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. 

Valentine's Day Serenades at SBA

SBA Student Council officers delivered customized Valentine's Day serenades to raise funds for this year's senior trip to Disneyland. The performers made quite a splash on campus, and not only for their singing, as can be seen here...

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!"

Scene OFF Campus Pic of the Day

Three SBA student-athlete-musicians, violinists Sam Zabell, Camille Hartley, and Casey Jobe, performed last night at the Glenshire Community Center. All three are students of Truckee's Liz Glattly.  Pictured below are Hartley and Zabell, who were the final two acts. 

Scene on Campus Pic of the Day

SBA's violinists rehearsed yesterday after school for their performance at next week's formal dinner. 

SBA Musicians Perform at Pioneer Center

Finding time to practice a musical instrument when faced with a rigorous conditioning regimen and equally rigorous college-prep academics can be a challenge, to say the least. 

That doesn't stop four SBA student-athletes, who travel to Reno weekly to practice with their respective orchestras. 

Two SBA student-athletes - ninth-graders Skyler Mullings and Casey Jobe - recently performed with the Reno Youth Concert Orchestra and two more - Camille Hartley and Sam Zabell - with the Reno Youth Symphony Orchestra. 

Mullings plays the trombone and Jobe is a first violin for the Reno Youth Concert Orchestra, which is considered the intermediate-level orchestra. Zabell (Principal) and Hartley play violin for the more advanced Youth Symphony Orchestra. The Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts plays host every year to the Reno Philharmonic Youth Orchestra Fall Concert. 

Hartley, Jobe, Zabell, and Mullings

Scene on Campus Pic of the Day

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde came to the SBA campus on Halloween this year...

All About the Snow

Steve Ascher hands Camille Hartley
the Snow Pool Snowball Trophy

For about a decade now, math/science teacher/meteorologist Steve Ascher has hosted a Snow Pool to predict the first day of snow on campus. Today, Camille Hartley received the coveted snowball trophy for correctly calling our first day of snow.

"I feel psychic," said Hartley.

Fortuitously, Janet Hardy (mother of SBA's Elise, '14), manager of the U.S. Army's Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, was on campus today to talk to our student-athletes about how a love for skiing and snow put her on the career path that led her to study snow and ice for the U.S. government at its Hanover, N.H. laboratory.

Hardy showed students satellite images of polar ice melt and discussed how students can find gainful employment by pursuing their passions. Her presentation came about thanks in part to a student-led effort to create a guest-speaker series on campus. Senior Brian Francis worked with Hardy and campus administrators to bring about a presentation which would coincide with a planned visit to campus. On behalf of the entire SBA community, The Fighting Marmot thanks Mrs. Hardy for her fascinating presentation.

Janet Hardy addresses the student-athlete body at All School Meeting today

Hartley Siblings Top Balloting at Student Council Elections

A heartwarming photo greeted student-athletes as they filed into 102 today for Student Council elections.

Taken well before their Fighting Marmot days, the photo showed big brother Drew - Captain of SBA Team Freeride - draping an arm affectionately over the shoulder of little sister, Camille, an SBA Nordic ski racer. 

"Vote Hartley," the campaign poster declared. No exclamation point needed: Camille's upraised thumb said it all. 

The brother-sister duo was elected President (Drew) and Vice President (Camille) today at All School Meeting after delivering a campaign speech they had co-authored as a poem to the student body (stay tuned for the text of the speech to be published). 

Congratulations also to Chuck Klein and Daisy Schadlich, who were elected Secretary and Treasurer, respectively, and to all of the candidates for having the courage to run for office and for the strength of their speeches. 

"The speeches today from all of the candidates were the best I have heard during my time as Student Council Advisor," said Aly Kendall. "It's exciting to see our students show so much interest in leadership roles within our community, and I look forward to working with the newly elected leaders on campus as they plan community-building and charitable activities for our student body."

Student Council membership is open to all student-athletes and depends on their participation and creativity for its success. 

"We are looking forward to lots of Marmot participation this year," said Aly. "All are welcome."

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.

Spring Spirit Week's "Hero Day" on Film

Hamlet Cast Takes Fencing Lessons from Coach Schloss

Head Nordic Coach Jeff Schloss took some time off from the skinny skis recently to show SBA student-athlete-actors some of his fencing moves. 

Enjoy the short film (with music by Truckee violinist Liz Glattly) and Joanne Knox's preview of the spring play, and get your tickets now for the big event! 

"In preparation for the spring drama performance of an adapted version of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, students have been busy analyzing characters’ motives, memorizing lines, learning Shakespearean language, and even received some fencing instruction from Nordic coach extraordinaire, Jeff Schloss. The enthusiasm and excitement around this production is palpable! Our Hamlet (junior Chuck Klein) is supported by: Riley Plant (Claudius), Camille Hartley (Gertrude), Cassidy Cichowicz (Ophelia), Augie DeRyk (Polonius), Joe Piercy (Laertes), Lauren Dunn (Horatio), Chris Fitzpatrick (Ghost of Hamlet's father), Colter Fellows (Marcellus), and Devin Gill and Matt Hourigan (Players and Gravediggers). The play is held together by the explanation of our enthusiastic storytellers Dylan Murtha, Grace Hutton, and Katrin Larusson. Please join us Friday, June 15th (the night before graduation) at Judah lodge for our performance. You can reserve tickets by contacting Joanne Knox (jknox@sbacademy.org); the cost is $5 per a ticket and this production will sell out, so get your requests in soon! Thanks in advance for supporting SBA drama!" - Joanne Knox

Talent Show 2012 Slide Show

Congratulations to the Winners and a Giant THANK YOU to all performers, judges (Kristen, Steve, Diet Coke Kai), and emcee (Devin), and chefs (Scott and Daniel).

First Place: Camille Hartley (and Patrick) - original song "Oh Honey"

Second Place: Grace Hutton and Sam Zabell - "Wagon Wheel"

Third Place: Grace, Camille, Cassidy Cichowicz, Dylan Murtha, Sam Zabell 

(aka Tone Deaf)

Student Art on Display

State Champs!

From the desk of Coach Schloss comes the following report of Marmot snow-and-skinny-ski mastery:

We had a lot of great racing this weekend and a huge congratulation to our SBA girls, who are the State Champions, and Katrin, who is the individual State Champion! Also impressive was our small boys team on the podium in third for State Championships with Freshman Sam Zabell third overall! Also a huge shout out to Skyler for powerfully representing SBA for the Middle School State Championships with 4th place, only 1/2 second out of third. At the final JNQ this weekend SBA skied super strong and although we don’t know the final naming of the JN team yet, suffice it to say SBA will be very well represented at the Junior National Championships this year. Congrats to Cassidy, Laurel, and Katrin for sweeping the Podium in the 10k skate and to Sam for 2nd in the J2 boys.

Scene on Campus Photo of the Day 2/16

Prepping for Talent Show!

Hartley Publishes Poetry

Congratulations go today to SBA Student/Athlete Camille Hartley, whose poetry has just been published on CrashTest.

CrashTest is a biannual online magazine "by and for high school students" which strives to publish poetry "that tests limits, asks questions, rejects the easy answers, risks obliteration, believes in failure, is suspicious of scripted success."

Camille's poem is entitled Seattle Moon and is inspired by her grandfather, "one of the best people I have ever known."

The site includes a brief autobiography with some interesting reflections on life as a ski academy student.

Click on the small screen capture of that bio below to see it full sized:

Kudos, Camille!

Mind, Bluegrass, Spirit

After Friday's races, a group of boarding and day students met at the SBA dorm to do some pickin' and grinnin,' working on Flatt and Scruggs' "Cripple Creek" (among other tunes).

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…

Student/Athlete/Artists!

Skyler Mullings

As Monday's formal Christmas dinner at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort's Village Hall showed, Sugar Bowl Academy is more than a family of student/athletes. 

There are among us a number of very talented performing artists, as well. 

SBA eighth-grader Skyler Mullings of the Reno Youth Concert Orchestra played a Christmas medley solo on his trombone. 

Casey Jobe, Sam Zabell, Lauren Dunn, Camille Hartley

Reno Youth Symphony Orchestra violinists Sam Zabell and Camille Hartley, YCO violinist Casey Jobe, along with Lauren Dunn (somehow still standing after a red-eye flight from races in Alaska), treated the gathering to some stringed Christmas selections, as well.

And, finally, the fledgling SBA Glee Club showcased their singing talents to the current students, faculty, staff, and alumni gathered at Village Hall Monday night. 

Head of School Tracy Keller addressed the audience as one fast-growing and tightly-knit family.

Cassidy Cichowicz, Camille Hartley, Erika Klenk, Rollin Atkinson,
Michael Cooper, Maya Anthony-Crosby

Chefs Scott and Dan cooked a tasty traditional turkey dinner and marmot moms Paige Derdowski, Gale Klenk, Mary Beth Larusson, Brenda Nivinski, and Roxanne Romo volunteered their set-up services. 

"A special thanks to our awesome marmot moms who moved lots of tables and chairs and set up beautiful holiday dining tables, replete with greenery donated by the Larusson family," said SBA Student Council Advisor Aly Kendall.