‘Tough day’ for Alpine team

The final giant slalom race for the Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) Alpine racing season took place on Friday, Feb. 4 at Loveland Ski Area. Mild temps and sunny skies were welcoming, but Loveland’s tricky terrain and challenging course sets tested all athletes, including the Panther skiers.  Over 20 percent of the women’s field and over 30 percent of the men’s field fell during one of the two runs.

On the women’s side, Rowynn Slivka finished 12th overall. Freshman Annie McFee was the second team point scorer for the first time of the season, finishing 34th overall. Susie Bullock and Lilly Leddington tied for the third point-scoring spot, finishing 37th overall. Stella Zettler finished 40th, Rinnen Borton placed 49th and Gabbie Tait finished 50th to finish out the team’s results. Avery Milne took a hard fall in the first run on a steep pitch while Keira King and Clara Kirr both went down on their hips after losing their outside edge early in their second runs. As a team, the Lady Panthers continued their streak of leading the smaller schools in the league. 

On the men’s side, Troy Baker led the Panthers in 32nd, followed closely by Raymond Harvey in 33rd and Luke Regan in 40th. Jake Cairns had a strong 19th place finish in the first run, but fell on his hip in a similar way as his teammates.

“It was a tough day,” said coach Danielle Ryan.

The Panthers’ final regular season race is a slalom competition in Winter Park on Friday, Feb. 10. CHSAA state championships are at Copper Mountain on Feb. 16 and 17.