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K1 skiers at provincials, K2 team named for nationals

The Whistler Mountain Ski Club had a busy weekend, with the K1 team (age 11-12) racing in the provincial championships at Grouse Mountain, and members of the K2 team preparing for the upcoming nationals at Silver Star.

The Whistler Mountain Ski Club had a busy weekend, with the K1 team (age 11-12) racing in the provincial championships at Grouse Mountain, and members of the K2 team preparing for the upcoming nationals at Silver Star.

More than 230 athletes took part in the K1 races at Grouse, which included a slalom, a giant slalom, and a Kombi event that tested skills from all four alpine skiing disciplines.

There were two slalom races on the first day that were counted separately. In the first run, Whistler’s Kaylie Higgs and Emma King were first and third on the podium, with Alix Wells of Prince George winning the silver medal. Other Whistler skiers in the top-15 include Charley Field in fourth, Picabo Reeves in sixth, Alexandra Perry in eighth, Eliane Taillefer in 10 th , Morgan McGaw in 12 th and Victoria Konantz in 15 th .

Kaylie Higgs and Alix Wells were first and second in the next race, with Whistler’s Rae Swette in third. Shawna Oser was fourth, Picabo Reeves sixth, Emma King seventh, Alexandra Perry 10 th , and Victoria Konantz 13 th .

On the boys’ side, Logan Pehota and Brodie Seger of the WMSC were second and third behind Austin Llewellyn of Grouse. Blake Ramsden was fourth, Sloan Sainas 10 th , Dalton Pehota 11 th , and Samuel Kirshenblatt 12 th .

No Whistler skiers made the podium in the second race, with Martin Grasic of Windermere and Jamie Green of Vernon placing first and second and Llewellyn third. Logan Pehota was the top WMSC racer in fifth place, Blake Ramsden was seventh, Sloan Sainas 13 th and Kyle Yates 14 th .

In the Kombi, Kaylie Higgs picked up her third gold medal in the first race Alix Wells was second, and Hallie MacLachlan of Fernie third. Rae Swette was fifth, Charley Field sixth, Emma King seventh, Picabo Reeves 10 th , Leigh Sawchyn 12 th , Victoria Konantz 13 th , and Rachel Vander Veen 15 th .

In the second race, Alix Wells moved up to first, with Emma King and Charley Field placing second and third for Whistler. Kelly Steeves was fifth, Rae Swette seventh, Picabo Reeves ninth, Victoria Konantz 11 th , and Alexandra Perry 13 th .

In the first boys race, Brodie Seger and Blake Ramsden were first and third for Whistler, with Vernon’s Alex Kreutz second. Logan Pehota was sixth, Dalton Pehota 12 th and Kyle Yates 14 th .

Bryan Cadman was the only Whistler skier on the podium in the second race, placing third behind Austin Llewellyn and Martin Grasic. Brodie Seger was fourth, Logan Pehota fifth, Blake Ramsden sixth, Dalton Pehota 12 th and Kyle Yates 15 th .

In the final giant slalom, Kaylie Higgs picked up two more gold medals. In the first race, Hallie MacLachlan was second and Alix Wells third. Rae Swette was fifth, Emma King sixth, Leigh Sawchyn seventh, Picabo Reeves 11 th , and Alexandra Perry 13 th .

The podium for the second race was identical, with Rae Swette moving up to fourth, Charley Field fifth, Emma King eighth, Leigh Sawchyn 11 th , and Emma Swaffield and Picabo Reeves tied for 14 th .

Only one men’s race took part with the weather changing in the afternoon. Peter Behncke of Revelstoke was first, followed by Logan Pehota and Blake Ramsden of the WMSC. Brodie Seger was sixth, Sloan Sainas 10 th , and Kyle Yates 11 th .

The top Whistler skiers will represent Team B.C. at the K1 Nationals, and can go on to represent Team Canada at the Whistler Cup in April.

The WMSC’s K2 team is coming off a successful provincial championship of their own, with Mackenzie Patterson and Ford Swette winning overall provincial titles. They compete in the K2 nationals March 24-28, with 11 athletes qualifying to race with Team B.C. out of a provincial quota of 24 athletes. Whistler skiers making Team B.C. include Mackenzie Patterson, Jocelyn Ramsden, Elyse Timoshenko, Kailee Darlington, Eve Zessel, Ford Swette, Willy Konantz, Spencer Morris, Broderick Thompson and Daniel Kwong.

Head K2 coach Pierre Luc Dumoulin is confident that his skiers will perform well at the nationals, stacked against the best club skiers from Quebec, Ontario and Alberta, as well as from across Canada.

“We will be training hard during the next week to make the final adjustment, and we should be ready to compete for the podium every day at nationals,” he said. “Team B.C. will be strong at nationals. This year we have depth in both genders.”

Results will be posted as they are available at www.bcalpine.com.