Dylan Fiore taking 3^rd in Super G and Giant Slalom, Zoe Livran taking 4^th in Downhill and Super G and Taylor Brandt and Elise Balin taking 5^th in Giant Slalom and Slalom, respectively.

For the SSCV men, Colby Lange topped the podium in three events-Super G, Giant Slalom and Slalom and took 4^th in Downhill.  Bridger Gile topped the podium for SSCV in Downhill followed by impressive second place finishes in Giant Slalom and Slalom.  Jacob Dilling also had his fair share of time on the podium, taking 2^nd in Downhill, 3^rd in Giant Slalom and Slalom and 5^th in Super G.  Matthew Macaluso captured the 2^nd place spot in Super G and 4^th place spot in Giant Slalom with Brendan Keane taking 5^th in Giant Slalom.

Overall Awards

As a result of the consistency across events this past week, several SSCV athletes placed in the top 5 overall for the Rocky Central Championship series.

Men’s Overall

Women’s Overall

SSCV Top Performing Athletes Move on to the Next Level of Competition

The following SSCV athletes, as a result of their stellar performances in Steamboat this past week, have qualified to compete in U16 Nationals in Sugarloaf, Maine from March 30  through April 4  where the top U16 qualifying athletes from around the country will gather in the hopes of earning a spot on the USSA National Training Group.

Men

Colby Lange

Bridger Gile

Matthew Macaluso

Jacob Dilling

Brendan Keane

Patrick Ottley

Gus Leblanc

Eric Negomir

Women

Dylan Fiore

Nellie Rose Talbot

Zoe Livran

Elise Balin

Emma Hall

Michaela Strizencova

Taylor Brandt

In addition, the following athletes qualified for Can Ams in Apex, British Columbia from March 12 to March 15 competing against fellow athletes from Western Canada and the Western US.

Men

Peer Carnes

Women

Hannah Fallon

Jessica McMurtry

“I could not be prouder of all of our athletes this past week.  The opportunities that await the athletes heading off to the above championships are very exciting”, stated Worrell.  “But there is still quite a bit of racing to be had this season for not only those that competed at U16 Regional Championships, but also those who did not qualify and who continued to work hard in training sessions back in Vail.  Each and everyone one of these athletes is in the infancy of their ski racing careers and the hard work and commitment they put into this process is sure to pay off both on snow and off.”

Top three results along with all SSCV athlete results are listed below.  For a complete list of results go to www.live-timing.com.