Soleil Patterson crowned U16 Provincial Champion
By Linda Schulze
Over the past two weeks the Red Mountain Racers have been very busy!
Our U16 athletes recently returned from competing in the Provincial Championships, which included six days of racing at the Purden Ski Village just outside of Prince George.
Red Mountain Racer Soleil Patterson stole the stage with three golds and one silver. After being sidelined with a concussion for almost six weeks Soleil came back with a vengeance and was crowned the U16 Overall Provincial Champion for 2014. She has qualified to compete at Whistler Cup where she will take on athletes from across Canada and around the world.
Even though there is one more week of training for Nancy Greene Ski League athletes, the racing wrapped up this past weekend with the season finale on stellar snow conditions at Salmo. Red Mountain Racers had solid performances and a great time skiing on a very snowy day.
Nine year old Chase Eagleton stood on the podium twice in the U10 category with a bronze in the slalom and winning the GS. Radek Krampl took bronze in the U12 GS, and Bella Vockeroth Fisher also came home with a bronze. With a free hot dog and a medal around their necks, it was a great way to end the season.
Our U14 athletes traveled to the BC Games to compete in the Giant Slalom, Slalom and Skicross events held at Hemlock Ski Resort. Unfortunately, weather prevented the U14 men from competing in all but one event. While all of the athletes had solid results Kaysa Panke and Sammie Gaul brought home the hardware. Kaysa brought home a bronze medal in Slalom and a silver medal in Giant Slalom. Sammie came home with a silver in the ski cross event.
March will be a busy month for all Red Mountain Racers. Our FIS racers are currently in Kimberley for a speed camp followed by 4 days of racing. The U12 racers depart for the Interzone Championships in Big White March 8th and 9th. The U14 Provincial Championships take place in Sun Peaks March 13 – 16 and the U16 CAN AM Westerns take place at APEX March 17 – 23.
Plans are under way for a Nancy Greene mini Ski Camp over Spring Break and there are rumours of a race-your-parent day to wrap up the event. Stay tuned to redmountainracers.com for more information.
The race season continues for the older racers right into the second week of April. It continues to be an action packed season and we wish the athletes the very best in their upcoming events.
