FVSEF alpine ski racing team earns second in season-long standings

Flathead Valley Ski Education Foundation (FVSEF) ski racers competed in Bridger Bowl over the weekend in the Over the Hill Gang (OHG) race series. The race series included one giant slalom (GS) and two slaloms (SL) for U14 and older athletes, including college racers from Rocky Mountain College and Montana State University. The races are traditionally the final event on the Northern Division calendar when athletes have the opportunity to dress up in fun costumes, and also end-of-season division awards are announced.

FVSEF athletes found the podium multiple times at Bridger, and the FVSEF club placed second in the division among all other teams for the season-long Little Hollow Cup, which totals up all the results for the season for U14 and older ages by team.

In the season-long Gold Cup standings, Otto Lund of Polson led the U18 age group and was second overall. Parker Retz of Whitefish was third among the U16 boys. Despite not competing at the OHG races, Melody McNalley of Columbia Falls was third overall for the girls.

Individual results at the OHG races included Greta Lund (Polson) in second for U16s in the GS race on Friday and older brother, Otto Lund, taking the win in both SLs for the U18 boys on the weekend. Kellie Klepper (Whitefish) finished with a third and a second for U16s in the two SL races, and Parker Retz (Whitefish) came away with a third-place SL race for U16s on Sunday. Jordon Jurasek (Polson) came in second in the U21 age class on Sunday, as well. Other FVSEF racers had some of their season-best performances, with the complete results below.

FVSEF athletes have one more week of training at Whitefish Mountain Resort before heading to their respective championship races. Two FVSEF U18/U21 athletes have been invited to Alyeska Resort, Alaska for the Western Region Junior Championships March 21-24, five FVSEF U16 athletes will be competing in Sun Valley, Idaho at the Western Regional Championship March 20-24, and two U16 and six U14 athletes will be competing in Grand Targhee, Idaho at the Tri-Divisional Championships March 23-26. Additionally, FVSEF Development Team athletes (U12 and younger) will be competing this weekend in Big Sky at the Youth Ski League (YSL) Northern Division Championships.

Complete OHG Race Results:

Giant Slalom

U16 Girls

Greta Lund 2nd

Guinevere Tomblin 14th

U14 Girls

Lola Zinser 5th

Dynalea Tomblin 13th

Avery Retz 15th

U16 Boys

Parker Retz 5th

Slalom 1

U16 Girls

Kellie Klepper 3rd

Greta Lund 4th

Guinevere Tomblin 14th

U14 Girls

Lola Zinser 6th

Avery Retz 12th

Dynalea Tomblin 17th

U18 Boys

Otto Lund 1st

U16 Boys

Parker Retz 4th

Slalom 2

U16 Girls

Kellie Klepper 2nd

Guinevere Tomblin 11th

U14 Girls

Lola Zinser 4th

Avery Retz 10th

Dynalea Tomblin 14th

U21 Boys

Jordon Jurasek 2nd

U18 Boys

Otto Lund 1st

U16 Boys

Parker Retz 3rd