"A Strong Argument for Domination"

SBA Freeeride occupying two of three spots on the
podium at Alpine Meadows, with
Isaac Freeland finishing first and Drew Hartley third

Team Freeride is fresh off one of its most successful comp weekends in history, having harvested an array of podium hardware from their trip to Alpine Meadows. While SBA's Isaac Freeland ('13) and Xander Guldman ('16) both took first-place honors, SBA athletes were represented on every podium at the Tahoe Junior Freeride Series competition.

Those of you receiving Fighting Marmot posts via email feed may not see the embedded videos of both Freeland's and Guldman's winning runs at Alpine below, so be sure to view them at the SBA blog site (HERE). It is some truly sublime skiing.

Congratulations to Team Freeride, and thank you to Coach Tanhoff for the following rundown of the weekend's medal haul.

"SBA Freeriders made a strong argument for domination this weekend at Alpine Meadows, Tahoe Junior Freeride Series Stop #2! SBA athletes were on every podium. Xander Guldman put down a very high energy second run on Sunday to not only claim first place for the event but also to lock down the TJFS season title. Isaac Freeland was able to cruise into first place Sunday after jumping out to a 4.5 point lead on Saturday with a mind-blowing run which included two massive airs and clean, smooth skiing in between. Erika Klenk found the podium with consistent, aggressive skiing that put her in second! Sydney Gradeff continued her transition into Big Mountain competition with a solid third place. Drew Hartley continues his rise to the top with a solid third place in a very difficult older-boys field. The freeriders move over to Squaw Valley this week for a national IFSA event with confidence and momentum!" - Freeride Coach Trevor Tanhoff

Freeriders Defend Home Snow

Congratulations to SBA's Xander Guldman, who has started the freeride comp season with a pair of podium-worthy performances. Thank you, too, to Head Coach Trevor Tanhoff for the following report of freeride marmots competing last weekend on home snow... 

Team Freeride

"The Sugar Bowl Academy Freeride Team defended home turf well this last weekend with a pair of first-place podiums and four skiers in the top five! With over 130 skiers in the field, the competition was fierce. Xander Guldman and Sydney Gradeff took home top honors and some confidence going into next weekend's second stop at Squaw Valley. Drew Hartley and Isaac Freeland wowed the crowd with their big lines, but each had small control issues that cost them the podium. Louis Norris continued his strong showings this year with a fourth place in a stacked age division. Ian Scott redeemed himself after a bobble at Snowbird with a fifteenth-place finish here at home. Carly Gradeff and Erika Klenk had strong showings and undoubtedly will come out hungry at the next two stops at Squaw Valley and Regional Championships at Alpine Meadows." - Coach Trevor Tanhoff

Scene OFF Campus Pic of the Day

It's day two of Team Freeride's first comp of the season at Snowbird, and while there are no results to report just yet, Marmot Man did receive this photo from team manager and parent Barb Hartley (mother of Drew, '13). After Isaac Freeland's run Sunday, three Chilean girls asked to have their photo taken with him.  

UPDATE! Results are in! Coach Trevor Tanhoff has notified me that SBA's Xander Guldman finished second in the Boys 12-14 age group while Drew Hartley took third in the Boys 15-18 age bracket. Both Erika Klenk (15-18) and Carly Gradeff (12-14) placed sixth for their respective age groups. Congratulations Fighting Marmots on a strong start to the season! 

Hartley, Freeland Take Top Two on Home Snow

The following report of Marmot mastery of snow comes from Barbara Hartley. Thanks, Barb, and congratulations to Drew, Isaac, and the rest of the SBST gnar shredders!

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The first stop of the Tahoe Junior Freeride Series took place at Sugar Bowl this weekend. The Academy boys were on fire with Drew and Issac battling it out for first place. At the end of the day on Saturday, Issac was in the lead with a score of 42.5. Drew was running in a close second with a score of 42.25, while the third place competitor was a good two points back. 

Drew Hartley's winning runs at Sugarbowl from Starfish Films on Vimeo.

On day two, Issac pulled off an amazing run and it looked like he was going to be taking home the gold. Under blackening skies and increasing winds, Drew managed to stay calm and pulled off the highest scoring run of the weekend, claiming top honors with Issac a very close second. It was a great weekend of competing and super fun to watch our Academy boys go head to head all weekend long. The Freeride team had three other older boys finish in the top ten with Emmett Seely in 7th, Conner Fournier in 9th and Kyle Fowler in 10th.

Drew and Isaac's friendly rivalry is pushing their skiing to new heights! Neither of them would be where they are at without the other. The confidence gained this past weekend should carry right into national competition starting at the end of the month. - Coach Trevor

Sugar Bowl’s Xander Guldman dominated the younger boys age group by taking first place in a very competitive field with a winning score of 40.125, a good 4 points above his next competitor.


Congratulations also goes out to Ali Lawton for taking third place in the girls 15-17 age group and to Carly Gradeff for her 5th place win in the girls 11-14 year age group.


To learn more about the Tahoe Junior Freeride Series go to tahoejuniorfreerideseries.com. The next stop of the series will be at Squaw Valley on February 25th and 26th. Come out and watch a great event! The stakes will be high as the Squaw Valley athletes are going to be working hard to keep Sugar Bowl off the podium.