To the competitors of the final weekend of the J3 Junior Olympic qualifiers, it was as if the Olympics came home to Tahoe.
Competing for a slot at the Junior Olympics, 13- and 14-year-olds attacked the super G course on the backside of Northstar. Waxed and ready, competitors had to sit out Feb. 27 because of inclement weather. On Feb. 28, it was double duty for the girls with two races, followed by two races on March 1 for the boys.
More than 150 racers converged on Northstar for the competition. With recent U.S. Olympic medals on their minds, racers and parents got a treat on Feb. 28, mingling with Julia Mancuso during her Olympic celebration party. The top three winning racers in each race had a chance to stand on the podium in front of a crowd of thousands. It was quite the photo opportunity with Mancuso's poster in the background.
For the girls, SG1, it was Diamond Peak's Julia Bjorkman in first, Squaw Valley's Marie Johnson in second and Mt. Rose's Taylor Elicegui in third. Race 2 had Squaw's Diana Abbott in first, Diamond Peak's Hannah Johnson in second, and Elicegui in third.
On March 1, it was Squaw's Julia Cashell in first, Abbott in second, and Squaw's Johanna Gur in third.
For the boys, it was a Squaw Valley sweep, with Max Hall in the top spot all three races; Jordan Fuller in second in races 1 and 2 and third in race 3; Nico Montforte was second in race 3, and Erik Arvidsson was third in races 1 and 2.
The three weekends of qualifying included three slalom races, three giant slalom races and three super G races, with the best five-out-of-nine results calculating the standings for Junior Olympic selection.
The selected athletes will represent the Far West Division of the United States Ski Association at the Western Region J3 Junior Olympics held at Mount Bachelor in Bend, Ore, Saturday through Tuesday.
Representing the Far West
Boys
Max Hall, Ty Sprock, Erik Arvidsson, Nico Montforte, Jordan Fuller, Marc Talbott, Addison Dvoracek, Scotty Lebel, Brian Francis, Tyler Wormhoudt, Owen Wattenmaker, Charlie Klein, Garret Driller, Chris Fitzpatrick, Cody Wilson, Riley Plant, Patrick Romano, Pierson Souza, Kye Moffat, Peter Johann, Kevin Sundberg, Jack Deryk, Lucus Underkoffler, Beau Mott, Gavin Chen, Zane Bensing
Girls
Diana Abbott, Julia Cashell, Marie Johnson, Hannah Johnson, Julia Bjorkman, Maddie Johnson, Tenaya Standteiner, Natalie Demuro, Lizzie Ryan, Johanna Gur, Taylor Elicegui, Sierra Ryder, Claire Deangeli, Chase Hommeyer, Anna Harleen, Alexa Wehsener, Audrey O'Brien, Mackenzie Comstock, Rachel Urban, Sinclaire O'Grady, Danica Hagen, Kendyl Colonias, Remi Wolf, Kerrie Tonking
