Snowboarding

2013 USASA Snowboard Nationals Race Report

The 3rd day of competition is in the books at the 2013 USASA Nationals. On Sunday Connor Brown battled the best slalom racers in North America in the Open Class and finished 14th. On Monday Fiona Sheridan and Sarah Nelb rode in the Jr Woman's Slalom competition. On a steep challenging course Sarah finished 16th and Fiona put 2 solid runs together and finished in 10th. Connor rode in Open Class Men's Giant Slalom and rode to a 16th place result. On Tuesday Sarah had her Giant Slalom race. Sarah put 2 clean runs together and came away in 13th.
 
On Tuesday night Copper received 10 inches of new snow which made for an awesome day of powder riding all over the mountain especially in the back bowls and trees. Thursday was Connors boarder cross race and he rode to a 20th place finish against some of the fastest riders out there. I would like to thank Coaches, Nate Williams, Sotskov, Marks, and Atkins for all their support this season. Also thanks to the parents, classmates, and teachers, for all of their help.

Our last freestyle event of the season was hosted by Proctor Academy at Ragged Mountain Ski Area in Danbury, New Hampshire. Due to illness and injury we were competing with a small contingent. The riders who made the contest put down their best runs of the season. The course consisted of four tiers, two rail, box options, followed by a 12-foot jump, and a 15-foot jump. The track was firm due to rain the night before followed by cold temperatures. Connor Brown led it off for the VA Wildcats by putting down a run that would turn out to be the best of the competition when all was said and done. Sipho Msipa rode with his trademark steeze and finished in 9th. The 9th grade dream team all brought out their A game and were impressive. Michael Capasse threw a solid 360 on the final jump to land in 16th place followed by Danny Youn who greased the tricky urban on flat bar to finish in 41st. Stephen Filinowski took his riding to a new level when he slid most of the flat box, tickled the flat down box, and launched the first jump. Antonio Espendolo, at first did not want to compete due to the difficulty of the available features, but then rose to the occasion and put two solid runs using 3 of the four elements to end up in 50th. I am very proud of the way the team rode in very firm conditions to come away in 3rd of 8 in the team scoring. Thanks to Coach Williams for assisting and filming during the comp. Next week we conclude our Lakes Region season with a Border Cross at Ragged hosted by Tilton School.

The Widcat boarders ventured northeast over the White Mountains to Loon, NH for our first slopestyle comp of the season. The course was in the Loon Mountain Springboard park, and featured two box and rail options followed by an 18, and 22 foot jump. Connor Brown was our top finisher in 4th, followed by Stephen Tworig in 10th, Sipho Msipa in 11th, Ben Burt in 13th, Michael Capasse, 23rd, Danny Youn, 33rd, and Stephen Filanowski in 43rd. For Danny and Stephen, this was the first slopestyle competition and they handled it very well. In the team scoring we managed third of the seven teams participating. We did not have any of our girls competing today, as their freestyle skills are in the early development stage. Next week we travel to Ragged Mountain for another Slopestyle contest.

The Wildcat snowboarders ventured across Route 11 to Guilford, New Hampshire and Gunstock Ski Area. The fog was thick and the course was fast. The team was a few riders light, due to sickness and a communication failure. The riders who made the trip rose to the occasion and persevered through the fog. On the boys side we had Stephen Tworig IV finishing in 2nd, Michael Capasse 4th, Sipho Msipa 6th, Connor Brown 32nd, Stephan Filanowski 52nd, and Antonio Espidola Echevarria in 54th. On the girls side we had Sarah Nelb putting two solid runs together to finish in ?. (Gunstock has not posted the girls results as of press time.) The boys rode well enough to sew up our third Lakes Region Snowboard Racing title in as many years. Congratulations to the 2013 VA Boys Snowboard Team. We will finish the second half of the season with three slope style events and one bordercross.

The Vermont Academy USASA snowboard team travelled to Stratton Mountain for two bosrdercross races this past weekend. Stratton had just built the new course and it was filled with high speed banks, a 25' table top jump, and a couple of deceiving gates. On Saturday, Fiona Sheridan and Sarah Nelb rode to a 3rd and 2nd place finish in the first BX races of their lives. Stephen Tworig III made it to the finals and finished forth in a very competitive field.
 
On Sunday we were at it again on a slightly trickier course with more rolls and a small pro jump into the finish. Sarah and Fiona finished 2,3 again behind an accomplished rider from Killington Mountain School. Connor Brown, just back from racing some of the fastest riders in North America, dominated the premier Open Class, and finished in first. Stephen Tworig III made some solid passes in his two heat races to end up in second in the Jr Mens division.

Three members of the VA snowboard team traveled to Bromley on MLK day for two rescheduled slalom races. In the Jr Women’s division, Fiona Sheridan put four clean runs together to finish 2-2 on the day in her first USASA events of her career. Sarah Nelb rode to a 3-3 day on the steep, firm course on East Meadow trail at Big Bromley. Stephen Tworig III had a good day, and finished 1-1 in the Jr Men age class and had the fourth fastest times of the day overall. Stephen was also the fastest soft boot rider on the day. Our next events are a Saturday-Sunday showdown of Bordercross skills on the just built East Byrneside trail at Stratton Mountain.

It was a seasonable day for our first Lakes Region snowboard race of the season. Six schools threw their hats in the ring and found out quickly who had been preparing effectively. The race course was fairly long, but not too steep. Fiona Sheridan was the first VA girl down the course and put in two solid runs to finish in 6th. Sarah Nelb rode fast and smooth, to come in 4th. Samantha Gillingham took her game off the hardwood floor and brought it to Okemo to blister the 2nd place rider by 13.5 seconds. When all was said and done the VA girls finished the meet in 2nd place behind Holderness School.
          
In the boys race, our seasoned rippers, along with our stellar new talent, worked together, and supported each other to come away with a team victory. Stephen Filanowski, Antonio Espidola Echevarria, and Danny Youn raced in the first snowboard competition of their lives and finished with respectable results in 52nd, 53rd, and 33rd. Michael Capasse attacked the course and finished in 13th to spite washing out on his 2nd run. Ben Burt also had trouble on his 2nd run but recovered to finish in 8th. Sipho Msipa put 2 clean passes together to end up in 11th. Stephen Tworig III brought is A game, as he is known for on race day, and rode onto the podium in 3rd. Jon Lesser hopped on a borrowed race board and powered into 5th place. Team captain Connor Brown once again impressed his peers and coaches with an impressive ride into 2nd place.

A thanks goes out to Asst. Coach Nate Williams, Mr. Atkins and Mr. Sotskov for their support. Next week we travel to Gunstock for another test of our speed skills.

The Vermont Academy USASA snowboard team kicked off their competitive season at Bromley Mountain last Saturday. Sarah Nelb finished 1,1 in the Jr Women's division for her two giant slalom races on the East Meadow Trail. Stephen Tworig III finished 1,1 in his division. Connor Brown put two solid runs together in the first race to finish first, and had the fastest time of the day overall. In the second race, Connor rode to a good second place result. Our next USASA event will be a slalom double header on 1/21 at Big Bromley.

2012 USASA Snowboard Nationals report from Copper Mountain Colorado


This winter three members of the Vermont Academy snowboard team competed each weekend in order to qualify for the national championships at Copper Mountain, Colorado. Juniors Samantha Gillingham and Connor Brown, and sophomore Stephen Tworig IV all qualified to compete out west. The team headed to Colorado on March 29th with coaches Crowder and Kelly.

The first day was spent training on the technical, long, bordercross course. Saturday was registration, venue training day, and opening ceremonies. Day 1 saw Samantha at Slopestyle riding a fun course and finishing 8th. The boys were over at Slalom where Connor qualified to the round of 8, and battled to 2nd in the knockout rounds of Duel Slalom. Stephen rode well and finished 15th in a very strong field of 37 riders.

Day 2 of competition had Samantha at  Bordercross, where she fought to a 7th place finish. Stephen and Connor were at Giant Slalom where Stephen put 2 solid runs together to finish in 16th. Connor qualified for the knockout rounds and battled through to win the consolation race to finish 3rd. Monday night we celebrated with an all you can eat sushi feast at the Storm King Lounge.

Day 3 saw Samantha at the Slalom course where she rode to a 6th place finish. The boys spent the day at the University of Colorado at Boulder touring the campus.

Day 4 had Samantha on the Giant Slalom course where she qualified for the knockout rounds and finished a strong 4th place. The boys spent the day going huge in the parks at Copper.

The final day of competition saw Samantha at the half pipe with Coach Crowder where she rode to a 6th place finish. The boys were over at bordercross. The day started early with inspection and training runs, followed by time trials. Solo runs down the 1 minute course, for seeding in the rounds of 4. Connor was the first of the Jr Men on the course. He made it through the challenging wu tang section with style, and then in the high speed banks, he over jumped a tabletop and ended up entrapped in the fencing used to keep riders from catapulting into the woods. By the time he untangled himself he had lost a lot of time and ended up missing the cut to the 32 fastest times. Stephen was the 20th rider to drop into the course and put down a clean run to qualify 13th. Stephen had made it to the knockout rounds and needed to finish in the top 2 in each heat to advance on. With good starts and great passing moves on the long course Stephen fought through 3 rounds to make it to the Big Final. Stephen ended up in 4th against some of the fastest riders in the country.

Samantha, by competing in each discipline, was in the running for the Overall Championship for Jr Women. She finished 3rd in a very talented field.

I would like to thank all the members of the VA snowboard team for supporting each other through out the season to spite the less than favorable weather conditions. I’d also like to thank coaches Williams, Brown, and Crowder for their help this season. Also Mr. Atkins, Williams, Eddy, Sotskov,  Ms McArdle. And the entire faculty who went above and beyond to help keep our team up with their schoolwork to spite our extensive travel schedule. Thank you.

Three of the four Lakes Region snowboarding titles came down to the final events at Ragged last Wednesday. The Wildcat boys had already clinched the racing title for the season at the last race. Still up for grabs were the Boys Freestyle, and the Girls Alpine and Freestyle titles.

Proctor Academy was the host on a beautiful spring day in Danbury, NH. The morning event was Giant Slalom and our boys made the sweep of each race this season complete with another team victory. Individual results were 2^nd Connor Brown, 5^th Stephen Tworig, 7^th Ben Burt, 9^th Ignacio Soldevilla, and 33^rd Sipho Msipa.

The girls needed a win to take the title. The team gave it their best effort and came up just 3 place points short in the season-long battle with Holderness, among others. Individual results were 2^nd Samantha Gillingham, 5^th Becca Merson, and 6^th Wyeth Olmstead.

The slope style was held in the afternoon on one of the season's more challenging and fun courses. The girls won their 4^th event of the season clinching the Girls' Freestyle Championship. Results, 1st Samantha Gillingham, 2^nd Becca Merson.

On the boys' side we needed a 2^nd place finish to sew up the Boys' Team Championship and that’s what we did. Results, 5^th Trevor Reynolds, 6^th Ben Burt, 8^th Salty Pennington, 15^th Jon Lesser, 23^rd Connor Brown, 33^rd Seamus Spendley, 37^th Ben Charbonneau.

Congratulations to all the riders on the boys' and girls' teams this season. Thanks to Coaches Williams, Crowder, Sotskov, Atkins, and Russ Williams for all their help this season. Without them this season would not have been possible.