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The Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation Cross Country Comp and Prep Progression Teams traveled to Soldier Hollow, Utah, for their first Junior National Qualifier of the season. The Cross Country Comp team is all high school-aged athletes, and the Prep progression team is athletes ages 13 - 15.
Athletes traveled from across the country to compete at the qualifier. SVSEF had 43 racers competing, ranging from U12 to U20 age categories. The U18/20 girls dominated their field, with consistent top 30 results in each event.
On the men’s side, SVSEF XC Comp Team athlete Miguel Fresco Hanlon sprinted his way into third place in the U18/20 Sprint race on Jan. 20.
“It was a solid weekend of racing for our team!” said Becky Woods, SVSEF XC Program Director.
“Soldier Hollow is a great venue and really well run, which made it easy for everyone to give their best effort whether it was their first race or not,” Hanlon said. “It was also really great to see everyone’s growth since the Sun Valley Super Tour.”
The breadth in age range across the event provides strong competition for athletes at every level across the Intermountain Division as well as athletes from other regions.
“We had a great weekend in Soldier Hollow at the Super Qualifier,” said Ashley Knox, SVSEF XC Comp Team Head Coach. “We raced against skiers from five regions across the West: Rocky Mountain, High Plains, Far West, PNSA, and our division—Intermountain. This was our first of three Junior National qualifying race weekends. Our skiers are looking to qualify for the regional team to represent Intermountain at Junior Nationals in Fairbanks, Alaska, in March.”
SVSEF XC Comp Team athlete Miguel Fresco Hanlon, right, sprinted his way into 3rd place in the U18/20 Sprint race on Jan. 20.
Courtesy photo
Molly Maybach, Berkley Canfield and Cora Scott each finished in the top 10 of the U18/20 girls skate sprint—though Knox saw improvement throughout the team.
“We also had many of our younger athletes race their first [Junior National Qualifier] ever and the future is bright!” Knox said.
SVSEF XC Comp Team athlete Charlie St. George had a strong finish among U16 boys in the Skate Sprint event.
"It’s a sprint," he told teammate Zach Quesnal before the race. "All you have to do is start out as hard as you can and finish harder, it’s pretty simple.”
The Soldier Hollow Qualifier is one of three qualifiers throughout the season, where athletes compete in effort to qualify for Junior Nationals at the end of the season. The 2023 Junior Nationals will take place in Fairbanks, Alaska March 13-16.
“One of my favorite moments from the weekend was when our youngest skier, Cam Gilman, finished his 4km classic race to the cheers of a crowd of older SVSEF athletes,"said Kelley Yeates, assistant cross-country program director and Prep Team head coach. “This is an individual sport, but we are very much a team. It didn’t matter if they were on the Comp or Prep team, our skiers went out of their way to support their teammates this weekend and it was inspiring.”
SVSEF Athlete Results: Super Junior National Qualifier – Soldier Hollow
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