Team Nordic Flexes Muscles Before Nationals

SBA Team Nordic has ambitions beyond Saturday's state championships, to be sure. Fulfilling the pre-season team goal of qualifying every SBA racer for Junior Nationals, the entire team will be departing Friday for Fairbanks, Alaska, to race against the very best in the country.

Saturday, though, was a chance to make a team statement versus its peers in the state, and - after a season of some health adversity for a number of SBA Nordic racers - it still turned out to be a blue-and-white day yesterday at Auburn Ski Club. Please enjoy the photo below, then scroll down for the full story of marmot muscle flexing.

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Statement: delivered!
Katrin Larusson took top-of-the-podium honors with impressive first-place finishes in both the classic and skate races, and the girls' team again garnered enough season points to repeat as Nordic League Varsity Women champions. The results sheet appeared to be printed in Sugar Bowl blue and white, with SBA's Danielle Nivinski third, Camille Hartley fifth, Bria Riggs sixth, Elise Hardy eleventh and Savannah Blide twelfth.

Sam Zabell had the strongest showing for the boys' team, racing to a third-place overall finish with a particularly strong skate race. Peter Carroll placed sixth, Casey Jobe eleventh, and Skyler Mullings thirteenth. The boys finished second on the season among Nordic League Varsity Men.

The Fighting Marmot congratulates both the boys and girls Nordic ski racers and wishes them - along with the entire Far West team - the very best against the very best in Alaska. 

Nordic Marmots Strong on "Home Snow"

For a full photo essay of our home race, please click HERE

Sugar Bowl played host to a high school Nordic ski race Friday, with some impressive results for SBA racers both at our well-attended and spirited "home snow" race as well as on Sunday at Tahoe City Cross Country's Junior Nationals Qualifier. 

Head Nordic Coach Jeff Schloss was kind enough to offer the following summary of season highlights thus far. Thank you, Jeff, and congratulations to team Nordic on a very strong start to the season! 

"The 2012/2013 Nordic race season is still in the early stages, with races running all the way until the middle of April, but things are off to a great start for the Fighting Marmots' Nordic squad. In the CNISSF school league, SBA captured first place for women and second place for men in the opening race, the Kirkwood relay. The SBA team of Danielle Nivinski, Elise Hardy, and Katrin Larusson dominated the race with a win by over a minute, and the young J2 boys with Peter Carroll, Skyler Mullings, and Sam Zabell skied to a strong second place. In the SBA home CNISSF race on January 11th, all SBA athletes who raced placed in the varsity top ten, including Katrin Larusson in first, Camille Hartley in ninth, Savannah Blide in tenth, Sam Zabell in fourth, Peter Carroll in sixth, Skyler Mullings in ninth, and Casey Jobe in tenth. In Far West racing, SBA athletes have been very strong in the Junior National qualifying races, with age-group wins from Katrin, Sam, and Danielle, as well as strong qualifying races from almost the entire team. On the National front, the older girls of Katrin, Danielle, Elise, and Bria have been racing at the U.S. Super Tour races in West Yellowstone, Montana, the Bozeman Super Tour (Katrin) and U.S. Nationals in Soldier Hollow, Utah (Katrin, Danielle, and Elise). The biggest highlights of these races have come with Katrin winning the J1 girls classic race in Bozeman and coming in fourth for J1 girls in the skate sprint at U.S. Nationals. Some goals for the team this year include trying to qualify the entire team for the Junior National Championships in Fairbanks, Alaska, putting an SBA athlete on the podium at Junior Nationals, winning the CNISSF league for women, and coming in top two for men. Finally, we would like to see every SBA athlete feel that they have improved significantly from last year. The season is young, but we feel we are on the way to achieving our ambitious goals!"

Is it Graupel? Hail? Snow? Rime?

"Graupel" has been the word of the week on campus this week. 

Since spell check on Blogger doesn't even recognize it, you might not, either (but it is in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary - click HERE). 

Donner Summit has seen it all lately: snow, graupel, rain, probably even rime. In Monday's All School Meeting, Head of School Tracy Keller had advisory groups conduct smart phone and iPad-assisted Web searches to learn about and articulate before their peers the properties of the various kinds of precipitation we see from our campus at the base of Sugar Bowl Ski Resort. The following is an iPhone photo essay from the meeting. 

Powered by Pancakes

Student Council's annual pancake fund raiser at Sugar Bowl Resort's Village Hall Sunday netted over $400 toward campus activities this year.

"Thanks to all the student-athletes who volunteered to help out and to the Ski Team families for their support," said Student Council Advisor Aly Kendall. "It was a lot of fun for everybody!"

Pushing Boundaries, Striving for Personal Summits

UPDATED! (See student testimonials below)
The advisory program at Sugar Bowl Academy provides opportunities for students to explore alternative curricula, ideas, and activities outside of our academic or athletic program and setting. This May, our tenth-grade advisory group, known as "10acious," planned and executed a ski mountaineering expedition on Mount Shasta. Even though we didn't reach the summit, students pushed boundaries and achieved their own personal summits. Be sure to take in all of Advisor and Photographer Extraordinaire Andy Giordano's photos at  this link. 

http://andygiordano.photoshelter.com/gallery/SBA-Shasta-trip/G0000wvrt3SSCbnM

Student Testimonials

“I learned that going through a really hard thing is totally worth the struggle.  This is different because we read about adventures and stuff like this but we never get to really experience it…but we did and not every kid gets to learn this kind of stuff hands-on.”

-Erika Klenk

“I learned that our advisory works really well together and we are a good team…on this trip our advisory worked as a team and we all had to interact and communicate in order for the trip to run smoothly.”

-Bria Riggs

“This experience was amazing.  I had a great time with my class…I have always been around the mountains but have never had the same experience as I did last weekend.  I loved getting away with my classmates and getting to know each other better.”

-Daisy Schadlich

“The powder skiing that Sunday afternoon was the most fun powder skiing I’ve ever done, mainly because of the work we put in to get there.  This trip was the most adventurous trip I’ve been on…now that we are finished, I realized that we accomplished something this school has never done.”

-Pieter Weemaes

“This is different than everyday life because, even though I work out daily, I have never pushed my limits for a full two days.  I’m glad I could have this experience with my friends so we could challenge each other.”

-Dani Nivinski

“There were subtle differences between climbing Shasta and going to school; more hard work and much colder…and tighter sleeping conditions…I had a great time and the skiing was fantastic.”

-Marc Talbott

“What surprised me was how mentally strong you have to be to keep going and keep hiking…I got to do something unique that someone might not even think is possible.  I learned more about myself and my limits.”

-Julia Bjorkman

“It was a great experience, and I have a lot of funny memories from the trip.”

-Alex Alvarez

“This experience was unique because we got to challenge ourselves.  The incredible beauty of Mount Shasta surprised me. I saw an amazing view that was well worth the cost of waking up early.”

-Camille Hartley

Special thanks to Dave Riggs for training 10acious to climb such a mountain and to our fantastic ASI guides Tim Dobbins and Lorenzo Worster for their abilities on the mountain and with the students. We would also like to thank our Sugar Bowl Academy community for their support and participation in our gear drive.

SBA Goes Big, Then Home at Pole Peddle Paddle

Congratulations, again, to Nordic Coaches Schloss and Tuscano for their fantastic finish at the Pole Peddle Paddle last weekend in Bend, Oregon! 

Coach Schloss submitted the following highlights. You will notice that each of the SBA student-athlete teams that participated in the event finished first in its division!

 

"Bend, Oregon’s Pole Pedal Paddle is a six-leg relay race that includes alpine skiing/snowboarding, xc skiing, biking, running, canoe/kayaking, and a sprint to the finish for a total distance of about 34 miles. This year, 2,922 racers competed in the 882 individual/team entries. Olympian and US Nordic Ski Team member Kris Freeman won the men’s elite division and XC Oregon’s Stephanie Howe won her third straight title in the women’s elite race. Six SBA teams represented Far West Nordic. All SBA teams came in first in their division with the exception of coaches Ambrose Tuscano and Jeff Schloss who were second in their age group but seventeenth overall. Ambrose alpine skied, biked, and paddled while Jeff nordic skied, ran and sprinted.

• Team SBA: Skyler Mullings and Casey Jobe - WINNERS of pairs age 17 and under.

• Team Gangstar Ninjas: Cassidy Cichowicz and Scott Cooper - WINNERS of coed pairs age 18-24.

• Team PB: Bria Riggs and Peter Carroll - WINNERS of coed pairs under 17.

• Team Victorious Secret (males): Joe Piercy and Austin Meng - WINNERS of male pairs 18-24.

• Team Victorious Secret (females): Savannah Blide and Erika Klenk - WINNERS of female pairs under 17."

Left to Right: Casey Jobe, Jeff Schloss, Skyler Mullings, Peter Carroll,
Austin Meng, Scott Cooper

Spirit Week's Safari Day on Film

Scene on Campus Photo of the Day, 5/14

Student Council and a few guests...

Plant a Tree, Support Your School, and Order a Yearbook ... by April 27th!

The Yearbook staff, led by Chief Editor Maya Anthony-Crosby, has been working diligently this year to produce a book which will make us all proud to be part of the Sugar Bowl Academy teaching and learning community. 

While the theme hopefully remains somewhat of a mystery within our school community, I can report with confidence that it could go down in history as one of the most unique - not to mention difficult - themes to ever be attempted by a yearbook staff. It is a theme which speaks to the individuality and creative spirit of our student-athletes. 

The price of the yearbook this year is $37.11, with $5 of the purchase price going to support teaching and learning at Sugar Bowl Academy. The yearbook staff this year is working with TreeRing Corporation, a Silicon Valley-based company which has been featured in a number of national news spots and which pledges to plant a tree for every book it prints. Naturally, that means that the more books we order, the more trees will be planted. 

Purchase orders are due April 27th to the office. Delivery is currently scheduled for the first week in June.

We all owe a huge collective THANK YOU to our yearbook staffers, including school leaders Anthony-Crosby, Laurel Fiddler, Lauren Dunn, Katrin Larusson, Cassidy Cichowicz, Sinclaire O'Grady, Bria Riggs, Erika Klenk, and Taylor Elicegui. Each has given selflessly of her time to make a yearbook we will long enjoy and remember. 

Please support your school and Mother Nature and order your yearbook today!

J1 Women Sweep, J2 Riggs Tops Podium at Far West JO Classic Qualifier, Mammoth

"An awesome day for SBA!"

Coaches Schloss and Benes report from Soldier Hollow on multiple podiums by Team Nordic! Thanks to Skyler Mullings for all the @SugarBowlNordic Twitter updates (at left) and this video! Rumor is, Coach Ambrose is going to be shaving his beard thanks to Bria!

SBA Nordic Team Dominant in First Junior Nationals Qualifier

The following report of Marmot mastery of snow and skis comes courtesy of Nordic Coaches Schloss and Tuscano...

Bria Riggs (photo by Mark Nadell)

"The snow was only 4 inches deep on the trails of Auburn Ski Club on December 28 for the first Junior National Qualifier (JNQ) race of the 2011-2012 season, but this did not stop the SBA Nordic team from turning in some remarkable performances in the classic sprint race.

 
"Every SBA J1 and J2 had a qualifying time in the 1.2K preliminary round. There are three more JN qualifiers and these athletes who qualified in this first race only need to qualify in one more of the qualifiers to make the Far West Team for the 2012 Junior National Championships which will be held in Soldier Hollow Utah, March 5-12th. 

"The format for the JNQ race included a 1.2-kilometer preliminary loop with each athlete racing against the clock. Next, athletes were ranked by their preliminary race times and the top 20 women and the top 20 men raced in 4-person head to head heats. The top 2 from each heat advanced to a semifinal heat of six racers and then the top two from each semifinal advanced to the final. 

"Junior National qualifying was based on the preliminary round only and the Fighting Marmots came out fast. Bria Riggs had the fastest time of all the women followed closely by Katrin Larusson, Cassidy Cichowicz, Laurel Fiddler, Joelle Romo, Savannah Blide, Danielle Nivinski, and Camille Hartley for an SBA sweep of the top 8 places! SBA senior Kelly Habibi qualified in 11th place and J3 racer Olivia Jeffrey was outside the qualifying cut off but skied strong in 19th place.

"In the men’s qualifying round, Joe Piercy had a breakout race with the 8th fastest overall and second fastest junior time. Joe was followed by Sam Zabell in 13th with the fastest J2 time and by Peter Carroll in 20th; all three of these guys easily made the JN qualifying standard. J3s Skyler Mullings and Trent Hommeyer raced strong against the field of older racers placing 28th and 37th respectively.

"In the women’s heats it was again SBA dominating the field again, with the overall win going to Katrin Larusson, with Laurel Fiddler in second, and Cassidy Cichowicz in third. Bria Riggs finished 4th and was the top J2 while Joelle Romo, Danielle Nivinski, and Camille Hartley swept the top spots of the “B” final for places 7-9.

"The men’s heats were highly competitive with several strong college racers and a member of the US ski team and the Canadian Development team on hand to mix it up with the Far West juniors. SBA graduate Austin Meng had one of the best sprint races of his life, taking 3rd while Sam Zabell placed 9th and Joe Piercy 11th.

"All in all it was an extremely strong day for SBA and sets the stage for what looks to be an awesome year for the Nordic squad. Now if it would just start snowing…

Scene on Campus Photo of the Day 12/24

Comparando los tres alces en la clase de español 3...

Scene on Campus Photo of the Day, Fri., Dec. 16th

Team Nordic Gathers Around Coach Schloss

10th Grade Advisory's Squash Turkeys

Scene on Campus Photo of the Day

-Marmot Man, powered by Blogpress and iPhone

Scene on Campus: Riggs Reading

Showcasing SBA's academics, I will be posting a Scene on Campus Photo or Video of the Day every day from here forward. Today's photo: Nordic skier Bria Riggs has some quiet reading time in the dorm facility.




-Marmot Man, powered by Blogpress and iPhone

Orientation 2011, Day 1

Fighting Marmot family,


Weary but exhilarated from today's adventures - and still burning fuel from the campire smorefest that concluded the day's athletic and advisory activities - the faculty and student/athletes of SBA are settling into our cabins for the night at the Community of the Great Comission.


Hope you enjoy some highlights from Day 1 of SBA Orientation 2011...


• The majority of the SBA student/athletes elected a 10-mile mountain bike ride through manzanita and live oak stands on the hard-packed Forest Hill Divide Trail, which divides the North Fork of the American River from the Middle Fork.


• Nordic Coaches Jeff Schloss and Martin Benes along with faculty member Steve Ascher and Head of School Tracy Keller led a small group of road bikers on a 28-mile ride. The most ambitious of the bunch, including Joe Piercy, Alec Wiltz, Bria Riggs, and Schloss rode 49 miles, down to the middle fork of the American River to Ralston Reservoir, where they enjoyed some swim time.


From what I understand of the area (thanks to Coach Schloss),
these giant forks of the American River are where gold was discovered, starting the California gold rush, making our 2011 orientation site the epicenter of the first big environmental fight in the U.S.


Gold miners came into conflict with the farmers in the area by damming the creeks and using the dammed water to conduct hydraulic blasting of the surrounding hillside.


• Steve Ascher pointed out a spectacular iridium flare from a satellite passing overhead, but most of the student/athlete population was too deep into smores to take notice.


Day 2 features field day events!


-Marmot Man, powered by Blogpress and iPhone