Men’s FIS off to a solid start

SSCV men’s FIS team opened its season with a pair of slalom NorAm races at Copper Mountain last week. The squad was led by strong finishes from Henry Heaydon and Zane Worrell, joined by younger FIS racers Fletcher Holm and Trent Pennington.

“This year, that NorAm was pretty early in the schedule, so it pushed a lot of training up in the fall to get ready for it,” said men’s FIS coach Ian Dunlop. “For the third-year FIS guys, this was more of a targeted race because it was their home series. And for the younger guys, it was a great experience. But they had good training leading up to it, so we felt really good about having them in there.”

The boys had good training on the Copper venue in the weeks leading up to the races and were well prepped for steep, injected conditions, unlike some of the other competitors on the hill.

“For a lot of guys who went out and raced it on race day, it was too much. It was over their head,” said Dunlop. “Henry was super comfortable. I think that’s why he found some success.”

Heaydon went two days in the flip from bib 60. He hooked a tip second run on the first day but managed 25th on Day 2, one spot ahead of former SSCV athlete and D Team member Kellen Kinsella. Worrell finished in strong position with 30th and 36th-place results.

The SSCV team competed alongside high-profile alumni Kyle Negomir, Bridger Gile, River Radamus, Jacob Dilling, Alex Leever, and Kinsella. Among that group, top finishes included Negomir in eighth, Gile in eighth, Leever in 12th, Radamus in 13th, and Dilling in 14th.

Women’s NorAm gets underway

Ski & Snowboard Club Vail athlete Taylor Hoyt started off this year’s North America Cup strong by finishing in 16th place in the first slalom of the season last week.

Hoyt, 16, was the top finishing athlete of Ski & Snowboard Club Vail’s younger-than-19 women’s squad. Carissa Cassidy, 17, nabbed a 22nd place finish in another notable result for the club during the two-day series.

Coach Mark Smith said about a dozen U-19 women from the club headed up to Copper Mountain to compete in the first Nor-Am slalom events of the season. …

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