Two Incline Village skiers, Amanda Pretti and Annika Hansen, have qualified to compete in the alpine U16 Junior Championships in Alyeska, Alaska, from March 19-23. 

The top U16 racers in the country will be on hand to compete in slalom, giant slalom and super giant slalom.  

Pretti and Hansen, who both attended the Junior Championships last year in Big Sky, Mont., earned their chance for a repeat performance this year based on results from a series of qualifying Far West division competitions. 

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They competed in nine qualifying races, three each in slalom, giant slalom and super giant slalom. Points were then tallied using each skier’s top five results to determine which athletes qualified for the championships.  

Both skiers had excellent slalom results that helped land them in the championships. Pretti’s top five results included a first, third and fourth in the slalom and eighth and ninth in the giant slalom, earning her the No. 6 spot in the Far West selections. 

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Hansen’s top five results: fourth, 10th and 11th in the slalom and eighth and 17th in the super giant slalom, earned her the 14th spot for the Far West women.

These athletes have shown hard work and dedication in their efforts to reach their goals. Often training five days a week, they arrive on the mountain by 7:30 a.m. on weekends and school vacations. 

Not only do they compete around the Tahoe Basin, they also travel to ski areas throughout California such as Snow Summit and Mammoth Mountain, sometimes missing several days of school to compete.  

Although a significant amount of time is devoted to ski racing, school remains a priority. Pretti recently was named to the Nevada All State Academic team for maintaining a 4.0 GPA while on the Incline High School ski team. She qualified for the USSA Far West Academic ski team as well.

Follow the Incline Village skiers’ results at http://www.live-timing.com. Results will be posted in real-time on March 19 (giant slalom), 20 (slalom) and 22 (super giant slalom).