Mt. Spokane, Washington
The 14-member squad from Mt. Hood Race Team braved harsh weather and difficult snow conditions on Sunday to win the 2009 Pacific Northwest Ski Association’s Buddy Werner Championship trophy, bringing it back to Mt. Hood and Mt. Hood Skibowl. Blowing snow, hail, and poor visibility due to thick fog, presented the 270+ young ski racers from throughout the Northwest with challenging racing conditions, but at the end of the two-day competition, Mt. Hood Race Team’s young competitors earned the spot at the top of the podium.
“Our kids proved to be the toughest in the Northwest as they hung tough in some very brutal and stormy weather on Sunday”, said Ryan ‘Barney’ Barnes, head coach of Mt. Hood Race Team. Going into the 2nd day of racing Mt. Hood Race Team was ranked 4th overall. “Some of our competition broke down in the difficult conditions”, said Barney. “Mt. Hood Race Team kids scored their best results in the worst conditions.”
On Saturday, the first day of competition, all seven Mt. Hood Race Team girls successfully completed the 2-run Slalom race, and all seven Mt. Hood Race Team boys successfully completed the 2-run Giant Slalom race. On Sunday, only one girl and one boy from the team did not finish their Giant Slalom and Slalom races, respectively. “This was truly a team effort,” said an emotional Bill Gunesch, Program Director of the race team. “Every kid contributed to the victory, with his or her effort. This championship win is very special.”
Individual honors go to Luke Winters, age 11, from Gresham, Oregon. Luke finished 2nd in the Giant Slalom, and 3rd in the Slalom – winning the Men’s Overall Champion trophy. This victory qualified him to compete next week at the USSA Western Region Junior Olympics in McCall, Idaho, where he will compete against the top 11 and 12 year old racers from the Western United States.
Joining Luke on the 2009 Buddy Werner Championship Team were 13 young ski racers from Mt. Hood. Grant Hamlin, Kevan Gahan, Jack Knutson, Isaac Grebisz, Nate Gunesch, and Luke’s brother Cody Winters joined him on the boy’s team. Shannen Burton, Ashley Lodmell, Orianna Galasso, Kayla Lanker, Meera Champawat, Madison Lawhead and Katherine Dean represented the girls.
The Buddy Werner Championships is the Pacific Northwest’s premier event for young ski racers ages nine to twelve. This year 23 teams competed, representing ski areas and ski clubs from Oregon, Washington and northern Idaho.