"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