Local skiers among medalists in zone finals
The long ski season wrapped up last weekend for members of the Whistler Mountain Ski Club (WMSC), who raced at the zone finals on April 13 and 14 at Mt. Washington.
The giant slalom and slalom races were open to K1’s (age 11 and 12), K2’s (age 13 and 14), J1’s (age 15 and 16), J2’s (age 17 and 18) as well as FIS level racers. Almost 200 racers took part on each day of the competition.
According to WMSC coach Brett Macfarlane, the WMSC brought two busloads of skiers to the race. Representing the FIS were Chris Colpitts, Jerry McArthur, Mike Messeguer, John Burke and Tayn Ng. B.C. Ski Team athletes Rachel Walker and Kayla Benbow also joined the team for the trip.
"As expected, the club dominated the race," said Macfarlane. "Colpitts now wears the zone champion crown and the others represented the team well. Overall it was encouraging to see so many talented racers at every level dominating the field."
In the men’s GS on April 13, J2 Austin Gagne of Mt. Washington finished first overall in 56.10 seconds. He was the only J2 in the race.
In the J1 category, Mt. Washington’s Nicholas Sinclair won the gold medal with a time of 57.99. He was followed closely by Christopher Colpitts and Jerry McArthur from the WMSC, with times of 58.18 and 58.72 respectively.
In the K2 race, the WMSC’s Matthew Holler won the silver medal, and was sixth overall, with a time of 59.22. Jeff Hutton from Grouse Mountain won the gold in 58.93. The bronze went to Conrad Pridy, another Whistler skier.
Whistler skiers swept the K2 podium, with Kyle Coxon in first, Morgani Pridy in second and Scott Harrison in third with times of 1:03.31, 1:03.51 and 1:03.93.
Whistler’s Kendall Benbow, the top Canadian skier at the recent Whistler Cup competition, was the top K2 and the best skier in the women’s GS with a time of 56.14. The next K2, in third place, was Jennifer Graham of Mt. Washington in 57.99. Whistler’s Danielle Robson was third in the category and eighth overall in 58.52.
Rachel Nixon from Cypress was the top J1 and second overall in 57.95. She was followed in the J1 category by Shelane Wiseman of Mt. Washington in 1:00.57 and Katherine Clarke of Grouse in 1:01.71.
In the J2 race, Carley Stobbart of Grouse won the gold with a time of 58.15. Whistler’s Kendall Benbow and Alexandra McLean were a close second and third in 58.28 and 28.39.
Whistler’s Christina Disler was the top K1 in 1:02.06, leading another Whistler sweep. Alison Matasi was second in the category in 1:02.55, and Katerina Dekur was third in 1:04.09.
In the slalom on the following day, Whistler J1 Chistopher Colpitts posted the fastest two-run time of the day. He was more than nine seconds faster than the next racer, finishing in 1:25.60. Michael Sikorski of Mt. Washington was the second J1, and was 12 th overall, with a time of 1:40.55 – almost 15 seconds back. Kyle Stubbs, also from Mt. Washington, was third in the category and 20 th overall with a time of 1:43.39.
Whistler’s Darren Chaddock, a K2, was first in his category and second overall in 1:34.86. Peter Collins of Mt. Washington was next in line in 1:35.41, while the bronze went to Whistler’s Ryan Vaisler in 1:36.12.
In the K1 race, Whistler’s Morgan Pridy finished an impressive seventh overall and first in his category to take the gold medal in 1:38.98. North Jones, another Whistler skier, was second in 1:42.74. Hamish Davidson of Grouse was third in 1:43.36.
Whistler K2 Danielle Robson took her second medal of the weekend in the women’s event, finishing first overall in 1:25.60. Alison Leighton and Katherine Cape completed the K2 sweep for Whistler, finishing in 1:28.47 and 1:30.82 respectively.
In the J1 race, Shelane Wiseman of Mt. Washington was first in her category, second overall, in 1:28.40. Chantal Stephenson of Grouse was 10 th overall, but second in her category with a time of 1:35.23. Amberly Metzler of Mount Seymour was third in the category, or 12 th overall in 1:36.94.
In the women’s K1 race, Whistler’s Sarah Marshall cracked the top 15 to win her age group. She was followed by two more Whistler skiers, giving the WMSC their third podium sweep of the zone finals. Christina Disler won silver in 1:39.48, and Katerina Dekur the bronze in 1:40.27.
Complete results from the competition are available at www.bcalpine.com.
