January 22, 2021 – Slinger, WI – The Slinger and Hartford Snowboard teams had excellent performances at Alpine Valley Resort in East Troy for another slalom and giant slalom race on Saturday, 16 January along with the first boarder cross competition of the season on Sunday.
Saturday’s events started with a nice rhythmic course for slalom and a flowy giant slalom which was a welcomed break from the difficult and technical courses from the previous weekend. The snow conditions were quite sloppy, which was not typical for Midwest racers.
All of the varsity and junior varsity men’s and women’s teams swept the podiums in all three events on both days.
Luke Schmitt, a freshman from Slinger High, placed 4th out of 21 boys in his division in slalom.
Freshmen Jack Bullis, Joe Hefter, and Christian Flarity from Slinger, placed 6th, 7th, and 8th. Sophia Parkinson and Ava Stortz for Hartford and Slinger girls varsity teams placed 3rd and 5th. For the older boys, Slinger junior Ethan Smith took 1st followed behind by Brady Jackson also a Slinger junior taking 2nd. Ethan Benedict, a junior from West Bend took 4th out of 29 racers followed by Isaac DeWalt a Slinger junior in 5th. Hunter Wenzel, a sophomore from Hartford is also making his name known coming back from a year off due to a wrist injury last season. He placed 6th this race.
In giant slalom, we had a Slinger sweep with Hefter, Schmitt, and Bullis taking the podium for the younger boy’s division and Smith, Jackson, and DeWalt taking gold, silver, and bronze. Brayden Nagra followed closely behind with 4th with Wenzel in 5th and Benedict in 6th.
On Sunday, it was the first USASA boarder cross event. Excitement was in the air for some of the racers who get really competitive. Delaney Braun, a sophomore at Slinger, took 4th in time trials putting her in 3rd for high school standings.
Braun went to the finals for club competition against Waukesha’s junior Leah Walters and West Bend’s junior Lauren Nast. Braun snatched a hard-earned 4th for the girl’s team. Slinger’s freshman Mickey DeLong had a rough time trial but was able to earn a first place in finals for her division.
For the younger boys, Hefter took 2nd followed by Bullis who took 4th in the finals out. Schmitt followed in 5th. Benedict took 1st followed by three Slinger juniors Jackson, Smith and DeWalt out of 28 riders. This gives all the boys the current standings for the high school division as well. Returning rider Brian Pomeroy, an alumni from West Bend East, also raced both days and finished 4th in boarder cross.
Next weekend, racers will return to Alpine Valley both days for boarder cross competitions.
