Steamboat Pilot & Today

The Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club's freestyle and cross country teams wrapped up recent competitions with impressive results.

The cross country team raced at the Rocky Mountain Junior Olympic Qualifier in Durango on Jan. 17 and 18, while the Winter Sports Club's freestyle team spent Jan. 20 on Thunderbowl in Aspen Highlands.

The Durango skate and classic races served as races Nos. 3 and 4 in the Junior Olympic circuit. To qualify for the Junior Olympic team, an athlete must finish in the top 7 percent behind the top three finishers in each age bracket in two skate and two classic races.

Based on results from the first four races of the season, it appears as if Korie Steitz, Sarah MacCarthy, Austin Ross and Marty Smith have all qualified, coach Brian Tate said.

In the Jan. 17 skate race, MacCarthy finished second (14 minutes, 42 seconds) and Steitz placed fourth (14:49) in the J2 division. On Jan. 18, MacCarthy won the classic race (15:57), while Steitz came in fourth with a 17:32.

On the boys' side, Smith placed fifth in the skate race (13:09) and second in the classic race (14:36) in the J3 division. Ross, a member of the J1 group, took fifth on Jan. 17 (35:30) and sixth on Jan. 18 (14:47.)

The J3 contestants raced 3K courses both days, while the J2 group skied a 5K course. Ross raced a 15K on Jan. 17 and a 5K course on Jan. 18.

Other Winter Sports Club finishers in the Jan. 17 race were: Mary Rose (J4) 2nd, 9:38; Jasper Gantick (J4) 6th, 11:09; Kyle Steitz (J3) 8th, 8:59; Sean Batson (J3) 12th, 9:48; Melissa Krause (J3) 5th, 9:45; Mike Gleason (J2) 4th, 13:07; Paul Rose (J2) 6th, 13:16; and Justin Krause (J2) 18th, 14:31.

Other Winter Sports Club finishers in the Jan. 18 race were: Rose 1st, 11:41; Gantick 6th, 13:27; Steitz 7th, 10:48; Batson 9th, 11:17; Krause 3rd, 11:21; Rose 6th, 15:26; Gleason 8th, 15:52; and Krause 12th, 16:23.

The freestyle team, meanwhile, was preparing for the 205-meter course in Aspen Highlands.

On Jan. 20, Eddie Keiser and Erica Damon came out victorious, as the Winter Sports Club swept both events.

Keiser scored a 25.76, while teammate Kyle Ewing came in third with a 24.66. Scott Vos was seventh with a 23.53.

"The course was deep, but we kept it clean," Ewing said.

Damon was the only female to break 24 points, notching a 24.57. Maryann Skraba (22.54) and Justine Chellel (22.35) also finished in the top ten for the Winter Sports Club, placing fifth and sixth, respectively.

Other Winter Sports Club finishers were: Patty Hanley (F2) 15th, 18.97; Jenny Rose Lee (F3) 19th, 17.28; Sam Tarrant (M2) 23rd, 20.10; Jake Cohn (M2) 30th, 19.72; Daniel Macarthur (M2) 34th, 18.75; and Nicolaus Demetrian (M2) 35th, 18.46.