Friday, March 29, 2013

Nor-Am Finals and US Nationals

Nor-Am Finals Started 2 weeks ago in Nakiska, Alberta. The series kicked off with a Super-G in which I faired pretty well in. With a more-stacked Nor-Am field than normal, I was happy with my 13th place finish. The next day was Super-Combined, which at the time I was excited for. I started bib number 42, and had a mistake mid-way down the course and ended up 33rd after the Super-G portion. In the slalom, I straddled near the bottom of the course and completely twisted my ankle up the hill (on the ankle that has recently been operated on). Right when it happened I knew it wasn't going to feel great when I took it out of my boot. After I had a doctor look at it, and a long session of physical therapy, it was clear that it was not 100%. I made the decision of fighting through the pain the next 2 days strictly for Nor-Am Cup points (to stay in the top 15 seed for GS next year). I did just about as well as I could do in the GS's with a bum ankle, and it might pay off for the beginning of next year. With how much the ankle hurt, I decided to not race in the slaloms and save it for nationals.


GS at US Nationals (with the Pro-Am to the right)

Next up was US Nationals in Squaw Valley, California. The first race was GS, and I was confident that the ankle was ready to go with the 4 days of rest prior. Warming up on race day, I could feel the ankle not responding as precisely as normal, but good enough to race. In the start gate, I was trying to focus on my skiing and get my mind off the ankle, but, halfway down the course it gave up on me once again. Without being 100%, there was no chance of me even having a shot at a national title, and with that, my US Nationals was over. I was somewhat disappointed with how my Nor-Am Season and US Nationals ended, but injuries happen and you have to deal with them as best as possible. Squaw Valley put on an incredible show, and I am excited for nationals to return there next year! I have been doing physical therapy for the past week getting my ankle back up to speed to race in Mammoth Spring series.


Super nice day on Lake Tahoe!

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

World Junior Championships


This past week I competed in the Junior World Championships. When I was named to the WJC team 2 weeks ago, I was thrilled and excited to race in such a big event. I knew there were going to be some outstanding skiers that I was going up against, and I knew I was going to have to throw down solid runs to compete with them. What I did not know was how much fun it it was going to be. In the back of my mind, for some reason, I thought the Europeans were way different from the Americans. When I was over in Europe earlier this year, I saw how serious they take skiing racing over there. I never really made an attempt to meet them though. This past week, I made it a goal to talk and mingle with the skiers from other countries…they are incredibly cool, and have just as much fun as we do traveling the world and doing what we love most—ski racing.

Although I did not have any super crazy results in Quebec, Canada, I managed to get 15th in the Super-G at Le Massif. It was an amazing week racing with thebest ski racers in the world under the age of 21, and a great experience to have in preparation for next year’s WJCs in Slovakia!

I just had a good week of training in Vermont, and now I am in Calgary/ Nakiska for Nor-Am Finals followed by a trip to California to race in US Nationals at Squaw Valley.