Ghent wins pair of slaloms

Click to Enlarge Browse Vail Daily Photos Ski & Snowboard Club Vail's Christa Ghent, center, won a pair of slalom races last week, while SSCV's Mary Sackbauer, right, was second in third in those races. Special to the Daily Get Sports Feeds

Ian Cropp
Vail, CO Colorado
December 13, 2007

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Ski & Snowboard Club Vail’s Christa Ghent crushed the competition in a pair of slalom races at Loveland on Dec. 8-9, winning the first race by almost three seconds, coming in at 1 minute, 34.36 seconds and winning the second race by more than a second.

SSCV’s Mary Sackbauer topped all J2’s and took second overall on the first day and was third the next day, while fellow SSCV and J2 skier Abby Ghent, skiing with the 74 bib, was fourth on the first day. SSCV’s Jessa Bardin was 16th and 11th, while teammate Jocelyn Irwin was 18th and 13th. SSCV’s Julia Keeler was 16th on the second day and SSCV’s Haley Zaik-Hodgkins was 34th.

“It was a great day,” said SSCV coach J.J. Jensen. “Christa skied very well. Mary had an incredible first run followed by a second run where she let it all hang out. Nobody was skiing to finish, everyone was skiing to win.”

On the men’s side, Steamboat’s Ryan McConnell, a J2, took first in the opener with Kieffer Christianson, a J2 who skis with local squad Team Iced Out, in fourth. Iced Out member Cooper Cartmill was 19th, then 11th the next day SSCV’s Cody Unicume was 51st and 18th and David Graebel (ICE) took 54th the second day.

Thursday Hunter Schleper (Team Iced Out) took sixth in a giant slalom at Winter Park among a heavy field. U.S. Ski Team’s Kevin Francis won the race. SSCV’s Will Gregorak tied for 14th while teammate Bryan Shpall was 22nd. Iced Out’s Kitt Flowers was 29th, SSCV’s Sean Cummiskey was 32nd, SSCV’s Unicume was 60th and SSCV’s Luc Henri Chevalier was 66th.

The Surefoot Colorado Ski Cup kicked things off at Winter Park on Dec. 8-9 with a pair of slalom races for the men and women. In a highly competitive slalom field that saw University of Denver’s Adam Cole win, SSCV’s John Kemp, racing in the 35 bib, took seventh. SSCV’s Paul Britvar was 14th, while teammate Cummiskey was 21st. Other finishers include Nathan Asoian (SSCV, 27th), Flowers (ICE, 40th), Shpall (SSCV, 45th) and Taylor Wettlaufer (SSCV, 55th).

On the second day, Kemp was 15th followed by Britvar in 24th and Team Iced Out’s Schleper in 25th. Flowers was 39th. SSCV’s Wyatt Mckibben was 47th while teammate Chevalier was 51st.

For the women, SSCV’s Georgia Wettlaufer was 15th in the second race, while teammate Joelle Chevalier was 23rd. On the first day, Wettlaufer was 30th.