Hundreds of alpine racers gathered at a trio of local ski resorts last weekend for the four-day Far West Tech Finals and U12 Championships.

Racing began on Friday, March 30, at Sugar Bowl for the U14 slalom championships, where Sugar Bowl Ski Team & Academy’s Jack Schaffner led a team sweep of the top four places on the squad’s home snow.

Schaffner finished the event with a total time of 1 minute, 21.39 seconds. Teammates Preston O’Brien (1:22.05), Isaac Mozen (1:22.46), and Ben Eisenstat (1:24.87) were next for Sugar Bowl.

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On the girls’ side, Snow Summit Race Team’s (Big Bear, Calif.) Elle Williams tied for first place with Sugar Bowl’s Sophia Staudenmayer, with each competitor finishing with a combined time of 1:32.29. Sugar Bowl skiers Elizabeth Scott (1:33.54), and Anna Zaruby (1:34.30) were next.

Racing continued the following day at Sugar Bowl with the U14 Plus slalom round, and again skiers from Sugar Bowl put on an impressive display.

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O’Brien returned to the slopes to compete in the event following a second-place finish the day before, and captured first place behind the day’s two fastest runs. He’d finish with a total time of 1:26.31, which was more than four seconds faster than second place teammate Kazimir Sosnkowski (1:30.65). Diamond Peak’s Matthew Smallhouse (1:30.80) was third.

On the girls’ side, Williams picked up her second straight win, finishing with a total time of 1:28.21. Sugar Bowl skiers Faith Cooper (1:28.60) and Olivia Omar (1:28.78) were next.

Racing then moved to Northstar on Sunday, April 1, for the U19 giant slalom finals.

Kirkwood’s Sean Dunkleman took first place in the event with a total time of 2:12.76. Dunkleman, a runner-up at this year’s high school slalom state championships, posted the day’s fastest time in his second run to edge Squaw Valley’s Brandon Leitner (2:13.14). Squaw Valley skier Guthrie Goss (2:13.63) was third.

On the girls’ side, Sugar Bowl’s Anna Zaruby took home the title with a combined time of 2:13.77. Mammoth skiers Erica Lynch (2:14.54) and Sasha Mueller (2:15.44) were next.

The Far West Tech Finals then concluded on Monday, April 2, at Northstar with the U19 giant slalom event. Squaw Valley’s Leitner led a sweep of the top three positions for the team, finishing with a total time of 2:16.27 to win the title. Luca Robillard (2:16.47) and Goss (2:16.83) were next for Squaw.

Diamond Peak’s Jasmine Arrison picked up the win on the girls’ side with a combined time of 2:15.86, just edging Mammoth’s Lynch by 0.05 seconds. Sugar Bowl’s Zaruby was next with a total time of 2:16.02.

U12 Championships

Far West Skiing’s U12 Championships were also held last weekend at Squaw Valley with super-G, slalom, giant slalom, and parallel slalom events.

The competition began on Thursday, March 29 with giant slalom. Squaw Valley’s Eric McCoy Hudson picked up a giant slalom title on the first day with a total time of 1:39.81 to edge Sugar Bowl’s Pierce Friel (1:40.22).

On the girls’ side, Squaw Valley’s Lylah Kelly finished in first place with a total time of 1:40.42 to beat out Mammoth’s Piper Wilkison (1:40.96)

Racing continued at Squaw the following day with super-G, and Sugar Bowl’s Friel captured the championship with a time of 41.19 to top Squaw’s Oscar Whelan (41.35) and Hudson (41.39).

Kelly took home the win on the girls’ side with a time of 41.44, followed by fellow Sugar Bowl skier Madison Vieara-McCarthy (42.74).

The racers then returned the following day to compete in slalom. Jake Buchanan dominated the race and led off a sweep of the top four places for Squaw Valley skiers on the boys’ side, finishing with the day’s two fastest runs and a total time of 1:30.06. Whelan (1:31.90), Florian Standteiner (1:31.99), and Prince Ilano (1:32.69) rounded out Squaw’s top finishers.

Kirkwood’s Autumn Ellingford shook things up on the girls’ side with a total time of 1:29.54 for a first-place finish. Alpine Meadows’ Tatum Akers (1:30.32) was next, followed by Squaw’s Vieara-McCarthy (1:31.37) in third.

The youngsters then returned on Easter Sunday for the conclusion of the U12 Championships.

Mammoth’s Gregory Gazarian captured the win in parallel slalom with a total time of 44.59 to defeat Squaw’s Hudson by 0.06 seconds. Sugar Bowl’s Carl Ottosson was third with a total time of 44.72.

Squaw’s Vieara-McCarthy closed out her season on the Far West tour with a first-place finish, crossing the line with a total time of 44.33. Teammate Lylah Kelly (45.37) was next, followed by Mammoth’s Wilkison (45.68).

Justin Scacco is a reporter for the Truckee Sun. Contact him at jscacco@truckeesun.com.