Skiers hit new levels in Giant Slalom

The boys varsity ski squad had an outstanding performance and took third in the Giant Slalom race at Mt. Bachelor on Saturday, February 2, a goal they've been striving for all season.

The Outlaws beat Mt. View for the third-place spot.

The boys finished the race with a combined team time of 6:53.28. Kincaid Smeltzer finished sixth with a combined time of 2:16:56, the top time for the Outlaws.

"This was Kincaid's best race to date, and he is really starting to show talent in the Giant Slalom event," said Coach Gabe Chladek. "He held a clean, tight line, and made the run look easy."

Colton Seymour finished ninth with a time of 2:18.07 with two very clean runs. George Chladek took 10th with a time of 2:18.65. George stepped it up with an impressive second run and cut several seconds off his first time. Evan Palmer was also fast on his second run and finished 19th (2:25.36), Mitchell Griffin finished 30th (2:31.66), and Christopher Lundgren was 37th (2:35.35).

The girls team took sixth place with a combined team team of 8:19.39. Hollie Lewis finished 23rd with a combined time of 2:34.0, and Chladek told The Nugget that Hollie skied with good form, and had a nice line on the course.

Other finishers and their combined times were: Skylar Wilkins 38th (2:48.48), Sydney Wilkins 44th (2:56.84), and Piper Adelt 51st (3:16.51).

Chladek said, "The girls continue to step up to the competition amazingly well for such a young team."

The JV boys finished fourth with a combined team time of 9:29.28. According to Chladek, the JV boys are showing great improvement and are racing more and more aggressively. In order of finish were: Ian Cash, Jacob Lee, Caden Mercer, and Conner Petke. Petke took a hard fall on his first run but got right back up and finished the run. He ignored his aches and pains and completed a good second run.

"This was the most impressive performance I have seen from the Sisters team since I've been coaching," said Chladek. "The whole team did a great job of competing and supporting each other."