Final FIS GS at Statton

We have now wrapped up the final FIS development series of the year. After four days of some crazy spring weather the boys got in four great tech races.
Yesterday in the final GS of the series many of the boys have strong first runs on North American. We had five guys in the flip for second run. Sawyer from CVA set a great second run, it had more distance and swing than the previous three sets but it ran great and made for a very competitive last run of the series.
The sun came back out for the second half of the day and many of the guys skied well second run. Kyle held on for 8th, 3rd for J2's. From bib 61 Dan Scherding skied into 29th first run, he charged up into 20th overall second run. In the process he scored an 84 point result, his best FIS GS race to date. He was followed by Dan Martin in 22nd, who was 25th after first run. Cam and Andrew both had some trouble second run adjusting for some of the terrain, they finished 30th and 32nd. Julian Scherding had another great day starting from bib 92. He charged first run and cut his bib in half moving up to 41st. Second run he skied well and moved up a couple more spots into 38th. He scored his first sub 100 point result, his best gs race by nearly 30 points. Ben Scheu had a better second run, first run he made a few mistakes and stayed put were he started in 57th. Second run he still had a few mistakes but skied well, moving up to 48th. Even with those mistakes he scored just ahead of his best GS result so far with a 105. Spencer also had a solid day scoring his best FIS result so far. He moved up from bib 70 to finish 55th overall, scoring a 112 result. Jack Salisbury had another nice move yesterday starting bib 107 and skiing up into 76th. Kenny scored his best to date with a 135, finishing 80th from bib 96. He was followed by David Schindler and Peter Spangler finishing 83rd and 88th. Both of whom also moved up and scored there best races to date.

Despite many of the boys being tired from the long season it was nice to see them charging and moving up run after run. Many of them scored their best races of the season. While the FIS season is most likely done for most of the guys we do have a couple more USSA races left before we can hang up the skis and get the bikes and boats ready for summer. One group is heading over to NY for some races with the second year J3's, another group will be racing at Sugarbush and Stowe this Friday and Saturday. We only have a few more days left at school but we are still pushing to make the most of it. See you all at Sugarbush tomorrow morning.
Stags

Mount Washington Valley USSA Spring Series

We had a great series this past weekend with three races at three different venues. A GS at Sunday River, SL at Shawnee Peak and two SG's at Attitash. Photo above was taken from chairlift at Shawnee, what a sight. We had the USSA crew with us and a few J3's making their first USSA appearances.

In the GS, Kippy led the KMS charge with 7th and a career low point result, 61. Jeffro and Marshall also posted great USSA results just above 100, finishing 18th and 20th. Newcomers Jake Grundy and Tommy Chebel skied aggressively and without fear in their first big boy race, with Grundy skiing two clean runs and moved from last on the start list (57) to 36th. Tommy skied just out of the flip first run and was skiing even better in the second before blowing up and sending his ski to left-center field on the 3rd to last gate. Tough luck but he'll be back.

SL went well for Kippy as he scored another career best, a 64 finishing 5th. Former men's team coach Joe Dunn channeled his undying love of the sport into a rare victory, which will certainly have him foaming at the mouth for even more next year.

SG was another great success for Kippy. We ran two races in one day and he finished 7th and 9th in both. He has been skiing with a good amount of confidence lately and his results this series earned him a spot in the final Devo FIS GS at Stratton. Nice work. Grundy and Chebel made it down in both races and will not have to worry about starting 990 in SG next year. Mission accomplished.

On another note, KMS J3 Mika Smith not only did well in her first taste of USSA SG, but decimated the entire field taking 1st place both races, very impressive!

First run of gs at station

The boys had another good first run here at station this morning.  They have set themselves up for another round of good results second run. 
Kyle is in 6th about .6 out.
Cam is in 19th
Kimball is in 23rd
Dan Martin is in 25th
Dan scherding is 29th
Julian moved way up from 92 into 41st cutting his bib in half.
Kip is in 49th
Ben is 57th
Stodegell moved up to 64th despite a couple large tactical errors
Jack is in 93rd
Schindler is in 95th followed by Pete spangled in 96
The set this morning was the easiest so far and the guys skied well.  Time to head up for inspection. 
Stags

Stratton Devo GS 1

After a lengthy delay this morning waiting for the chair lifts to be deiced we were finally able to get started with inspection and the first run. Our boys did a good job first run charging through the fog on top and being aggressive across the flats into the finish. Kyle, Cam, Mike, and Andrew all made it into the flip with Kyle in 11th, Mike in 16th, Andrew in 19th, and Cam in 26th. Dan Scherding just missed the flip in 33rd, Julian made a huge jump up from 98th into 52nd.
At the end of the day we had Kyle as our top finisher in 7th, the other guys in the flip had some trouble with the terrain. Mike was skiing well but didn't adjust for the terrain at the bottom and gave away some time, moving back into 23rd. Cam was pretty gassed by the time he got down onto the flats and was rounder than he needed to be and also had some trouble with the rhythm change coming over the bottom roll and moved back into 35th. Andrew also had trouble and moved back to 39th. Daniel Scherding had a solid run to finish in 34th overall, a nice move up from bib 67. Julian had a solid run going but got tossed a bit over some terrain and went down on his side, on one side and then on the other. He was able to hold on for 70th. Jack had another solid result today, moving up into 80th first run and then into 75th overall from bib 115. Dave Schindler finished in 84th followed by Kenny in88th. Pete Spangler had some trouble but was able to move up into 98th.
Hopefully tomorrow will bring some better weather and some sun. The hill should be in great condition again tomorrow for the final race of the series. We are looking forward to two more good runs and then some down time for most of the guys.
The video wasn't all that great today so I don't have any good pictures to post. I will try to get some tomorrow.
Stags

stratton gs

After some heavy icing on the lifts last night we are getting ready for an 11:00 first run.  Now the fog is lifting and looking like it will be a pretty good race.  We have guys starting early looking to take advantage of the good snow to ski fast and score some results.  Conditions are improving by the minute, this should be another great race today.
Stags

Stratton Devo SL day 2

Today was a bit more challenging than yesterday. About the time we finished inspection first run the snow started to fall, slowly at first and later building to near blizzard conditions. The snow on the race hill was extremely good again today, but it was covered with a layer of wet snow, making for some slick conditions. The first run set was considerably tighter than most of the slaloms that we have seen this year, but the guys did a good job adjusting to the tight turns and charging down the hill. Second run was much more like the rest of the races that we have seen this year, bigger distances with a bit more swing in places.
Dylan had a good day, skiing himself into 11th overall despite feeling sick all day. He scored a 60 point race today that will match up nicely with the 55 that he scored in Canada earlier this year. Kyle was our next finisher in 15th, 5th for j2's, scoring a career best 64 point race. Dan Scherding and Ben Scheu were our next guys finishing in 36th and 45th, they had solid runs but were slowed down by some mistakes. David Schindler had another great day moving up from 81 to 61 and scoring his best result to date with a 100. Behind David was Spencer moving way up from bib 107 to finish 69. With two fairly clean runs down the hill Spencer scored a 112 to help match with the race he scored earlier at West Mt a few weeks ago. Despite finishing first run with a blood covered bib after taking a gate to the face Jack Salisbury had a good day, moving up to 81st from bib 137. He scored his best slalom result to date with a 132.
Now that the slalom races are done for this series we are set to run GS for the next two days. With the new snow hopefully the groomers can get back down to the great surface that we have enjoyed for the last two days. I am hoping that the guys can take advantage of the great conditions and ski well the next two days. Mike Morin from SMS is setting the first run tomorrow and I am going to be setting the second run.
Congradulations to Wyatt Querolo for winning the SG at the K2 championships up in Canada today, and Kip did a great job finishing 3rd at the USSA SG at Attitash today.
Lets get fired up for another race tomorrow.
I will try to post an update after first run.
Stags

Stratton Mens Devo Slalom day 1

We were lucky that the weather here at Stratton has been cold lately, the snow held up much better than I had expected. The track was in great shape second run, a groove developed but it was in a good place for the guys to generate speed.
Second run Dylan made it down to lead the pack for KMS in 18th, not his cleanest run but he made it down the hill. Kyle and Mike both had good first runs but ran into trouble on the second run. Kyle leaned in on the upper section and took a detour off course before skiing back in to finish. Mike was skiing really well both runs but ran into trouble on the bottom on a fall away right footer into a hair pin. Julian did a great job second run moving up again on the second run, skiing himself from bib 111 into 46th overall. Peter Spangler and David Schindler both had great days, moving from bibs 93 and 84 up to finish in 50th and 58th.
Looking forward to tomorrow we may have a little weather coming in over the next couple days. It may be nasty tomorrow but the boys are fired up to race another slalom tomorrow. Both courses are set so it should be a fairly laid back day tomorrow both in the morning and between runs.
Lets go boys get fired up.
Stags

P.S. great job in Maine the boys are skiing well.

Men's devolopment slalom first run

We have been graced with some very good snow here at station for the first day of a four day deck FIS series. We drove down this morning after a good tune up session yesterday.
Dylan and Kyle skied well and made it down in 18th and 15th. Mike ferri is currently in 31st after one dq and hoping for one more to be able to start first in the second run. He skied well and already cut his.bin in half. Pete spangled did a great job skiing from bin 93 up in to 49th. Ben is in 53rd and Julian moved up.from 111 in to 61st. David schindler moved from 84th up into 67th. Jack moved up from bin 137 in to 87th. Right now we are just waiting to see what happens with dq's. Now up.for.inspection and a 12:45 second run.

just happen to be sitting by my computer on a saturday when; I noticed the live timing results in Maine.
Very nice job boys! i am sure Greg can fill in the details but it looks as though many had a good day.

Kippy landed in 8th overall for the day about 5 out, Jeffry and Marshall made HUGE jumps from 70 and 73rd to 18th and 20th respectively. Awesome!

And young one Jake Grundy, starting 108 and skiing to 36th.

BBucks was in 11th after first but had troubles on the second; Keep going Bucks, its coming!
Young Jedi Knight Shebell also had some difficulties second run after just missing the flip.

Nice JOB

Bet your looking forward to tomorrow, NOW!

Devo Crew heads to Stratton tomorrow for 4, stay tuned.!

JB

Open DID-U at Middlebury yesterday

Yesterday Dylan, kip, and I went to an open die-u at middlebury. We were join by Mike Cahill for a warm and sunny slalom. The conditions were challenging both runs. First.run the snow was reasonably hard after temps dropped into the 20's the night before. Surprisingly the track held up reasonably well for the first 20 to 30 guys, but once it started to break through it didn't last long. Dylan started 51 and kip came down with bib 67. Dylan was skiing well but got launched out of a rut on the pitch and was forced to hike back up around the gate. He skied well on the bottom but was far out of the running. Second run he straddled on top and didn't finish.
Kip was more successful first run, he battled through the holes and skied himself up from 67th into 52nd on the run. Second run the course was in a little better condition after the application of plenty of salt, but it still was pretty beat up when kip started. He did a good job again second run persevering through the rough conditions and moved himself up onto 39th overall.
The guys are looking forward to a day off tomorrow.
Stags

FIS Finals SL at Whiteface

Slalom on Sunday marked the end of the races at Whiteface for the Eastern FIS junior finals. After four days of rain sun and snow. During the mens GS we threw a couple hundred pounds of salt and the hill never really rebounded. areas that were salted during the gs were chunky and bottom less rotten snow. Also the areas that were dyed for the GS's and SG had the consistency of blue-green yogurt. That being said the conditions for the SL were less than ideal. Many of the guys that started in the top 15 had trouble with snow that either broke away from under foot or soft snow that made it difficult to get the ski to actually hook up and arc.
During the first run Dylan and Kip started 9th and 11th, unfortunately both guys had trouble with the extremely variable conditions and both DNF'ed. next down the hill Dan Scherding did a great job navigating the rapidly growing sinkholes and skied himself into the flip in 20th. Mike Ferri and Ben Scheu also skied well and moved themselves into the flip, Ben into 27th and Mike into 30th. Andrew Kimball also skied well but just missed the flip in 31st. Kenny McNeil was our final finisher in the first run, moving up from bib 80 to finish 65th. The rest of the guys had trouble and failed to finish, joining about 20 other guys in the lodge.
The second run was another challenging run, not only for myself trying to set through the deep ruts and rotten snow, but also for the 72 guys who managed to survive the first run. Much like the first run the track actually got better after the first 10-15 and then started to rapidly deteriorate after about 30-35. Mike had some trouble on the pitch and found himself on his hip before a quick hike back up around a gate. Dan also had some trouble after trying to cut off the line and hooking a tip on a right footed turn. Ben and Andrew skied well and were rewarded with their best SL results of the year, they finished 19th and 20th, scoring a 91 and a 95. Kenny moved up again and skied into 54th on the day. The guys did a good job on the second run both moving themselves up and skiing fast for the run. Ben and Andrew were 9th and 10th on the run, showing that they do have a lot of speed in them right now.
Now everyone is looking forward to a day or two off before we start the final push through the last development series at Stratton. We have two weeks left of school, lets make the most of it to work hard and ski fast in the closing days of the 2010-2011 season.
See you back on campus tomorrow
Stags

Whiteface Mens GS

In the end we ended up with a great race today. The snow mostly stayed hard through both runs and did not break away as badly as it often does in spring races on salted snow. We also managed not to get rained on too badly.
In the second run we had three guys in the flip. Andrew Kimbell had a wild ride to get down after finishing 24th first run. He was 12th on the run and 19th overall, 6th for J2's. Mike Ferri finished 28th first run and came down with the 14th fasted second run, moving himself up into 21st and 7th for J2's. Dylan was able to put down another good run, moving from from 10th after first run up into 7th overall. His second run was 5th fastest, just over .2 behind the run winner. Kip was our next finisher, after some trouble first run he skied well and moved back up to 30th. Ben had a little trouble coming onto Drapers drop in the second run, but held on for 44th overall. Daniel and Julian Scherding finished 49th and 63rd respectively, both improving on their bibs. Kenny McNeil also moved up, despite having an infection in his hand he moved from bib 86 up into 71st overall.
The boys did a great job of staying positive today despite the weather and deteriorating snow conditions. It was further reinforcment of how important it is to ski fast first run and make it into the flip, especially in soft spring conditions. The guys are looking forward to some bowling tonight and a day off tomorrow. We are planning to go up and freeski on SL skis a bit in the afternoon, but it should be a fairly low key day. Looking forward to sleeping in and giving the guys a change to get some homework done.
Stags

Whiteface gs run one

Even after all the rain and warm weather the race crew and coaches were able to put together a great first run for the mens gs. The hill was slipped and salted before the run and all the hard work payed off.
Dylan was our first guy out of the gate. After nearly missing run he skied well and finished 10th about a second off the pace. Andrew and Mike skied themselves into the into the flip, 24th and 28th. A little later in the run the heavily salted track started to break away and it was difficult to move up much. Kip just missed the flip in 37th followed by Ben in 41st. Dan Scherding moved up to 45th Julian skied into 71st and Kenny moved into 78th.
The guys are skiing well and moving up every run. With minimal changes to the course for the second run I am expecting to boys to continue moving up through the field.
Let's go boys
Stags.
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J2 Eastern FIS Finals Day 2

Today were able to pull off a race that most thought to be impossible. With a bit of snow last night and morning showers the surface was extremely soft. Through the day the rain came and went, but the heavy stuff mostly held off until we were off the hill.
First we ran the mens and womens SG portion of the Super Combined. After the womens race the course was adjusted a bit for the men, but not nearly as much as yesterdays course. The snow was again very soft for the mens race and as a result the conditions varied wildly from gate to gate. Some turns were fairly smooth while others had been scraped down to some fairly hard snow. Mike Ferri was able to capitolize on a good start position and came down into 13th on the run. Ben and Andrew had trouble with the soft snow and were unable to make it down into the flip 30 for the SL part of the combined, finishing 35th and 37th on the run. Julian and Dylan also had trouble with the snow, Dylan nearly fell in a corridor coming onto the flats, and Julian did tip over but was able to stand up and make the next gate.
In the Sl run this afternoon the boys skied better despite not having optimal start positions. With out any salt on the course during the rainy afternoon the course deteriorated extremly quickly, but the vigilance of the slippers helped to keep the ruts at bay through the 71 men who finished the SG. Mike Ferri came down and skied very well to finish 9th overall, 8th on the run and 5th for J2's. Dylan also skied very well, skiing into 10th on the run after starting 46thin the SG. also Andrew held on for 22nd overall. Ben and Kip had trouble on the run and had to hike to finish.
Looking forward to tomorrow we are welcoming Daniel Scherding and Kenny McNeil who are coming over for the Tech races. The forecast for tomorrow is a bit daunting with high temps and more rain expected through the day, but we are going to try and run the mens GS.

J 1/2 Eastern USSA Finals Gore Mountain, NY

The USSA crew just wrapped up Eastern Junior Finals at Gore with impressive results. As with the rest of the Northeast, Gore was hit hard by a blizzard and conditions where soft, with 15 inches of new snow. The ruts were some of the biggest we have seen all year. Unfortunately the SG was wiped off the schedule due to the conditions.

In the GS, Tyler Guth showed that he is a J2 to be reckoned with taking 2nd place, and 5th overall. Complete results to follow as they become official.

In SL, the boys had another good showing, with David Schindler in 17th, Peter Spangler was 18th from bib 34, Tyler Guth finished 21st from bib 77 taking the Bibo award for the day. Zach Stockman finished 30th from bib 43. Spangler, Guth, and Stockman all lowed their USSA SL points as well. Good Job for finishing well ahead of their start numbers!

Well we finally got a speed event off at the Loaf. Excellent mid-winter conditions here today with a semi firm track that held up throughout the day. All the guys improved their performances from the February speed week up here and are starting to learn the more times down this track the better.
Dan moved from 45 to 25 and scored a little race for himself. Kyle the same, about 20 bibs, from 48 to 29, with a small score and Cam, still working on cleaning up some tactical details from 52 to 45.

Tomorrow, we will try it again before the next storm. It would be very nice to get another speed event in; DH or SG. We will see.

jb

Easten J2 FIS Finals day 1

We have the first day in the books over here at whiteface for the eastern j2 fis finals. It was sunny and warm most of the day. Props to Nysef and the events crew for getting the hill prepaired after getting over two feet of snow in the last couple days. That being said the surface was pretty soft today but with constant slipping todays sg went well for the boys.
Ben Scheu and Mike Ferri started one two after some adjustments from the womens race. They unfortunately were the victims of some poorly placed ruts from the forerunners. Both had trouble in the middle of the flat and lost considerable time. Even after their troubles they had respectable finishes in 13th and 10th. Julien skied well and had a good run and was able to put a good time on the board, finishing in 8th and 3rd for 2's. Andrew also had some trouble in the middle but was able to hold for 28th. And with very little time on sg skis this year kippy skied into 47th. unfortunately Dylan had trouble on the top and didn't finish.
Tomorrow we are going to be racing the super combined with one run of sg and one run of sl. Hopefully the weather cooperates and we can get in a quality race. Ben and mike got better draws for tomorrows sg half of the race and I am expecting everyone to ski well and come through the SL with some good results.
Let's hope the rain holds off until after we get off the hill.
Stags.
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Excellent day for racing at the Loaf. Bluebird day, sunny and calm winds. The boys are warming up and getting ready to go. Women first at 1045, men at 130

Jb

Fighting the weather this past Saturday at Killington,VC Finals came off without a hitch. The surface held as well as it could and the boys skied well.
Dylan took the fastest second run and ended up second overall. Daniel Scherding stepped it up for second run as well for a solid fourth. Following by brother Julian in 7th, Mike Ferri in 10th.
Jack Salisbury and Kenny McNeill also skied strong in the second run, finishing 16th and 18th respectively. And rounding out the top 30 was David Schindler in 25th and Jeffry Griffen, coming from bib 88 to finish 30th. Nice Job Guys!

This week, fighting the recent rain and snow fall; a crew is in Gore, NY, Sugarloaf, ME. and Whiteface, NY later in the week.

Sugarloaf in the rain

Today the women were scheduled to race gs. But rain last night and through the day today has made that impossible. Earlier today all the nets on the race hill were rolled in anticipation of anywhere from 8-17 inches of new snow tonight and tomorrow. Right now we are planning to put the fences back up in the morning and try to get the womens gs in tomorrow. This will in turn push the speed events back one day. So the guys will have another day off tomorrow and then race sg on Tuesday.
Hoping for the best I think that the surface may he very good for the races on Tuesday. And hopefully the guys will be able to use another off day to rest, do homework and get fired up for the speed events.
Stay dry and warm up the shovel.
Stags
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mens slalom

The first run is finally over. Both the mens and womens first runs were plauged by high numbers of dnf's. The course started right onto a pitch that put most of the guys on true heals. Unfortunatly all of our guys had trouble in one place or another and didn't finish. Cam and Kyle had good runs going but had stumbles and were unable to finish.
The weather today is not very cooperative. Its blowing hard and snowing, as a result many of the lifts are on wind hold so the lines on the quad are backed up all the way over to the base lodge.
Hopefully the east can salvage some good results in the second run.
Stags.
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Mens gs

Second run yesterday was better for Kyle than first run. He was able to ski well and move back up to 24th overall.
As a region the easy did a great job with guys finishing 1st 3rd and 4th.
Today we are getting ready for both the mens and wokena slaloms. The- weather today may be more challenging today as it may be raining in the afternoon. The guys are fired up and ready to hammer today. Kyle will be starting 35, Dan is starting 51 and cam will be 77. The guys just got back from warming up and are getting ready. Make sure to check live timing and I will try to post an update and pictures between runs.
Stags

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GS run 1

First run ran quickly but the attrition rate was fairly high with 18 dnf's out of 85. Unfortunately cam and Dan were two of them. Both came out of headwall on thd low line and had trouble on the bottom of the course. Kyle had a little trouble in the bottom of headwall but was able to stay on track and get to the finish. The track held up well first run and there were some good runs coming down from the back of the pack so Kyle should be able to move back up from 34th. Grande set second run with shorter distances and more swing so this may be a better course for Kyle.
The east did well overall first run. Let's hope for more sucess second run. See y'all after seconds run
Stags
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J2 nationals mens gs

Here we go. Day one at j2 nationals. Its blue skies and great snow up here at Sugarloaf for the first day of races up here. The boys have good starting positions and are psyched to get going. Kyle is starting 24 cam is 29 and Dan is 57. Daryl from BMA set a great first run and we are ready to go.
Let's go boys crush it.
Stags
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Camp Fortune Ontario

Greetings, here to report on another eventful trip north of the border. Dylan Malone and Kip Spangler participated in the Meile Ontario Series for two slaloms just outside Ottawa. On day one, Kippy scored himself a FIS point result and moved into 13th from Bib 18. Dylan DNF'd, so we hit the Top Carting track in Ottawa that night to try to find some racing intensity off snow. They must not make 'em like this in the states, because those carts were fast! I was talking a big game beforehand but Dylan took the checkered flag and my ego and I limped off the track.

On the second day, Dylan came back to form and finished eleventh. Kippy was hot on his heels in 12th.