AVSC J4 Skiers Win Team Title, Four Golds at Winter Park Junior Olympics
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| by Alan Cole |
March 31, 2009
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The USSA Rocky/Central J4 Junior Olympics in Winter Park, March 19-21 was the toughest test of the season for Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club's J4 Alpine team and they aced it. Two gold medal finishes from Danielle Brownell-Patty, individual golds for Dean Travers and Benjamin Throm and multiple top-ten results gave the team the overall title for the second year in a row. "It's the highest level of competition in the United States for 11-13 year olds," said AVSC alpine J4 coach Rohan Verplank. "The fastest racers from eighteen states were there and our team met the challenge."
Danielle Brownell-Patty crushed the field in Thursday's Super-G race, winning by four and a half seconds. "She knew it was her race to win and she embraced it fully and pushed herself all the way," said Verplank. Teammate Sonja Gagen took 32nd out of a talented field of 56 other skiers.
Dean Travers grabbed the silver medal and Colby Lane took bronze for AVSC on the boys' side. "Both Dean and Colby really attacked the course," said Verplank. "Dean was only a half-second behind the leader and Colby used his instinct for the fall lane to make up speed at the bottom. Both of them were gunning for the win. In fact, none of our guys were skiing for second place." Andrew Hancock, Travis Lundin and Benjamin Throm finished fourth, fifth and sixth. Xon Baker cracked the top-ten in ninth and Roy Benge finished 14th place in "one of the most talented fields I've ever seen," said Verplank. "Seven out of the top-15 is not bad at all."
Brownell-Patty kept up her assault in Friday morning's giant slalom race, besting the field by two and a half seconds. "Dani just continued to ski her race on her terms," said Verplank. Sonja Gagen impressed her coaches with her improvement, finishing a solid 18th place. "She always placed better than her bib number, "said Verplank.
Benjamin Throm and Travis Lundin both stepped up to the challenge in the morning GS race, finishing one-two for the team. "Ben's been so close so many times and when he comes up short he's always smiling and congratulating the other kids," said Verplank. "This was his time and he left no doubt. Travis showed us that he's just as strong in tech events like giant slalom as he is in speed events like super-G." Xon Baker stepped up to fourth, Colby Lane was seventh, Tanner Spence was 11th, Roy Benge was 12th and Henry Woodrow was 15th. "Henry normally excels in slalom so to get a strong GS finish from him was excellent," said Verplank.
It was Dean Travers' turn to strike gold for the Club in Friday afternoon's GS race. "He absolutely diced up a really tough course that tripped up a lot of other racers," said Verplank. Colby Lane finished fourth, Travis Lundin was fifth and Andrew Hancock finished sixth. "Any one of those guys could have finished on top, the times were that close," said Verplank. Once again AVSC had seven finishers in the top-15 including Benjamin Throm in 8th, Xon Baker in 12th and Roy Benge in 13th.
Benjamin Throm and Travis Lundin both stepped up to the challenge in the afternoon GS race, finishing one-two for the team. "Ben's been so close so many times and when he comes up short he's always smiling and congratulating the other kids," said Verplank. "This was his time and he left no doubt. Travis showed us that he's just as strong in tech events like giant slalom as he is in speed events like super-G." Xon Baker stepped up to fourth, Colby Lane was seventh, Tanner Spence was 11th, Roy Benge was 12th and Henry Woodrow was 15th. "Henry normally excels in slalom so to get a strong GS finish from him was excellent," said Verplank.
The Aspen boys were stymied by two unforgiving slalom courses on Saturday with sets that tripped up many of the faster skiers. Travis Lundin was the exception to the rule, taking the bronze in the morning. "It said a lot about Travis and his abilities as an all-around skier," said Verplank. "These courses shook a lot of skiers but he refused to go down." Andrew Hancock and Xon Baker both recovered from mid-course mistakes to claim top-15 finishes in 11th and 12th place. Dean Travers sliced his way through another tricky course for a silver medal in the afternoon race. "How Dean pulled it off I don't know," said Verplank. "He made an amazing recovery in a flush that killed everyone else. For him to get the silver was his most impressive feat of the week." Henry Woodrow was the next best finisher after Travers in 17th place. Tristan Lane rose to the challenge of racing in an age class above his actual age and finished 22nd. "Tristan's got a really bright future with the team," said Verplank.
Danielle Brownell-Patty suffered a fall in the morning, but rebounded in the afternoon to finish second to Buck Hill racer Montana Marzario. "Dani played it safe in the afternoon to make sure she finished," said Verplank. "That decision secured her place as the overall champion of the event."
Dean Travers won the silver medal for overall results and Travis Lundin took home the bronze overall. Their consistency helped the AVSC team win the overall team title for the second year in a row. Verplank also highlighted the solid skiing of Scott Houtsma and Chapin Newhard. "Scotty came in and skied consistently well all week and Chapin bested his bib number almost every race he was in," he said. "Chapin's one to watch. He will leading the way for us next season."
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For details, contact
Alan Cole
AVSC
(970) 205-5104
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