Masters Moments: Ragged Mtn. provides stern test

Junior racers start out at Class 5 and as they age by two year increments descend in numbers to the top age brackets as J1s and J2s. But, if a racer really wants to complete all the age brackets of ski racing, they have 13 more age groups to go. This past weekend, Richard “Dick” Calvert of from Wolfeboro, N.H., graduated to the top of the heap to class 13 … that’s 85 years old and over! Congratulations go out to this half-pint spitfire who never misses a chance for a great race and has set the bar for every racer out there.
JUNIOR RACERS start out at Class 5 and as they age by two-year increments descend in numbers to the top age brackets as J1s and J2s. But, if a racer really wants to complete all the age brackets of ski racing, they have 13 more age groups to go. This past weekend, Richard “Dick” Calvert of from Wolfeboro, N.H., graduated to the top of the heap to class 13 … that’s 85 years old and over! Congratulations go out to this half-pint spitfire who never misses a chance for a great race and has set the bar for every racer out there.

Men’s Action
A 2007 rookie to masters racing, Luke Hiebert put on a two-day clinic by taking both the slalom and GS races. On a course set straight down the fall line under Ragged’s Six Pac Lift, Hiebert bolted from the back of the pack to take the first run of Saturday’s slalom. In Super Seed action, a second-run charge by slalom ace Mark George wasn’t enough to knock Hiebert off the top of the podium, but it was enough to jostle Dave Wolff out of second and Alex Gadbois out of the top five. Rick Cesati’s third-fastest second run kept him safely in fourth with Tip Kimball in fifth overall.
     As told by Class 9 racer John Lussier, the first-run GS course set was a rhythmic back and forth with a major offset as one exited the tree corridor onto the open flats. The second set was inside the first set making for a faster course in spite of the increased temperatures and resultant course surface.
     Jerome Guerard stole the first run from Hiebert. Not wanting to let a perfect weekend go, Hiebert laid down the fastest second run to take the win on Sunday. Gadbois hung onto third overall with Mark George only 0.29 back.

Women’s action
Carolyn Beckedorff was unable to overcome a first-run hiccup that left her in an unfamiliar place on Saturday’s slalom podium: second overall. Lisa Densmore grabbed the overall win from Beckedorff by only 0.14 seconds. Tracey Beckerman was third with Kim Wolff and Margaret Vaughn rounding out the top five.
     Beckerman’s GS performance was good enough to place her in 10th overall in the men’s race as she won both runs for the women. Beckedorff took second, with Nadine Price holding onto third overall for both runs. A rapidly improving Susan Dorn moved up from eighth in the first run to round out the top five to finish 0.15 seconds behind Margaret Vaughn. Dorn bumped Gay Folland out of the top five by just eight hundredths of a second.
     The New England Masters head to Cannon Mountain on Jan. 12 for an early gathering of the Hochgebirge Challenge Cup. Sunday’s race will be a GS at Gunstock, with both races on the weekend counting as a combined event for additional Sise Cup points.