The Inside Edge - USSA Masters racers in action
n 2018 Olympics — The alpine events wrapped up with the Alpine Combined and Team Events last week. Mikaela Shiffrin fought back for Silver in Alpine Combined. Lindsey Vonn, who won the Downhill component, failed to finish the Slalom. In the Alpine Team competition, the US Team (minus its biggest stars) was eliminated by Great Britain… That’s right, Great Britain. Most of our Olympians return to Europe to close out the World cup season.
n Sun Cup — Mount Bachelor hosted its annual classic, the Sun Cup, last week. Due to snow conditions, the upper start lines weren’t available. Only two local athletes competed. Addison McNamara placed 7th and 16th in Super G, and 15th in the first Downhill. Quincy Evans kept moving up all week, placing 32nd and 29th in Super G, then 21st and 19th in the Downhills.
n USSA Masters Races — SARS hosted the Memorial Masters Race Series last week. This is one of the few Masters events offering credible speed events. Athletes ranging from Wyoming to Washington competed in multiple age groups. The racers enjoyed perfect conditions for the Super G events, then battled our beloved powder during the tech events.
Local medalists were: Class 11 (age 75-79) – Tom Robideaux GS Silver, SL Gold, SG Silver, Bronze and Silver; David Cohen GS Bronze, SG Bronze, Silver and Bronze. Class 10 (age 70-74) – David Lee GS Bronze, SG Bronze. Class 9 Women (age 65-69) – Eloise Opp GS and SG Gold. Class 9 Men (age 65-69) – George Frazier Gold across the board, Class 8 (age 60-64) – Rob Harrison SL Bronze. Class 7 (age 55-59) – Mike Dodd SL Silver. Class 6 (age 55-59) – Gold across the board. Class 3 – Daniel Nelson three Gold in SG. Other participants were Roger Bosley, John Nord, Dwight Opp and Bob Pace. Hats off to SARS for hosting yet another quality event.
n Starlight — The 2018 Starlight race series wrapped up last Friday. The top team was the 007Bs comprised of: Brett Taylor, Brad Epker, Tommy Letourneau, Garth Billstin and Chris Acosta. They were followed very closely by “Team with the Golden Skis,” with “Shred not Stirred” coming in third. The fastest men and women racers after adjusting for age, shoe size, what they had for lunch and marital status were: Alpine – Jamie Emmer and Chelsea Nova; Snowboard – Michael Waldrip and James Labarbera; Telemark – Gary Quinn and Kerri Kuntz. But everyone understands that the fastest man and woman on the hill were UNM Alumni Chris Acosta and Courtney Altringer.
n Smokin’ Aces Slopestyle — Coming this weekend, the best event of its sort in the region. Come watch these athletes fly. Contact the Activity Center at (208) 255-3081 for further information.
n Potpourri — Any comments, recommendations or contributions to this column may be sent to Shep Snow by email at shep@thesnowschool.com. Negative feedback should be sent to someone else.
The Inside Edge runs every Thursday during ski season in the Daily Bee.