Top two already and the next comp on home turf in just 10 days at Sugar Bowl!SBA displayed its dominance in freeride skiing on the first stop of the Tahoe Junior Freeride Series last Saturday at Alpine Meadows Resort. SBA student-athletes Drew Hartley and Isaac Freeland finished first and second, respectively, in the 14-17 age group.
"Drew had the most dominant score of the day well out in front of his fellow competitors setting the bar for the next two stops," said Coach Sean Carey.
"It felt great for everything I worked toward this fall to pay off and it was really gratifying," said Hartley. "That was my first ever win of any legitimate competition."
It didn't come without a lot of hard work.
"It's been nine conditioning workouts per week in the fall getting up early four times a week, staying at school until five every day," said Hartley.
"Sometimes it's hard to stay motivated when you're not competing, just sitting their training. So now, winter has hit, I leave for Crested Butte in two weeks and, from there, it's just competing and competing and competing for seven weeks straight.
"I'm ready!"
For his part, Freeland's performance at the Alpine Meadows comp served notice that the SBA freeride team will have many contenders in the mix for the Volkl skis and Marker bindings at stake in the Tahoe Junior Freeride Series.
"Isaac began his run with a very exposed entry air that earned him the highest line score of the day," said Carey.
"And fellow Academy athletes Daniel Costa and Austin Schrage both had solid runs going, but had trouble down low on the venue costing them top 10 places.
"Carrie Adams showed strong camaraderie and support for her fellow teammates as she recovers from a knee injury. We look forward to seeing her in action soon at the first stop of the Junior Freeskiing Tour in Crested Butte in two weeks," said Carey.
The second stop of the Tahoe Junior Freeride Series is Febuary 12th and 13th here at Sugar Bowl.
The following video was shot from the GoPro camera atop the head of Alpine Meadows comp winner Hartley. This is the winning run. Enjoy!
