Race organizers said that the ski course condi-
tions were as excellent as they could remember in
the last several years. Cold nighttime temperatures
and an excellent base made for a firm and very fast
race venue. The hard-packed snow held up to the
many racers, assuring that those seeded at the
end of the order enjoyed conditions as fast and as
smooth as the first seeds. The daytime tempera-
tures were in the upper teens and 20s, warmed by
the sun peeking out of the clouds. The athletes did
not have to contend with extreme temperatures or
gusting winds — frequent adversities faced by Mid-
west skiers.
On the morning of Feb. 24 under blue skies, the
J3 athletes participated in a mandatory practice
run on the downhill. The afternoon’s pair of one-
run races saw spectacular racing, including a jump
that tested even the most aggressive skiers. In the
boys’ division, local Marquette Mountain skier Colin
Vogel of Great Lakes Ski Academy won both rac-
es over silver medal winner Nathan Bartley of the
La Crosse Alpine Race team. Their head-to-head
competition would be a common theme throughout
the weekend.
In the women’s downhill, Buck Hill Ski Team team-
mates Marlee Gartner, Jessica Reinhart and Me-
gan Greiner finished 1-2-3 in the first race, while
Gartner also completed a gold-medal sweep of the
two races with a top time in the second race. Madi-
son Danelski of the Duluth Ski Team took silver,
and Reinhart finished with bronze.
Day 1 of competition for the J4 athletes was a su-
per G. On the boys’ side, Louis Nyugen of Buck Hill
took gold in all three races to begin a dominating
weekend for himself. Eric Genchef of Great Lakes
Ski Academy had three podium finishes, as did
Tommy Anderson of Buck Hill Race Team.
In the girls’ J4 super G, Rosie Hust of
Buck Hill took home first place from Race
1, while Olivia Petrick-Bradley of Thunder
Bay, Ontario, took home gold from the sec-
ond and third races.
Day 2 saw a drop in temperatures and
partly cloudy skies, but the racers contin-
ued to heat up the hill with intense com-
petitions in slalom for the J3 athletes and
giant slalom for the J4s. The J3 boys’ gold
went to Vy Nguyen (Buck Hill) in Race 1,
while Eric Johnson, a first year J3 from La
Crosse, took first place in Races 2 and 3.
Both Nyugen and Johnson put on a great
demonstration of Midwestern technical
skill. Similarly, the slalom competition for J3
women was beautifully intense. Reinhart,
Emilie Selinder of Mad River Mountain Ski
Team and Kate Hanson of Afton Alps each
took first place in the day’s three races.
J4 skiers enjoyed a second day of speed in Day
2’s giant slalom competition. Louis Nyugen narrow-
ly missed a second sweep of three golds as Tommy
Anderson won Race 2 with Eric Genchef finishing in
silver position in two races. Great Lakes Ski Acad-
emy skier Joe Weber took bronze in Race 1 and
John Whiting of NSA took home two bronze med-
als from the giant slalom competition. The J4 girls’
winner was Emma Finfer of Wisconsin’s Holy Hill
Race Team in Races 1 and 2, while Riley Whitney
of Madison Alpine Race Team took gold in Race 3.
The final day of racing was even more intense as
racers calculated their relative positions for the final
spots on the Central Division Team for the Junior
Championships. J3 athletes competed in giant sla-
lom and J4 athletes competed in slalom. In the J3
boys’ races, Colin Vogel took home two gold med-
als while Nathan Bartley continued to battle Vogel
for supremacy of the hill with one gold and one sil-
ver medal. In the J3 girls’ races, Jessica Rinehart
swept gold in all three races.
In the J4 slalom, the boys’ winner was Louis Nyu-
gen in Races 1 and 2 while teammate Tommy An-
derson took gold in Race 3. Emma Finfer again
took two golds while Juliana Damberg of Afton Alps
took the gold in the third race.
A complete list of the J3 and J4 Championship
qualifiers can be found at http://www.ussacentral.
org/index/j3-j4.
— Justin Gottlieb
Jeremy Gottlieb of Madison
Alpine Race Team competes
in the downhill.
JUSTIN GOT TLIEB
SkiRacing.com MARCH 17, 2011 | 44
