SSCV U14 alpine skier sweeps four races at final Rocky Central Qualifier

Hailey Anderson is bringing some serious momentum into next week’s U14 Rocky Central Championship. The Ski and Snowboard Club Vail alpine skier swept all four races at the final Rocky Central Qualifier event at Powderhorn Mountain Resort last month.

“It was super fun,” Anderson said. “I would say it’s way more fun when you have people there you’re friends with.”

Anderson got the best of both worlds over the course of the two-day event, which consisted of a pair of slaloms on Feb. 21 followed by two giant slalom races the following day. Her and her SSCV teammates took the top-5 spots in one race.

“Our hosts did a fine job of pulling together good races,” said SSCV head U14 coach Adam Chadbourne. “When the dust settled, it was evident that our team was on point and that our athletes are on the move.”

Anderson whipped through the Wonderbump course in 29.30 seconds in run No. 1, 0.69 seconds ahead of runner-up Lia Dieterich of Summit. Her SSCV comrade, Diana Zaytseva rounded out the podium as SSCV put five in the top-10. Anderson sped up in her second attempt, stopping the clock at 29.25. She was 0.68 ahead of teammage Zoe Wannamaker in second, more than a second up on fellow SSCV athlete Maja Bambur in third and over two seconds ahead of fourth, Ruby Bullivant. Another SSCV skier, Sloane Bodziak, placed fifth.

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In the giant slaloms, Anderson’s two winning margins were 0.89 seconds and 0.75 seconds, respectively.

As thrilled as he was for Anderson’s individual exploits, Chadbourne said he was just as moved to see SSCV sweep the top-5 spots in the second slalom. While he described the boys team as being “a little depleted,” Axel Vaskas picked up a giant slalom victory and another bronze on Sunday. Nicholas Bosma and Liam Cournoyer were fourth and fifth, respectively, in Saturday’s first slalom and Ryder Mackenzie picked up another fourth in the second.

“And (we had) a lot of other strong performances that will have our boys starting in the better seed for champs,” Chadbourne added before noting that almost the entire U14 squad has qualified for the Rocky Central Championships scheduled for March 9-13 at Golden Peak.

Anderson has big goals being on home snow.

“I would hope to win everything and I just really want to focus on finishing as well,” she said.

Anderson has ski racing in her blood. Her dad was the captain of the Bates College alpine team in the 90s. Her sister, Ashley, currently competes at Williams.

“She just works so hard and has so much grit and I really respect that,” Hailey Anderson said of her older sibling, whom she considers her main athletic role model. “She’s come so far with all of her injuries and it’s really inspiring for me to see her push through that and keep going.”

This October, Anderson and her dad went to Belgium to train indoors on ice. She skied alongside World Cup squads from France and other nations as well as some of her future FIS-level teammates, Mari Renick and Maya Maxon.

“It was like the first time skiing on the surface I will be skiing on in a couple years, so it was great to learn how to do that,” Anderson said. “I also feel like it helped me improve on the softer and easier snow.”

A month later, she watched the U.S. women’s team, including Mikaela Shiffrin, compete at the Copper Cup. While seeing former club athletes like Liv and Kjersti Moritz carve down a familiar slope against the best skiers on the planet makes the World Cup circuit seem a little more accessible, Anderson said she knows she still has a long way to go.

“I think it’s still a big jump,” she said before adding that she was inspired to see 17-year-old SSCV skiers Anabelle Zurbay and Lasse Gaxiola compete in Milan Cortina last month for Ireland and Mexico.

“I really do want to try and make it to the Olympics,” she continued. “And it’s just really inspiring seeing other girls get there and ski in the Olympics at such a young age.”

Outside of skiing, Anderson enjoys elk hunting with her dad, playing soccer and riding her mountain bike. She’s looking forward to running the sprints and doing jumps for Battle Mountain track next year, too. Even though the 5-day-a-week ski training can be a grind a times, it’s exactly what she wants to be doing.

“I like working towards something, I like working towards a goal, and it’s just something I can really focus on,” Anderson said. “I also enjoy doing it and I’ve met so many people through the sport that are now my best friends.”