The Whistler Mountain Ski Club continued to dominate in their competitive zone last weekend, winning 12 out of the 12 medals handed out at the annual Bob Parsons Memorial Super G.
The Parsons race has been held every year since 1980 to give young skiers an opportunity to race at a higher level of competition. Most of the field is made up of K2 racers (age 13 and 14) although some J1 racers (age 15 and 16) do compete.
Usually the race is a downhill on the Dave Murray course on Whistler Mountain, but this year the organizers opted to run a pair of Super G races on Blackcomb on Ross’s Gold.
While K2 head coach Patrick Demers expected the Whistler skiers to do well, even he was surprised by the medal sweep and virtual sweep of the top 10.
"We pretty much had half the field out there so we had a definite advantage going into the race, but to clean up in the women’s side like that was pretty extraordinary I would say," he commented.
In the first super G on Feb. 2, a mix of K2 and J1 women claimed 12 out of the top 15 spots, led by J1 racer Anastasia Skryabina. Proving that it was no fluke, the Whistler skiers repeated the feat in a slightly different order, taking another 12 of 15 spots. Skryabina wound up on top once again.
The men also grabbed 12 of the top 15 spots on day one, and another even dozen on day two.
"We know we can compete regionally, now our goal is to work and improve so the best skiers can compete well nationally," says Demers, who moved from Quebec to Whistler two years ago to coach the K2s. "We’re focusing on the national championships in mid-March. It will be good to face harder competition there because regionally it’s been pretty easy for us this year."
While Alberta, Quebec and Ontario are usually strong contenders at the nationals, Demers feels a number of Whistler racers are equally strong. "From what I’ve seen we should be at the top nationally as well. We’ve trained hard and are right up there with the best of them."
Results:
Women’s Super G, Feb. 2
1. Anastasia Skryabina, J1, WMSC – 1:01.98
2. Charlotte Whitney, J1, WMSC – 1:02.52
3. Kendall Benbow, K2, WMSC – 1:03.01
4. Alison Leighton, K2, WMSC – 1:03.33
5. Danielle Robson, K2, WMSC ‚ 1:04.77
6. Taryn Ng, J1, WMSC – 1:05.41
7. Jennifer Graham, K2, Mt. Washington – 1:05.43
8. Julia Murray, K2, WMSC – 1:06.61
9. Keely Coxon, K2, WMSC – 1:06.96
10. Katherine Cape, K2, WMSC – 1:07.48
10. Alexandria Browne-M., K2, WMSC – 1:07.48
12. Alix-Jaye Ballard, K2, Mt. Washington – 1:07.74
13. Kerri Van-Doorninck, K2, Cypress – 1:07.99
14. Jillian McArthur, K2, WMSC – 1:08.23
15. Anna Ho, K2, WMSC – 1:08.26
Men’s Super G, Feb. 2
1. Trevor Conroy, J1, WMSC – 1:00.53
2. Christopher Colpitts, J1, WMSC – 1:01.05
3. Darren Chaddock, K2, WMSC – 1:02.20
4. Benjamin Chaddock, J1, WMSC – 1:02.66
5. Matthew Holler, K2, WMSC – 1:03.05
6. Michael Messeguer, J1, WMSC – 1:04.63
7. Jeff Hutton, K2, Grouse – 1:04.72
8. Jerry McArthur, J1, WMSC – 1:04.86
9. Shaun Stroshin, J1, WMSC – 1:05.70
10. Ian McDonald, J1, WMSC – 1:05.87
11. Conrad Pridy, K2, WMSC – 1:06.09
12. James Charlton, J1, WMSC – 1:06.95
13. James McLean, K2, WMSC – 1:07.02
14. Sam Penhall, K2, Cypress – 1:07.05
15. Peter Collins, K2, Mt. Washington – 1:07.68
Women’s Super G, Feb. 3
1. Anastasia Skryabina, J1, WMSC – 1:07.43
2. Kendall Benbow, K2, WMSC – 1:07.62
3. Charlotte Whitney, J1, WMSC – 1:08.32
4. Alison Leighton, K2, WMSC – 1:09.69
5. Danielle Robson, K2, WMSC – 1:10.38
6. Taryn Ng, J1, WMSC – 1:10.63
7. Alexandria Browne-M., K2, WMSC – 1:11.44
8. Julia Murray, K2, WMSC – 1:11.64
9. Jillian McArthur, K2, WMSC – 1:11.67
10. Keely Coxon, K2, WMSC – 1:11.87
11. Alix-Jaye Ballard, K2, Mt. Washington – 1:12.03
12. Katherine Cape, K2, WMSC – 1:13.34
13. Anna Ho, K2, WMSC – 1:14.01
14. Kimberly Startup, J1, Seymour – 1:14.13
15. Krysty Francisty, K2, Mt. Washington – 1:14.27
Men’s Super G, Feb. 3
1. Christopher Colpitts, J1, WMSC – 1:04.90
2. Trevor Conroy, J1, WMSC – 1:05.95
3. Darren Chaddock, K2, WMSC – 1:07.29
4. Matthew Holler, K2, WMSC – 1:07.33
5. Jeff Hutton, K2, Grouse – 1:07.75
6. Taylor Self, K2, WMSC – 1:08.49
7. Michael Messeguer, J1, WMSC – 1:08.65
8. Jerry McArthur, J1, WMSC – 1:09.27
9. James McLean, K2, WMSC – 1:09.51
10. John Burke, J1, WMSC – 1:10.06
11. Shaun Stroshin, J1, WMSC – 1:10.15
12. Jonathan Wells, K2, WMSC – 1:11.03
13. Ian McDonald, J1, WMSC – 1:11.09
14. Liam Foran, K2, Grouse – 1:11.62
15. Yoshinari Ishihama, Grouse – 1:11.66
