Bridger Ski Foundation SuperTour Sprint Recap

Cold temperatures, sunny skies, and hard-packed, machine-made snow made for fast racing in Bozeman on Saturday. Athletes competed in an individual sprint over rolling terrain on a course of 1,200 meters. The speed of the snow, coupled with a technical course made for a lot of races that weren’t decided until the final 100 meters.

Winners on the day were Laura Valaas [CXC/Salomon], coming off a victory in last week’s sprint race in West Yellowstone, and the improving sprinter James Southam [APU/Rossignol]. Valaas lead a pack of Karin Camenisch [BSF Elite/Rossignol], Caitlin Compton [CXC/Salomon], and Tazlina Mannix [APU]. Southam narrowly edged a hard-charging Eric Strabel [APU], Kevin Hochtl [Rossignol], and Colin Mahood [XC Oregon/Rossignol].

The field size was small today, but the quality at the front of the pack was apparent. Anders Haugen paced the men’s field in the qualifier, leading by over 2 seconds. Karin Camenisch was the fastest in the women’s qualifier.

The mens’ A-final was certainly a crowd-pleaser, as Southam, Strabel, and Hochtl were all within 1-2 meters of each other when they entered the finish lanes. Southam held strong for the victory, slightly ahead of Strabel and Hochtl, who were too close to call for 2nd without the aid of a camera. After reviewing the photo, Strabel was awarded 2nd place and Hochtl 3rd. Mahood cruised to 4th, which is just shy of his 3rd place result in the sprint last weekend.

The womens’ A-final was also a good battle, although no technological aids were necessary to determine order of finish. Valaas skied away from her competitors in the final 100 meters to take the victory by some 4 meters. Camenisch showed good form all day, but came up just short in 2nd. CXC’s Caitlin Compton retains her place near the top of the SuperTour overall standings with the final podium position, while Mannix came home in a solid 4th place.

Due to the nature of the course and the fast snow, many of the heats came down to small margins of victory and defeat. Races were slightly delayed after the men’s semifinal #2, as the judges reviewed a photo-finish that was nearly too close to call. In the end, it was Strabel edging out CXC’s Garrott Kuzzy, relegating him to the B-final.

Kuzzy went on to win the B-final, for his second 5th place finish in as many sprints this season. He was in a close finish with CXC teammate Brian Gregg (6th), and APU’s Tyson Flaherty (7th). Semi-retired coach/athlete, and Bozeman local, Tim Weston finished 8th.

In the women’s B-final, Kate Pearson [Rossignol] also skied away from her chasers to take 5th place. Bozemanites claimed positions 6-8, with MSU’s Mandy Bowden edging out BSF-junior skier Mellie Park for 5th. Claire Rennie, also a member of the MSU ski team, finished 8th.

Competitions resume tomorrow morning with a classical team-sprint.

Class: F – Women 1.2 km
1 3 Final A VALAAS, Laura ( F) CXC 3 2:57.36
2 1 Final A CAMENISCH, Karin ( F) Rossignol/BSF 1 2:53.17
3 2 Final A COMPTON, Caitlin ( F) CXC 2 2:54.28
4 8 Final A MANNIX, Tazlina ( F) APUNSC 8 3:03.86
5 6 Final B PEARSON, Kate ( F) Rossignol/APU 6 3:01.83
6 5 Final B BOWDEN, Mandy ( F) Montana State Univers 5 3:01.10
7 7 Final B PARK, Melina ( F) BSF Nordic 7 3:02.29
8 4 Final B RENNIE, Claire ( F) Montana State Univers 4 3:00.78
9 9 Quarterfinal 1 OPEL, Fraiser ( F) Montana State Univers 9 3:07.04
10 10 Quarterfinal 3 KIESEL, Kaelin ( F) Bozeman MT 10 3:07.16
11 11 Quarterfinal 4 DOLAN, Kate ( F) BSF Nordic 11 3:07.81
12 12 Quarterfinal 2 WOELK, Jamie ( F) Montana State Univers 12 3:12.26
13 13 Quarterfinal 2 FLOWERS, Erika ( F) BSF Nordic 13 3:16.39
14 14 Quarterfinal 4 CHENEL, Emily ( F) BSF Nordic 14 3:17.23
15 15 Quarterfinal 3 SEIBERT, Casey ( F) BSF Nordic 15 3:18.77
16 16 Quarterfinal 1 CASEY, Margaret ( F) Montana State Univers 16 3:21.60
17 Qualification PIERCE, Sarah ( F) BSF Nordic 17 3:25.89
18 Qualification MYGATT, Jennifer ( F) BSF Nordic 18 3:26.46
19 Qualification GILL, Katie ( F) BSF Nordic 19 3:27.91
20 Qualification STEITZ, Korie ( F) Montana State Univers 20 3:32.65
21 Qualification FLOWERS, Natalie ( F) BSF Nordic 21 3:37.62
22 Qualification YOUNG, Amber ( F) Montana State Univers 22 3:38.69
23 Qualification HICKMAN, Maggie ( F) BSF Nordic 23 3:55.89
24 Qualification HEAGNEY, Carrie ( F) BSF Nordic 24 4:02.56

Class: M – Men 1.2 km
1 106 Final A SOUTHAM, James ( M) Rossignol/APU 6 2:31.99
2 103 Final A STRABEL, Eric ( M) APU 3 2:30.71
3 105 Final A HOCHTL, Kevin ( M) Rossignol/Axel`s/Vail 5 2:31.15
4 108 Final A MAHOOD, Colin ( M) XC-Oregon/Rossignol 8 2:32.99
5 102 Final B KUZZY, Garrott ( M) CXC 2 2:30.12
6 107 Final B GREGG, Brian ( M) CXC 7 2:32.35
7 113 Final B FLAHARTY, Tyson ( M) APU 13 2:35.49
8 109 Final B WESTON, Timothy ( M) BSF Nordic 9 2:33.06
9 101 Quarterfinal 1 HAUGEN, Anders ( M) Rossignol/APU 1 2:27.72
10 110 Quarterfinal 3 GREENE, Marshall ( M) Alpina/Madshus/XC O 10 2:33.20
11 111 Quarterfinal 4 EASTER, Justin ( M) Subaru Factory Team 11 2:33.25
12 112 Quarterfinal 2 NANEY, Samuel ( M) BSF Elite/Salomon At 12 2:34.18
13 104 Quarterfinal 2 IVERSON, Mark ( M) Rossignol 4 2:30.97
14 114 Quarterfinal 4 CASE, Ian ( M) 14 2:37.10
15 115 Quarterfinal 3 PARK, Nathan ( M) Montana State Univer 15 2:37.47
16 116 Quarterfinal 1 COE, Christian ( M) Montana State Univer 16 2:38.15
17 Qualification OSGOOD, Brayton ( M) Alpina/XC Oregon 17 2:38.60
18 Qualification RUFFATTO, Ben ( M) 18 2:38.99
19 Qualification HOWE, Alex ( M) Gunstock Nordic 19 2:42.65
20 Qualification JACOBSON, Erik ( M) Northern Lights Tradin 20 2:42.83
21 Qualification ITO, Daichi ( M) MSU Bozeman 21 2:43.23
22 Qualification MARSHALL, Sam ( M) Gunstock Nordic 22 2:43.65
23 Qualification SABOT, Topher ( M) Alpina/Madshus 23 2:44.82
24 Qualification MCMAHON, Christopher ( M) Montana State Univer 24 2:49.41
25 Qualification GLEASON, Michael ( M) Montana State Univer 25 2:50.95
26 Qualification VIAVANT, Sam ( M) Montana State Univer 26 2:52.03
27 Qualification JOHNSON, Thomas ( M) BSF Nordic 27 2:54.75
28 Qualification SHANE, Colin ( M) Far West Nordic/BSF 28 2:54.99
29 Qualification KARATH, Lander ( M) BSF Nordic 29 2:55.16
30 Qualification DU LAC, Andre ( M) 30 2:56.54
31 Qualification WESTESEN, Ben ( M) BSF Nordic 31 3:02.26
32 Qualification MORGAN, Jacob ( M) BSF Nordic 32 3:03.36
33 Qualification STUTZER, Lukas ( M) Montana State Univer 33 3:26.52
34 Qualification MAIFELD-CARUCCI, Akeo ( M) BSF Nordic 34 3:30.19