The Colorado High School Ski League began the first week of the season on January 6 with giant slalom (GS) races at Keystone and Loveland ski areas. The Lake County Panthers, made up of skiers from the Lake County, Buena Vista and Salida school districts, traveled to Keystone. The conditions were favorable for the first races of the year with mild temperatures, good visibility and forgiving snow conditions.
On the women’s side, senior Rowynn Slivka earned a qualifying result for State Championships with a seventh place finish overall. Behind her were teammates Keira King in 28th, Laya Foley in 30th, Gemma Nagel in 42nd, Stella Zettler in 43rd, Maya Nagel in 45th, Rinnen Borton in 46th and Avery Milne in 53rd. Annie McFee finished 33rd in the first run but fell in the second run after catching an edge in a rut.
On the men’s side, freshman Jake Cairns led the squad in 25th, followed by Raymond Harvey in 56th, Luke Regan in 58th and Troy Baker in 59th.
“The lack of GS and speed training was clear,” remarked coach Danielle Ryan. “There were a lot of nerves in the first run, but the improvement and confidence-building in the second run was clear. It will be good to see how things develop over the season as they get more miles under their belts.”
Typically the Panthers train by hiking Dutch Henry Hill in Leadville two nights a week and meet Saturdays at Ski Cooper, but the snow conditions so far this season have left the Panthers with only training gates on Dutch Henry and two surprise joint training days with other teams at Loveland ski area over the holiday break. The Panthers’ next race is slalom at Beaver Creek on Thursday, Jan. 12.
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