RIPLEY – The Mont Ripley Race Team was well represented in the U16 (ages 14 and 15) age group as the hill hosted a series of United States Ski and Snowboard Association – Region 2 Central Division giant slalom races last Friday and Saturday

Alpine racers from as far away as St. Louis competed in the event and attended the USSA Central Division two day giant slalom tech camp that preceded the races.

Each giant slalom race consisted of two runs, with the results being determined by lowest combined time. In the first race on Saturday, Sarah Rowe (Dollar Bay/Park City, Utah), led the Mont Ripley Race Team charge with the lowest two-run combined time of 1:08.15. Jenna Stein (Houghton) was second with a combined time of 1:10.38. Ally Fenton (Hancock) was fifth at 1:12.00 and Katherine Jarvis (Hancock) was 11th at 1:14.23. In the second race on Saturday, Rowe registered another convincing victory with a combined time of 1:06.37. Stein recorded another strong result, finishing second at 1:07.67. Fenton finished fifth at 1:09.21 and Jarvis was eleventh at 1:11.95. On Sunday, one giant slalom race was contested, with Stein finishing first with a time of 1:08.12, Fenton third at 1:08.71 and Jarvis sixth at 1:10.42.

According to Bob Vial, head coach of the Mont Ripley Race Team, “It is a great to see the Mont Ripley girls do so well this weekend. Competition in the Central Division Region 2 is always strong. The girls completed all of their runs and showed steady improvement during the weekend. I am very pleased with the progress that Jenna, Ally and Katherine have made so far this season. It was great to have Sarah back in town, training and competing with us during the holiday season. It is apparent that Sarah’s training, including the month of August on snow in New Zealand and the month of November where she trained at the USSA Speed Center in Copper Mountain, Colorado, is paying dividends now.”

Rowe is a member of the USSA National Training Group. She moved to Park City last summer and attends the US TEAM Academy while training at the USSA Center of Excellence in Park City. Rowe did not race on Sunday, as she was traveling to Squaw Valley, California to rejoin the USSA National Training Group team where she will train this week and compete in the Sugar Bowl Western Region Junior Championship Qualifier this weekend.

Rowe will then travel to Lake Placid, New York, to train and compete. From Lake Placid, she will travel to Soelden, Austria, to compete in the Six Nations Cup in early February.