Alpine skiers turn in strong performance on slopes

The Outlaws boys ski team finished fourth in their race at Mt. Bachelor on Saturday, January 26, and the girls posted an eighth-place finish under sunny, warm, and calm conditions.

The course got a bit soft and wet with the heat, and there were a record number of crashes among all the teams, but the Sisters teams finished strong and scored well.

The boys varsity team posted a team time of 6:48.77 for their fourth-place finish, just behind Mt. View's third-place finish (6:47:76). Colton Seymour finished fifth (2:14.66), Kincaid Smeltzer was eighth (2:15.97), George Chladek 12th (2:18.14), Evan Palmer 27th (2:33.25), and Christopher Lundgren, in his first varsity race of the year finished 30th (2:36.89).

Coach Gabe Chladek said, "Colton and Kincaid skied exceptionally well for the difficult conditions, and maintained clean, high, direct lines. They had to balance being aggressive with responding to the variable snow conditions on a course with a couple tricky gate placements. And, in this league it's a big deal to finish in the top 30 in your first varsity race, and Christopher did a great job."

The girls were missing two racers and still finished eighth with a team time of 10:59.68. Three freshmen, Hollie Lewis, Piper Adelt, and Sydney Wilkins led the squad and did an incredible job. Lewis skied very fast and finished 18th with a combined time of 2:36.44. Adelt finished 29th with a time of 3:14.78, for her first top-30 finish. Wilkins pushed hard and crashed on her second run, but got back on course and finished to record a second-run time, which kept the Sisters girls team in the team score. Sydney finished 33rd with a combined time of 5:08.46.

Chladek said, "I'm really proud of how well the Outlaws skied. The team keeps improving with every week. They're moving up in the finish a little bit with each race, so we may move into third place. It will be an exciting second half to the season."

The boys JV team was missing some veteran racers, and fielded some for their first-ever race. Caden Mercer, Ian Cash, and Jacob Lee combined for fifth place.

"First-time racers Mercer and Lee skied clean lines for a great start to their racing careers, and Ian continues to improve with every race," Chladek said.

Next up for the Outlaws is a Giant Slalom race at Mt. Bachelor on Saturday, February 2.