Juniors
Photo by Tom Derr
Cooper Williams (Ausblick Ski Team, Sussex, Wisc.),
in third.
Saturday’s Shelley Glover Memorial Slalom race was
a heated competition won by Alex Gencheff (Great
Lakes) on the J1-J3 women’s side. In the men’s J1-3
race, Drake Doherty replicated Friday’s first place finish with another gold medal
and finished with the fastest
time on the mountain. Each
winner received an etched
glass trophy and will be honored on a plaque inscribed
with each year’s winner and
displayed at the Marquette
Mountain lodge.
Saturday’s J4-6 slalom
races were also hotly contested. The girls’ winner
was Emma Finfer (Heiliger
Heugel) followed by Katie
Arneson (Madison Alpine)
and Danielle Sylvester. Joe
Weber once again topped the boys’ field, closely followed by Dylan Von Heimburg (Ausblick), and Brad
Seaborg (Great Lakes).
Drake Doherty then demonstrated that his dominance
was not limited to slalom racing alone as he took gold
in both the downhill and GS races on Sunday. Organiz-
ers report that the downhill competition was exciting as
the calmer winds and hard surface promoted extreme-
ly fast times and some “awesome” flights across the
headwall leading to the steepest portion of the course.
Finishing in second place in the men’s downhill was
14-year-old Colin Vogel (Great Lakes); in third place
was Jonathan Manderfield. In the women’s downhill,
Sierra Dux took first place, followed in second place
by Samantha Henderson and Alex Gencheff in third
place.
Finishing second to Doherty in the men’s GS was
Jonathan Manderfield, and in third place was Damon Rottermond (Northwestern Alpine Ski Academy).
The women’s GS was won by repeat champion Alex
Gencheff, who had finished atop the field in the previous day’s Shelley Glover Memorial Slalom competition.
She was followed in second place by Sierra Dux and in
third place by sister Gabby Gencheff (Great Lakes).
The J4-6 boys’ GS was won by John Whiting, while in
second and third place, respectively, were Joe Weber
and Brad Seaborg, continuing their battle for wins in
the junior division. In the girls J4-6 GS race, Emma
Finfer and Riley Whitney again battled to a 1-2 finish,
while in third place was Ashley Childress (Wilmot Race
Team, Ill.)
Full race results for all of the weekend’s events can be
found at live-timing.com.
The athletes helped the SGSEF in honoring Saman-
tha Henderson and Kathryn Thibideau as recipients of
the Shelley Glover Scholarships.
Michigan’s Shelley Glover Memorial Slalom Weekend Welcomes 150-Plus Racers
Victoria McVicker aces at Marquette Mountain.
The weekend of January 14 to 16 brought together
more than 150 athletes from throughout USSA Re-
gion 2 for a unique alpine skiing event at Marquette
Mountain, Mich.
For the first time in many years, the senior athletes
competed in a downhill event, often reserved for the
longer race hills of the Rocky Mountains, and on Sat-
urday competed in the annual Shelley Glover Memo-
rial Slalom race; Sunday featured a separate GS race.
The event is held by the Shelley Glover Sports and
Education Foundation (SGSEF) in memory of Glover,
who died after an accident while training with the U.S.
Ski Team. (The SGSEF also provides scholarships to
athletes and works with communities to provide ac-
cess to sports such as soccer and swimming for those
who may have financial limitations.)
According to organizers, course conditions were ex-
cellent with firm and stable snow, which helped prevent
significant ruts despite the large turnout of racers.
In the women’s J1-3 slalom event on Jan. 14, the gold
medal winner was Victoria McVicker of Nubs Nob Race
team in Harbor Springs, Mich. The silver medal went to
Sierra Dux of Great Lakes Ski Academy in Marquette,
Mich., while the bronze was won by Samantha Hen-
derson of Mont Ripley Race Team in Houghton, Mich.
In the men’s J1-3 slalom event, first through third place
were taken by Drake Doherty, (Nubs Nob), Brian Er-
hart (Boyne Mountain Race Team, Boyne Falls, Mich.)
and Jonathan Manderfield (Team Norway Race Team,
Iron Mountain, Mich.), respectively.
In the girls’ J4-6 race, medalists were Danielle Sylves-
ter (Heiliger Heugel Ski Team, Hubertus, Wisc.), Callie
Pilgrim (Heiliger Heugel), and Melissa Derr (Madison
Alpine Race Team, Madison, Wisc.)
The boys’ J4-6 winner was Joe Weber of Great Lakes
Ski Academy, with John Whiting (Northwestern Alpine
Ski Academy, Thompsonville, Mich.) in second and
