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Berlack/Astle Fast Skier Award winners receive $1K

Madison Kostoss, of New York, is a U16 athlete. She was recently named one of the Fast Skier Award winners.
Special to the Daily

World Cup Supply and 1to3go recently named Madison Kostoss of New York and Jonathan Davis of Vermont the 2018-19 Berlack/Astle Memorial Fast Skier award winners.

The award is open to all USSA U16 alpine athletes and has been awarded to local athletes in the past. For more information, visit http://www.berlackastleaward.com.

Kostoss is a U16 out of Wilmington, New York, where her passion for skiing was born on Whiteface Mountain.



“She is self-driven, willing to take chances and knows clearly that her path is one of success,” her coach Patrick Purcell said in a news release.

“Ski racing has taught me the importance of a balanced lifestyle along with many other lessons,” Kostoss said in a news release. “Ronnie [Berlack] and Bryce [Astle] captured the essence of this during their lives. I am honored to be a recipient of this award and will continue to be inspired by their charisma throughout my ski racing career.”

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Davis, of Waitsfield, Vermont, suffered a life-threatening ski-edge laceration and has been raising awareness for this ever-increasing problem facing many ski racers. Like the Berlack and Astle families, he has learned to take a tragic situation and use it to help others.

“I am both excited and humbled to win the Berlack/Astle award. Everything I have heard or read about each of them tells me they learned at an early age to live their life with a passion for their sport, their family and their community,” Davis said in a news release. “I hope to live up to the honor of this award by working hard, constantly challenging myself, staying positive even in tough times and just being the best person I can be.”

Both athletes will receive a $1,000 cash award, race products from Vail-based SYNC and a backpack and T-shirt from World Cup Supply.

This is the 10th year of the Fast Skier Award and the fourth year it has been presented in memory of Ronnie Berlack and Bryce Astle, two USST athletes who lost their lives in an avalanche in Austria in 2015. The award is based on race results, academic excellence, coaches recommendations and community involvement.

Barry Levinson and the Vail-based companies he founded, SRD/Ski Racing Development and SYNC Performance, originally created the scholarship in 2005.


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