Girls Place 1st, Boys 2nd

On Wednesday the KUA racers travelled to Blackwater Ski Area on the Proctor Academy campus for the first Lakes Region slalom event of the season. The prior day had been 50-degrees and raining, but the day of the event was just 20-degrees with blowing winds, which made the conditions extremely icy and very fast.

Notable performances were notched by KUA rookies Levy Bird, Craig Tyer, and Ethan Levine, all participating in the first slalom race of their careers. While Craig and Ethan couldn’t find the finish line, Levy landed in 23rd position, with the freshman showing tremendous ability despite his inexperience. On the ladies side, Amelie Petersen and Zoe Reed both battled through tough runs to keep the team in the running. Senior leader Leah Cole-Durst, who was smoking through her first run, hooked a tip on a tight turn just 5 turns from the finish, injuring her knee and ending her day. We hope to see her back on the hill in time for our home event on January 25.

Standout performances were notched by new sophomore Kayla Jacobs and junior Karl Menzel. Kayla earned her second victory in as many weeks, beating her closest opponent by 1.3 seconds, a lifetime in ski racing. As her confidence grows, Kayla is surely building momentum for the championship races in February. Strong runs were also posted by sophomore Alicia Fairbrothers (3rd), freshman Greta Hulleberg (5th), and sophomore Zoe Reed (9th). The girls worked hard as a team and walked away with their second consecutive Lakes Region victory!

Karl and the KUA boys were pitted against some of the best skiers in the Lakes Region at this event, with a handful of skilled young racers from Cardigan Mountain School and Andrew Brown, once a J3 leader in New Hampshire, now bringing his skills to Vermont Academy’s small team. Karl battled the tough conditions and earned himself 3rd position in the race, skiing technically well and falling just behind Andrew and Jack Costello from CMS. Other notable performances came from Jim Herbert, finishing 6th despite missing a gate and hiking in his first run, Dylan “The Kentucky Flame” Chauvin finishing 13th, and freshman Sam Durst finishing 17th. The boys skied hard and earned themselves 2nd place behind a strong Cardigan Mountain team.

Next week we will see the Wildcats defending their home turf at Sunapee for a Lakes Region giant slalom. Racing action begins at 2pm; we hope to see you there!