Last stop...USCSA National Championships

Ole men and women competed in the USCSA National Championships last week at Sunday River, Maine. For some, it was a revisit to the hill we competed on two years ago, and for others it was a brand new experience. Skiing out east is quite different from out west. The icier hills and mountainous terrain put many racers to a new kind of test. Lucky for the Oles, a few feet of new snow and almost perfect weather left us with fairly familiar conditions to put down some killer runs. Despite many mishaps by both the men's and women's team, we were able to finish out the season strong.

Racing begins; Women's GS (Wednesday): We got out to Maine on Monday evening, trained Tuesday, and the women were ready for the GS competition Wednesday morning. The courses that were set couldn't have been straighter (much to our dismay...midwest skiers need turns to show off our moves). But the girls still had a blast...

Genette kicked butt coming down with a 14th place first run, and finishing the race in 23rd place. Her Norwegian mountain GS skills were aparent, and we were all excited for her! The team came in 12th overall for the day.
23. Genette Sekse
53. Kayla Johnson
57. Laurie Tashler
59. Laura Mansell
85. Alex Anderson

Men's GS (Thursday): Two very different courses, the first testing speed and the second technicality, proved for a difficult race on the men's side. Lund was able to move up a good five places on his second run, helping the men's team out. They finished off the race coming in 7th.
16. Nick Stang
20. Max Lund
45. Nate Hansen
47. Jeff Stamp
73. Joe Masciopinto

Women's Slalom (Friday): The women were much happier after Friday's slalom competition. As midwest skiers, we went into the race confident, knowing this was our event. The race hill featured a "steep" section at the top, moving into a rolling, flatter section, which we compared to Spirit Mountain in Duluth. Racers were able to hear the announcer screaming their name as they finished the last 15 seconds of the course. "And she moves past the last poles, over the stripes and into the finish!" he would scream. We found his description of the sport quite entertaining. The girls got 7th place in the slalom competition, with three in the top 30!
19. Genette Sekse
22. Kayla Johnson
30. Laurie Taschler
42. Laura Mansell
45. Alex Anderson

Men's Slalom (Saturday): The men had a difficult time on the slalom hill on Saturday. Stamp dq-ed after first run when he strattled a gate near the top of the course. After this, the rest of the team knew they would need to step it up. They gave it their all, putting everything they had on the line. With some of top 10 fastest splits on the second run, both Stang and Lund blew out about half way through the course. Hansen experienced similar difficulties, also hiking. Masciopinto was the lone clean-finisher, leading the team to an amazing 10th place finish, everything considered.
(The individual results cannot be found...will be posted once located. Sorry.)


President's Cup: The Nordic and Alpine ski team won the President's Cup, the combined Nordic/Alpine competition. We'd like to thank the Nordic team for their outstanding performances, winning many of their races.

We had many parents in attendance all week at the race. It was so nice to have a cheering section coming from the deck. We couldn't have done it without everyone's support. Thanks for the yummy dinners, too!

It's been an excellent season. It's weird for me to be leaving this skiing community as a racer. But I'm excited to join the rest of you, alums, in support of the team. I hope these experiences continue for this team for years to come!