Alpine racers place in Giant Slalom

The first alpine ski race for the Sisters High School team was held last Saturday, January 10, at Mt. Bachelor ski area. The course was a grueling Giant Slalom run over a mile long. The Outlaws team had outstanding performances from all members, both the mens and womens teams.

In the mens division, senior and returning veteran racer Yasha Saldi turned in a two-run combined time of 2:13.17, placing him 10th overall.

"This year is going to be a great season for Yasha. He has the experience now to really shine," said Head Coach Greg Ausman.

Returning for her third year on the womens team, junior Cammi Benson was the highest-placing Outlaw with a fourth place overall. Her combined time for the two GS runs was an impressive 2:19.50.

"Cammi is consistently a strong skier, and that's what it takes to place in the top five," said Ausman.

There were 43 racers in the mens division, and 41 in the womens.

"The field this year is extremely competitive. Many of the kids train year around, and are nationally ranked ski racers. So the fact that we had two placings in the top 10 is outstanding," said Ausman.

Senior Emily Ausman placed 18th overall, and new team member McKenzie Banks placed 35th in the women's standings. Newcomers to the men's team, Jake Sahlberg and Lachlan Wood, also had strong performances for their first high school league races, placing 33rd and 34th respectively.

"I am very pleased at how well the first-time racers did. Their technique looked good, and they all had a lot of fun," said Ausman.

There were seven schools represented this year in the league, including Bend, Summit, Mountain View, Redmond, Ridgeview, Lakeview and Sisters. Even though Sisters is the smallest school in the league, the Outlaws teams placed fourth in the Team Men's and fifth in the Team Women's. In order to place in the team standings, the Outlaws needed all six racers to have two clean finishes each.

"We had no wiggle room, no room for errors. Nobody disqualified. Nobody crashed. Every one of them just went out and got the job done," said Assistant Coach Sara Ausman.

Next week is the first slalom race, a tighter course which will test racer's technical skills and precision. According to Greg Ausman, "We will be strong in the slalom races as well as GS. It's going to be a fun year!"