Ski and Snowboard Club Vail claims 11 podiums at Rocky Mountain Division U10 Alpine ski championships

Even though the predicted 30 inches of fresh snowfall ended up being a little high, last month’s Rocky Mountain Division U10 Alpine ski championships in Telluride provided an ample testing ground for racing in uncertain weather conditions. Suffice to say, Ski and Snowboard Club Vail athletes passed.

SSCV finished the two-day competition with 11 podium finishes and 34 top-10 placements, 20 more than the next best team and eight more than the club accumulated last year.

“I was so impressed with how the entire team used their growth mindsets, and in the face of weather and uncertain conditions, they rallied,” said Alpine children’s program director Alex Shorter. “It was such uncertain weather and the athletes were not phased. All the athletes stepped up and gave it their all.”

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With snow falling on packed powder conditions across Telluride Ski Resort’s Competition Hill course for the March 11 GS day, Groff Barrett took two third-place finishes in the two boys runs and Cecelia Sumner led the way with a victory and a runner-up in the subsequent girls events. In the first girls GS, Hope Gustafson was just off the podium in fourth, trailed by teammate Sloane Bodziak in fifth and Millie Waugh in seventh. Bodziak found the podium in third in the second run, with Gustafson placing fifth.

The boys brought the heat in the morning March 12 slalom, taking seven of the top 11 spots, led by Andres Braun and Henry Youngblood in second and third, respectively. Nicholas Bosma, Dag Williams, Michael Major, Barrett Groff and Gage Gros were fourth, fifth, ninth, 10th and 11th, respectively. In the second race, SSCV placed five in the top-10, with Major earning himself a bronze.

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Sumner led the way in the girls slalom, placing second and third in the two respective races. Gustafson claimed a third in the second race, and SSCV had four in the top-10 in both events.

“I am so extremely proud of the U10 team,” Shorter continued. “Athletes were making breakthroughs and skiing better than they have ever skied before while we had other athletes make huge recoveries (and) make it through the finish. Both were wins for sure.”

Shorter said she was also proud of how the athletes displayed excellent sportsmanship and banded together as a team. 

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“They were really happy to be together and help each other out,” she said.  “When some of the boys were up on the podium together they just started hugging each other. The athletes were as happy for their teammates as they were for themselves. It was all about their team! Very special moments for sure. As I always say, the best is yet to come.”