Inside Edge: Callahan Waters qualifies for U14 championships in Minnesota

It’s an outdoor sport ... — What a weekend. The Edge can’t remember a stranger set of events — rain, high winds, very dense fog, lightning, then a sudden freeze. Not many sports present the number of variables to the athletes as ski racing (Alpine or Nordic). Our competitors braved it all and persevered.

World Cup — The ladies headed to Sochi, scene of the Olympics, for speed competition. But for the second year in a row the weather didn’t cooperate.

The downhills were canceled and the organizers were only able to carry off a single super-G. Alice Merryweather posted her best super-G result in 17th, followed by Alice McKennis in 27th.

The men went to Garmisch-Partenkirchen to run the tricky, often underestimated Kandahar downhill track. Travis Ganong led five U.S. men in the points with a fifth place result. Ryan Cochran-Siegle was 12th, Jared Goldberg 20th, Bryce Bennett 23rd and Steve Nyman 29th. Tommy Ford was 10th in the giant slalom, followed by Ted Ligety in 14th and Cochran-Siegle in 22nd.

U14 Qualifiers — During a three-day event that saw lifts shut down necessitating shuttle buses, two alternate lifts and a long and windy traverse to reach the start line, followed by the entire resort shutting down due to a lightning strike. The athletes endured long days.

Racers from across the Northwest assembled for one giant slalom and two slalom races. Because this was a qualifier for Regional Championships, the races were not only scored in the normal manner, but each run of the races was scored towards qualification.

Hannah Stiller had a good weekend, placing 24th in giant slalom and 20th and 42nd in the two slalom races. Crosby Schmidt skied solidly with a 32nd in giant slalom and eighth in the first slalom. He was ninth after the first run of the second slalom race, but didn’t finish his second run. Hidden in these athletes’ results were numerous qualifying points from the individual runs. Tough kids.

Third Nordic Junior National Qualifier races — The Sandpoint Nordic race team headed to Winthrop, Washington for the race series. Warm temperatures, wind and rain made for tricky conditions and difficult kick waxing as athletes raced a classic sprint qualifier, followed by several heats.

Despite these tough conditions, Sandpoint U14 boys Callahan Waters, Kasten Grimm and Fletcher Barrett finished sixth, ninth and 14th respectively in their division of 23 boys. Izzy Waters, a U12, finished in 12th.

Jett Longanecker, a first year U16 completed the 1.2K sprint in 3:53 and ended up in eighth place overall for the day. Clara Cave, U18 female, finished 13th completing the 1.2K sprint in 4:49. Sunday brought a complete change in the weather that resulted in an icy corn snow surface for the 3K, 5K and 10K mass start skate race.

U14 boys, Callahan Waters, Grimm and Barrett, skied the 3K and finished seventh, 8th and 12th respectively. In U12, Izzy Waters completed the 3K course in 12:18, finishing in 12th. Callahan Waters performance for the season qualified him for a position on the U14 boys’ team headed to Minneapolis in March for a U14 championship race during the World Cup.

Despite a crash on the icy course and a broken pole, Longanecker held on to 12th place, finishing mid-pack in the 5K U16 boys division. Cave finished 12th in the U18 girls, skiing 10K in 40:10. The final JNQ races for PNSA will be held in Soldier Hollow, Utah, Feb. 14-15. The national team of PNSA racers will be named after these races.

Potpourri — The U16 and older racers head to Mount Spokane for Northwest Cup No. 2 featuring giant slalom and slalom this weekend. Watch here for a full report. 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.