With all skiers participating, the ski and snowboard team raced on “awesome” snow for the first time on Jan. 29 at Northstar California.
Team captain junior Luca Procida at the start gate before his giant slalom race.
Team captain junior Luca Procida said he was proud that the team maintained its energy through the two races, each consisting of two runs of the course.
“That many races back-to-back can really take a toll on energy and stamina,” Procida said.
In his first giant slalom (GS) race, Procida placed fourth of 31 skiers with times of 29.60 and 29.32 seconds. In his second GS race, he finished third of 32 skiers with times of 30.09 and 30.13 seconds.
Junior Nate Jakobs finished his first race in 34.64 and 34.31 seconds, placing 14th of 31.
In the second race, Jakobs said he improved by making tighter turns. He placed 11th of 32 with times of 34.94 and 33.58.
Good snow conditions made those turns quicker and earlier, Jakobs said.
Procida agreed.
“The snow quality was awesome throughout the whole day,” Procida said. “Thankfully, the clouds blocked out the sun and kept the snow firm and skiable.”
However, senior Nina Dym said that the snow became icy near the end of her last run.
“I lost a little control because of it,” Dym said. “But I wasn’t fighting for time, so it was no sweat.”
Dym placed 19th of 21 skiers in her first race with times of 42.03 and 43.3 seconds. She finished her second race 18th of 23 skiers in 40.76 and 42.09 seconds.
Dym said that because she missed her annual winter break ski trip in Utah because of the lack of snow, she felt rusty.
But this course was tiny in comparison to last year’s GS trail.
“You could basically see the end of the race from the start. In last year’s race, there were three hills I had to get down,” Dym said.
However, the course had seemed daunting at first, according to Dym.
Sophomore Sandor Pelle, the team’s only snowboarder, at the start gate before his first race.
“(This course) looked harder than it actually was,” Dym said. “Once I got down my first run, I knew I’d be fine.
“There was one part where the flags were pretty close and far out, and I thought I was going to miss them.”
Sophomores Bri Davies and Sandor Pelle completed their very first ski and snowboard races.
Davies finished 13th of 21 skiers with times of 37.49 and 40.45 seconds in her first race. She finished her following runs in 38.07 and 36.78 seconds, placing 12th of 23.
Coach Jason Kreps said he was most proud of Davies and Pelle for improving from their first to second races.
Pelle finished his first race with times of 1 minute and 8.74 seconds and 1 minute and 13.63 seconds, placing last of 22 snowboarders. However, In his second race, Pelle placed 18th of 22 with times of 50.50 and 53.46 seconds.
Freshman Colin Usrey finished his first runs in 38.20 and 37.60 seconds, placing 20th of 31 skiers. He completed his second race 24 of 32 with times of 38.85 and 38.98 seconds.
Kreps said that the team needs to work on being more aggressive.
Their next race is Friday, Feb. 2, at Boreal Mountain Resort.
—By Larkin Barnard-Bahn
