FVSEF ski racers qualify for regional championships

by Whitefish Pilot
| March 8, 2023 1:00 AM

Flathead Valley Ski Education Foundation (FVSEF) ski racers competed in Red Lodge over the weekend in a Youth Ski League (YSL) event. The race series included one slalom and one giant slalom race for U8, U10, U12 and U14 age groups and it was the final event for U14s to qualify for Western Regional and Tri-Divisional championships.

Championship teams will be announced later this week, and those who qualified will travel to Grand Targhee and Jackson Hole to compete the third week of March. FVSEF athletes Stephan Hadidi and Henryk Hadidi landed on the podium over the weekend while Lola Zinser earned the best result for the girls with a fourth-place finish in the giant slalom.

Following the recent U16 qualifying races here at Whitefish Mountain Resort, the Northern Division’s U16 Western Regional Championship team was announced and includes FVSEF athletes Melody McNalley (Columbia Falls), Kellie Klepper (Whitefish), Valerie Cross (Eureka), Greta Lund (Polson) and Parker Retz (Whitefish). The team will compete in Sun Valley, Idaho March 20-24.

The U16 Tri-Divisional Championship Team will compete in Grand Targhee, Idaho at the same time and includes FVSEF athletes Brayden Hoover (Whitefish) and Guinevere Tomblin (Whitefish).

Red Lodge YSL Race Results:

Slalom

U14 Girls

Lola Zinser 12th

Kira Paatalo 19th

Dynalea Tomblin 20th

Avery Retz 24th

U12 Girls

Finlee Klocke 12th

U14 Boys

Wyatt Nadeau 10th

Rylan Hoover 12th

Anderson Preston 18th

U10 Boys

Stephan Hadidi 2nd

U8 Boys

Henryk Hadidi 1st

Giant Slalom

U14 Girls

Lola Zinser 4th

Kira Paatalo 15th

Dynalea Tomblin 24th

Avery Retz 27th

U12 Girls

Finlee Klocke 9th

U14 Boys

Rylan Hoover 15th

Wyatt Nadeau 16th

Isaac Rudolph 19th

Anderson Preston 22nd

U12 Boys

Laird Averill 9th

U8 Boys

Henryk Hadidi 1st