FVSEF racers shine as intense season nears end

It was another action-packed weekend of racing for skiers from the Flathead Valley Ski Education Foundation (FVSEF).  

Parker Retz from Whitefish spent the week at Mittersill Cannon Mountain in New Hampshire competing against the best U18 athletes in the country at the Under 18 (U18) Nationals. With starting numbers in the high 70s to 90, he had strong finishes in the 50s for the Super-G (SG) and Giant Slalom (GS). Then Retz shone in the Slalom (SL), coming from bib 83 to finish 29th.  

His FVSEF teammates, Great Lund from Polson, and Sydney McPhie of Whitefish, were competing in the Western Regional Junior Championships for U18 and U21 athletes at Grand Targhee, Wyoming. Lund had her best finishes in SG with a 13th and 20th, plus a strong SL finish in 20th. McPhie had outstanding races with a 19th in GS and a 26th in SL. 

This week the U16 Western Regional Championships are being held in Alpine Meadows, California. FVSEF athletes Claire Graham of Whitefish and Finlee Klocke of Kalispell qualified as part of the Northern Division team for the event. They will be racing SG, GS, and SL over the next few days. 

For racers under age 14 (U14), the Western Regional Championships are being held at Sugar Bowl, California, March 19-22. FVSEF racers Nolan Shaw and Kessa Drendel, both of Whitefish, were selected to compete on the Northern Division team and will also be racing in SG, GS, and SL. The Western Region for both age groups includes athletes from Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Montana, and parts of Wyoming, North and South Dakota. 

In addition to these regional events, FVSEF will be well represented at the Tri-Divisional Championships at Snowbasin, Utah, March 20-23. The series includes U14 and U16 athletes from three of the five divisions comprising Western Region – Intermountain. Qualifying for U16s are Kira Paatalo, Avery Retz, Ella Elliott, Sierra Nelson and Rylan Hoover. U14 qualifiers include Theo Elliott, Jude Petro, Edmund Dickson, George Dickson, Adelyn Danley, Lucy Love, Evelyn Barnett and Mia Lengacher. 

Thirty FVSEF Development Team athletes just wrapped up their competition season with the Youth Ski League Championships at Great Divide for U8, U10, U12, and some U14 age skiers. FVSEF came away with several podium finishes. On Friday, March 6 in the GS, Emerson Prezeau finished second in the U14 girls, Quinn Laabs was second in the U8 girls, Noah Lozman was second in the U8 boys, Aksel Wilson was second and Winston Seguine was third in the U10 boys, Riley Ralston-Love took third in the U12 boys, and Owen Grace won the U14 boys.  

On Saturday’s SL, Aide Grace won and Lorraine Elliott was second in the U10 girls, Prezeau was second and Zoey Du Lac was third in the U14 girls, Ralston-Love was second in the U12 boys, and Aksel Wilson was second in the U10 boys. A combination GS-SL race (K) was held on Sunday. Sierra Duchesne won and Aida Grace was second in the U10 girls, Prezeau was second and Zoey Du Lac third in the U14 girls, Seguine was third for U10 boys, and Owen Grace won the U14 boys. 

These championship events are the culmination of an intense winter of training and racing with the constant challenge of less-than-ideal conditions this year.  

    Parker Retz from Whitefish competed at Mittersill Cannon Mountain in New Hampshire last week. (Photo provided)
  

    Great Lund from Polson, and Sydney McPhie of Whitefish competed in Whyoming last week. (Photo provided)
  

    Miles McIntosh at the YSL championships. (Photo provided)
  

    The YSL girls at the championship competition. (Photo provided)