Flathead Valley ski racers find success in regional, divisional championship events
Young ski racers representing the Flathead Valley Ski Education Foundation and the Northern Division of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association qualified for and competed in regional and divisional championship events over the past several weeks.
For U14 racers, the Western Regional Championships were held at Mammoth Mountain, California on March 27-30. Colter Bengtson of West Glacier, Claire Graham of Whitefish and Finlee Klocke of Kalispell were selected to compete on the Northern Division team.
Bengtson found the podium on the first day of competition with third place in the boys’ super-G, fourth in the giant slalom and sixth in slalom. The three top finishes earned him third place in the overall standings and qualified him to represent the U.S. at the Whistler Cup in Canada in April. Graham had a strong performance in the super-G, finishing in 18th and Klocke was solid in 49th.
The U16 racers traveled to Schweitzer Mountain, Idaho, on March 19-23, for the Western Regional Championships. FVSEF athletes Leo Bungener and Kira Paatalo, both of Whitefish, qualified for the Northern Division team. Leo’s best finish was 39th in giant slalom, while Kira finished a solid 48th in the slalom.
The U18/U21 Western Regional Junior Championships were held in Mission Ridge, Washington, on March 12-17. Weather was a challenge and of the six races scheduled, only four were held. FVSEF athletes Melody McNally, Greta Lund and Parker Retz represented the Northern Division. Lund was most successful in one of the GS races where she finished 22nd from a start number of 76. Retz started the slalom races with bib number 88 and had a great finish in 32nd. McNally was sitting in 15th after the first giant slalom run and in her other giant slalom race, she finished in 31st.
FVSEF had many athletes qualify to represent the Northern Division at the Tri-divisional Championships in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on March 18-21. On the U16 side, Syndey McPhie, Avery Retz, and Rylan Hoover, all of Whitefish, qualified. For U14s, qualifying athletes included Nolan Shaw, Sierra Nelson and Kessa Drendel of Whitefish and Ella Elliott from Kalispell. Unfortunately, McPhie, Retz, Nelson and Hoover were all unable to attend. First year U14 athlete Nolan Shaw had his best finish in the super-G with a 31st. Ella was 41st in the slalom, and Kessa had a great slalom race going but didn’t finish. She finished her least favorite event, the super-G, in 51st.
The championship events were the culmination of an intense winter of training and racing. Congratulations to all our athletes for your hard work and improvement this season
Following the championship race series, FVSEF travelled to spring races at Bridger Bowl and a FIS series back in Mission Ridge, Washington. Melody McNally won the U18 women’s race, Kessa Drendel was sixth for the U14 girls, and Nolan Shaw was seventh for U14 boys. In Mission Ridge, Greta Lund had an outstanding giant slalom race coming in sixth place, and had two strong slalom finishes with an 11th and a 13th place. Parker Retz had a breakthrough slalom race on Saturday and finished fourth overall.
Colter Bengtson on the podium in third place for the overall. (Photo provided)