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WMSC skiers top Parson’s, Enquist races

Strong results in speed and technical events

The Whistler Mountain Ski Club hosted four days of racing last week, including back-to-back Parson’s Memorial super G competitions on Thursday and Friday, and the Enquist Slalom on Saturday and Sunday. Ski clubs from Zone 5, including Whistler, the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island, took part.

The Enquist is usually held at Mount Seymour but was moved to Whistler because of the low snowpack in the Lower Mainland.

In the first super G on Thursday, there was a tie for first in the men’s event with Whistler J1 (age 15 and 16) Ben Podborski and K2 (age 13 and 14) Morgan Pridy both finishing with times of one minute, 6.34 seconds.

Whistler’s Benjamin MacLean was third overall and second among the K2s with a time of 1:06.59. Philip Matejko of Cypress was fourth overall and third among K2s.

Joining Podborski on the J1 podium were Smith Milner, sixth overall and second in his category, and Matthew Bowe of Grouse in third.

Whistler skiers counted for eight of the top-15 spots.

In the women’s first super G the WMSC’s Jennifer Mah, a J1, was first overall by more than a second and a half with a time of 1:07.13. Her teammate Katrina Dekur, another J1, was second with a 1:08.81. Deborah Bayliss made it a podium sweep with a time of 1:09.29.

For the K2s, WMSC’s Victoria Whitney was third overall and first in her category with a 1:09.19. Calindy Ramsden and Abigail Cameron, made it another podium sweep for the club with times of 1:10.16 and 1:10.49.

Whistler skiers claimed all but two of the top-15 spots.

On day two of racing K2 Benjamin MacLean stepped up as the top racer with a time of 1:03.61. Morgan Pridy was the second K2 in 1:04.10, and Philip Matejko of Cypress third in 1:04.89.

Michael Kearney led a WMSC sweep of the J1 category with his time of 1:03.61. Ben Podborski was second in 1:04.14 and Smith Milner third in 1:05.18.

When all the times were tallied, the Bob Parsons Memorial Trophy was presented to the winners. The top men’s K2 was Ben MacLean, the top woman was Jen Mah and the top J1 was Ben Podborski.

The K1 (age 11 and 12) also took part in the Enquist Slalom on Saturday, with a field of close to 100 racers. The K2 and J1 athletes raced on Sunday. Volunteers kept the race moving smoothly throughout the day, with up to two racers on the course at any given time and no shortage of volunteers fixing the gates and slipping out the ruts.

In the men’s K1 race, Whistler snapped up the top four spots with Patrick Taillefer up front in 51.15 seconds. William Konantz was second, Aidan Lee third and Spencer Morris fourth, helping the WMSC to 10 of the top-15 spots.

In the second men’s slalom that afternoon Whistler’s Isaac Penn, Michael Cadman and Ford Swette were first through third with times of 48.06, 48.63 and 49.35. Whistler Mountain Ski Club members again took 10 of the top 15 spots.

The women’s first K1 slalom went to Kelsi Francisty of Mt. Washington in 50.36. Taylor Green and Heidi Mah were second and third in 50.43 and 51.22. The Whistler girls also snapped up 10 of the top-15 spots.

The second slalom saw Mah jump to first in 50.41, Green repeat at second in 50.98 and Jenny Rea in third with a 51.09 to make another podium sweep for the WMSC.

On Sunday, K2 Morgan Pridy took the first race with a gate crashing time of 41.97. J1 Michael Kearney was second in 42.12 and K2 Alexander Binks third in 44.61. Ian Morrison was the third K2 in 46.64, while Cameron Harris of Grouse and Mark Hume of the WMSC were second and third among J1s.

In the second race Pridy was solid once again with a combined time of 1:23.40 in two runs. Kearney was a close second in 1:23.54, and K2 Phihlip Matejko of Cypress third in 1:23.66. Alexander Binks was the third K2 in 1:29.21, while Whistler’s Donald Milner and Ben Podborksi were second and third among the J1s with times of 1:29.19 and 1:32.35.

Complete results could not be printed due to space limitations. Please visit www.bcalpine.com for the final results.

Mars Canadian Junior Championships this weekend

The job of playing host is not over yet for the Whistler Mountain Ski Club. Starting on Friday the club will play host to the top J1 junior alpine racers from across Canada in the second annual Mars Canadian Junior Alpine Championships.

Racers will be representing their clubs and provincial teams, vying for the chance to make the Canadian junior team.

In its second year, the Junior Alpine Championships were created to keep skiers in alpine racing after the K2 level.

"A common theme felt throughout the ski world is that our sport loses a lot of athletes after the transition from K2 to J1," said Max Gartner, the chief athletics officer for Alpine Canada Alpin. "One of the reasons seems to be that after graduating, the athletes from K2 enter the big FIS world without an event tailored to their needs. The next benchmark event that is for a few elite athletes does not occur until after the World Junior Championships."

In other words, the lack of races after the K2 level has resulted in a significant number of skiers dropping out of organized racing. Creating a J1 national series and championship keeps up the momentum of the K2 program, which in turn will create a larger field of racers when it comes time to identify candidates for the national team.

Racers from the U.S. are also invited to compete, giving Canadians a chance to compete against a larger field of racers. According to organizers the U.S. Ski Association is sending a strong team to Whistler.

For the top Canadian skiers, medals aren’t the only awards up for grabs. For the second year the top J1 skiers will take part in a training camp in Banff alongside members of the Canadian Alpine Ski Team.

All of the races will take part on Blackcomb. After training on Friday, the skiers will take part in a slalom on Saturday, a giant slalom on Sunday, and super G races on Monday and Tuesday. The awards ceremony will take place daily at 5 p.m. in Creekside.