For the Oregon Club Sports alpine ski teams, it’s time for the big race.
It’s the race where the men’s and women’s teams will need to ski harder and tuck tighter than they’ve ever done: the Western Regional competition.
The contest will be held in Park City, Utah, from Thursday through Saturday. It is expected to be an intense race, as all of the teams will be racing on the same slope skiers in the 2002 Winter Olympics will use next year.
The Ducks feel prepared, after both men and women finished in third place at the conference championships two weekends ago. For the men, sophomore Colby Gail received first team All-Conference and senior Josh Kellerman made a strong comeback to finish 18th in the standings. The women’s underclassmen stepped up, with freshmen Sonja Handy and Colleen Goodrich finishing in the top-20. In the top five women skiers, there are two freshman, two sophomores and one senior.
“Our team feels really strong with the great competition we had at conference championships,” Handy said. “We are going to do the best we can do and see how we come out. And nationals would be amazing.”
Last year, both teams placed 12 out of 16 teams in regionals, and they want to prove themselves with a better showing this year.
Nationally-ranked Whitman, as well as Albertson College and the University of British Columbia are all strong in the Northwest Conference and will pose serious competition for the Ducks.
The Rocky Mountain and Grand Teton conferences are also in the competition as they bring in powerhouses Montana State, Rocky Mountain College and the University of Colorado.
“If we ski to our potential we could surprise many teams and finish in the top five,” alpine coordinator Chuck Leavitt said, referring to the men’s team.
The top five teams in the men’s and women’s competitions will move onto face the best of the best in the national competition. Rankings in regionals are determined by combined scores from giant slalom and slalom.
“Regionals should be good with the competition that will be present and we have a strong chance for nationals,” Gail said.
According to Leavitt, the women are stronger in the slalom and have a chance to go to nationals if they present strong times in the giant slalom. The men know they also have a likely chance to qualify and aim to perform equally in both races.
“It will take two great days of skiing for these teams to make nationals,” Leavitt said.