3.2 Miles, Uphill!

Three SBA student-athletes competed in Sunday's annual Billy Dutton Uphill, a fund raiser for Far West Nordic entailing a punishing 3.2 mile ski/run/snowshoe race ascending 2,000 vertical feet from the base of Squaw Valley's KT-22 to High Camp. Full results are available HERE. Many thanks to Paige Derdowski for the photos of Casey Jobe ('16) - first in his class and 14th of 168 racers overall - and Peter Carroll ('15) - second in his class and 24th overall. SBA's Hannah Halvorsen (not pictured) also finished first in her class.

Congratulations on behalf of the entire SBA community to Casey, Peter, and Hannah from The Fighting Marmot.

SBA and Far West Nordic Shine in Alaska

Hannah Halvorsen ('16) on the podium
(photo by Mark Nadell)

Sleepy Nords abound on campus today. 

Team Nordic returned last night from Junior Nationals in frigid Fairbanks, Alaska, having slept little the night before so that they could enjoy closing ceremonies and the northern lights that (finally!) made an appearance at roughly midnight on the team's very last night in town. They were up again at 4 am, making their move to the airport, having endured sub-zero temperatures and four days of high-pressure racing against the best competition in the country. Today, they were back in classes, having a hard time keeping their eyes open. 

For some, Junior Nationals was undoubtedly a learning experience, a humbling opportunity to learn how far they have to go still before they can hope to fulfill their lofty goals. 

For others, it was a chance to shine on the biggest stage available at their age. 

I wrote several weeks ago (click HERE) about the addition of J2 Hannah Halvorsen to our teaching, learning, and training community. Hannah was consistently among the top finishers in Fairbanks, her strongest finish coming in the skate sprint heats, where she placed third in the country. Perennial SBA powerhouse Katrin Larusson also had a third-place overall finish, hers coming in the 5K Freestyle on day one of racing. SBA second-year J2 Sam Zabell - teamed up with Dylan Syben and Julien Bordes of the Far West - helped his team to a fifth-place finish in the 3x3 Classic Relay race. 

Coaches Martin Benes and
Jeff Schloss with Halvorsen
(photo by Mark Nadell)

Mark Nadell and SBA Head
Nordic Coach Jeff Schloss

Congratulations to all the Fighting Marmot Nordic skiers and to the entire Far West team, which finished an impressive sixth overall at Junior Nationals this year and increased its final points total from 2012 by over 60 points. It was truly a team effort, with the coaches applying elbow grease all day at the waxing stands. 

Katrin Larusson ('13) on the podium
(photo by Mark Nadell)

Said trip leader Mark Nadell: "There is a ridiculous amount of behind-the-scenes work that goes into an operation of this size, work that’s mostly unseen even by most of the athletes that are there, from hours and hours in the wax room, to the wax testers skiing kilometer after kilometer until their legs die, to late-night coaches meetings. 

"I’m really proud of our coaching crew of Ben, Jeff Schloss, Kara Lapoint, August Teague, Martin Benes, Holly Whitney, and Joel Chew for making all of this happen, Kelly Mcelravey for administrative help, and thanks also to the parents who came along for support, Stacy Bordes, Stacey Herhusky, Michelle Syben, and Janet Hardy. 

"I think we’ll remember this trip for a long time."

SBA Nordic Shines in Soldier Hollow

Halvorsen at the top of the podium

Sugar Bowl Academy and Far West Nordic ski racers had an exceptionally strong showing racing against the best of the West in Soldier Hollow, Utah, last weekend. In the sprint race, top finishes included SBA's J2 Hannah Halvorsen finishing first and J1 Katrin Larusson finishing third among all J1/OG combined. For the boys, J2 Peter Carroll placed a strong sixth in the sprint.

Day two saw Halvorsen taking fifth in the Classic 5K among J2s and Larusson eighth among all J1s. Sam Zabell finished fourteenth for J2 boys. 

Larusson (right) on the podium again

Congratulations to all of Far West Nordic and to the strong skiing of the entire Sugar Bowl Academy ski team at Soldier Hollow! Given her particularly strong showing at Soldier Hollow, Hannah Halvorsen is spotlighted in this post. Below, Hannah offers her thoughts on becoming part of the Fighting Marmot sprawl, on her win at Soldier Hollow, and on her goals for the future.

"I made the decision to come to SBA based on what I believed would be a unique school environment that would best support my academic and athletic dreams year around. I am super excited about the flexible schedule that will allow me to train longer each day in the mornings and attend school in the afternoon. SBA also works around our competition schedule so I won't miss classes. I am excited to train and be a part of a team and school that is super passionate about the sport I love so much, Nordic skiing. I have been skiing since I was one and still love doing it everyday. SBA offers me the opportunity to train at a high level with great coaches and teammates each day and get a good education while I pursue my Nordic dreams. That said, I will miss my teachers, coaches, and teammates at Truckee High School, whom I respect very much. I never envisioned winning the Soldier Hollow sprint before it took place. Not only standing on the podium, but the entire experience of competing at this level was absolutely incredible. I learned so much, had so much fun, and now have the exciting hope and determination to carry out my dreams even farther. My goals for this season are really to take in every awesome experience and learn as much as I can about high level racing. This is really the beginning of my Nordic career and I intend to start off on a good foot. I don't have much past experience to really set any goals for a certain place or number, so I hope to do my best, learn, and enjoy every moment and see where it takes me." - Hannah Halvorsen ('16)