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ST, Whittell, Incline battle conditions, have mixed results at ski meet

Skiers battled rain, sleet and snow and some technical gates Wednesday, Jan. 9, in the third Tahoe Basin Ski League meet of the season.

South Tahoe, Incline and Whittell finished fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, overall, but the Vikings boys grabbed third place and were one point away from second on the slalom course at Heavenly Mountain Resort.

Due to the conditions, just 27 of 38 boys completed two runs and just 24 of 39 girls.

“The upper course was good — the kids liked it, but it did get a little rutted as always,” said South Tahoe head coach Barbra Bedwell. “The bottom of the course got very icy, so the speeds the kids were carrying into the bottom of the course were really high. As a result, when the kids got to the bottom technical section, they were going really fast, plus they hit the icy patches resulting in lots of disqualifications in the bottom few gates.”

Cameron Grant finished ninth to lead the South Tahoe boys’ team. He was followed by teammates Aaron Johnson in 11th, Matt Sullivan in 12thand Mark Allen in 14th.

Grant’s two-run total was just over 2 seconds faster than his three teammates.

Allen, the team’s fastest skier, missed a gate on his first run and hiked a few feet and lost precious seconds in the process. He was eighth fastest on his second run.

Incline’s Otto Albrecht sped to a fifth-place finish to lead the Highlanders to fifth place. He was fourth after his first run in the tough conditions.

Jake Harrell was 22ndand Chase Corman was 23rdfor Incline.

“We missed many racers who were preparing for final exams,” said Incline head coach Doug Brubaker.

Justin Smith carved his way to eighth place for Whittell to carry the boys’ results.

Patrick Smorra was 23rdand Clyde Quillen was 24th.  Aidan Rippett was 12thafter his first run but couldn’t complete the second.

Of South Tahoe’s eight varsity girls, just three completed both runs led by Kiara Furrer’s 17thplace. Jamie Johnson was 19thand Ella Bickert was 20th.

The team’s quickest down the slopes usually is Summer Furrer, but she failed to negotiate the final gate on her second run.

“Summer had a great first run and was sitting at about seventh place and then she missed the last gate on the second run — crushing,” Bedwell said.

The Vikings second fastest girl Annie Ferguson suffered a similar fate on both runs.

“Overall, our team finished with their usual great spirit,” Bedwell said. “Our coaches had a mini hot-dog barbeque set up, and the kids built a few terrain features to play on.”

Rebecca Noble led the Incline girls’ effort by finishing 16thand teammate Gabi Kohler in 24th.

Brenna Ritchie, the team’s speedster, put up the fifth fastest time on her first run by couldn’t finish her second.

Rebecca Petty finished 22ndfor the Whittell girls.

Red Hut Deli set up a hot beverage stand with coffee, hot chocolate, tea and cider and gave it away to all kids and parents.

Tahoe Basin Ski League

Slalom, Wednesday, Jan. 9, at Heavenly Mountain Resort

Girls — 1. North Tahoe 215, 2. Truckee 202, 3. Douglas 159, 4. South Tahoe 120, 5. Incline 79, 6. Carson 60, 7. Whittell 40.

Boys — 1. North Tahoe 214, 2. Douglas 183, 3. South Tahoe 182, 4. Truckee 159, 5. Incline 122, 6. Whittell 121, 7. Carson 10.

Overall — 1. North Tahoe 429, 2. Truckee 361, Douglas 342, 4. South Tahoe 302, 5. Incline 201, 6. Whittell 161, 7. Carson 70.


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