Junior Jam: Nolan, Halupowski win J3 N.H. races

WILDCAT MOUNTAIN, New Hampshire — The second of three Junior Olympic J3 regional qualifiers held on Feb. 8 proved to be cold, windy and a chance for juniors to shine. Battling temperatures below 10 degrees with a steady wind, racers didn’t let Mother Nature sidetrack their bids for the Junior Olympics roster.
    On the boys’ side, Matthew Nolan took first by almost a second with Colin Kamphuis second and Gunnar Shaw third. Junior Olympic hopeful Tom Bobotas came in sixth.
    Earlier this month at the first qualifier in Waterville Valley, Nolan took first in the GS, sweeping the field by more than a second and a half.  
    For the girls, Laura Halupowski won just ahead of Maria Mastanduno, with Nika Mosenthal in third. Mosenthal also took the bronze in the Waterville Valley GS.
    “The top three finishers have been doing well all season,” one spectator offered. “The wind and cold was definitely a factor today.”
    A highlighted race in years past, some believe the Junior Olympics to be a recently underscored event that holds much ski racing potential. The Junior Olympics offer an opportunity to qualify for nationals, make a spot on the U.S. Ski Team and a chance to get your name noticed. Junior Olympics is a place for healthy camaraderie between the best in your region.
    “Matt [Nolan] and Tom [Bobotas] have been racing together since first-year J4’s,” said Karen Bobotas. “This year their friendship and rivalry is still strong.”
    The last of the three qualifiers will be held at Cannon Mountain on Feb. 18 and Junior Olympics will be at Stratton Mountain from March 10-13.

Powderhorn hosts slalom
    The Powderhorn Racing Club Buddy Werner Program held a slalom race on Feb. 11. Winners were determined by using their best time on two runs. The morning run consisted of young athletes in the J5, J4 and J3 categories. Cody Arnold, a J4 boy, clocked the fastest morning time at 35.70 seconds. The afternoon run consisted of snowboarders and the J7 and J6 ski racers. Asher Lummis, a J6 boy, clocked the fastest afternoon time at 41.60 seconds.    

Other results:

J3 Girls
Meghan Woodland      38.66         1st

J4 Boys
Cody Arnold               35.70     1st
Dylan Crane        39.52          2nd
Dillon Ragar         39.99         3rd
Tyler Wacker           44.29         4th

J4 Girls
Megan Gromke           36.16         1st
Stephanie Wahlers    36.67          2nd
Mikayla O’Brien        37.85         3rd
Kathryn Murray         40.65         4th
Jordan VanderMay     42.22          5th
Lindsey Erb        44.27          6th
Bailey Reiners           46.18         7th
Isabelle DiPaola        51.14         8th

J5 Boys
Josh Yeoman        41.94         1st
Evan Zeck        42:53         2nd
Joe Talbot        43.57         3rd
Gustavo Peters    43.66         4th
Kirk Fletcher        44.19         5th
Marques Combs    44.37         6th
Tyler Sheehy               47.42         7th
Alex Blackford    50.79         8th
Jacob Miller                1:15.0        9th

J5 Girls
Taylor Chaffetz           40.77         1st
Hannah Briner          40.87         2nd
Emma Mace              43.44         3rd
Alena Beyer                44.58            4th
Chaerin Kang       45.60            5th
Lillian DiPaola    48.81         6th
Sarah Ash               1:12.90        7th

J6 Boys
Asher Lummis         41.60         1st
August Mueller           42.07         2nd
Tommy Mahre    46.85         3rd
Noah Castro        47.48         4th
Tommy Oakley           47.81         5th
Nicholas Farias    48.16         6th
Liam Kincaid        49.04         7th
Wade Katzdorn    49.49         8th
Stefan Roussin              49.69         9th
Jake Cahffetz              51.33         10th
Hunter Roberts    52.02         11th
Ethan Hartmann    1:05.06      12th

J6 Girls
Kristina Sewell             44.57        1st
Jaclyn Murray              46.27        2nd
Heathryn Livingston    47.06        3rd
Brianna Bonella     48.59        4th
Presly Bray          52.55        5th
Mira
Mercier                55.31        6th
Anna Worrall               1:02.33     7th
Anna Blackford           1:12.86      8th

J7 Boys
Max Hall                     49.66          1st
Colin Mace        53.00          2nd
Benjamin Miller    53.96          3rd
Aidan Padyk        56.11          4th
Colby Raley        57.91          5th
Nathan Briner              1:00.79       6th

J7 Girls
Tia Sewell        48.25          1st
Keanna Bonella    48.94          2nd
Madeline Pill-Kastens    49.81          3rd
Morgan Omer        51.17         4th
Shila States                    52.34          5th
Makena McLaughlin    1:05.60       6th
Sloan Lindsey        1:07.06        7th

J3 Boys Snowboarding
Holden Zeunan     48.01            1st

J4 Boys Snowboarding
Kurt Katzdorn        1:06.45         1st

J5 boys Snowboarding
Ryland Mahre         1:10.06          1st

SR wants your junior club news
Junior Jam will appear regularly on skiracing.com as a supplement to our juniors coverage in Ski Racing magazine. Want your club or racer publicized? Be proactive and keep us informed. Send juniors roundups, news, tidbits, Waxroom items, results and photos to Ski Racing at hlund@skiracing.com, and copy dcameron@skiracing.com.