Coach Jason Kreps and senior Luca Procida stop for a photo after Procida's last high school race. (Photo by Christy Procida)

Racers take on slalom and GS in one day during Ski and Snowboard State Championships

The ski and snowboard team arrived at Mt. Shasta Ski Park on March 6, ready and eager to race in the 2019 California Nevada Interscholastic Ski and Snowboard Federation (CNISSF) State Championships.

The team was set to compete against racers from 23 other high schools across California and Nevada from the six sections.

Racers for Country Day were senior Luca Procida and sophomores Bri Davies and Colin Usrey.

Senior Nate Jakobs, who also qualified for states, could not race due to an injury, and senior Tori Van Vleck was unable to attend due to previous commitments.

Although the team was ready for a race, Mother Nature was not. Coaches and the course management team at Mt. Shasta determined that the slalom races should be postponed due to extreme weather and safety issues.

Procida and Davies attempted a run on the slalom course, only to be later informed that the race had been postponed.

Team members did not let the day go to waste, however, opting to go to the town of Weed to visit a bookstore and catch up on homework.

The team also met up later to bowl with racers from Chico and Lake Arrowhead in Southern California.

The slalom and giant slalom (GS) were held on March 7. As a result, skiers were scored solely on one run, rather than the standard two.

But the Cavs didn’t let this bring them down. Procida placed 11th of 78 racers in the boys slalom and 21st of 76 racers in the boys GS.

Usrey competed only in the boys GS, placing 65th.

Davies placed 37th in both the girls slalom and GS of 75 and 70 racers, respectively.

The boys finished 17th and the girls 18th.

Overall, Procida — the league champion — placed 15th of 78 racers.

“It was a different race because I was competing against all the kids who are top competitors in the leagues,” Procida said. “It was storming for a couple days before, too, making the snow inconsistent across the courses.”

Davies, on the other hand, said this was her favorite course of the year.

“I wasn’t super disappointed with my performance, but I obviously wish I would have done better,” she said.

Procida noted that racing only once in slalom and GS affected his performance, as he did not have a chance to fully learn the ins and outs of the course.

“Having both disciplines in one day was a big challenge,” he said. “I could have been more aggressive in GS, too, because I was a little too conservative.”

Overall, however, Procida was happy with his states performance and said it was a great last year of racing.

By Jack Christian

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