Three days after a first-place finish at the California Nevada Interscholastic Ski and Snowboard Federation Nordic Championships on Friday, Feb.16, Sugar Bowl junior Haydn Halvorsen returned to the course at Auburn Ski Club and took first in the Tahoe Mountain Sports Presidents Cup Freestyle Race.

The race was a United States Ski & Snowboard Association (USSA) event, and featured distances of 1 kilomter up to 10 kilometers.

Halvorsen took first place in the 10-kilometer boys’ U18 division with a time of 29 minutes, 31.00 seconds. North Tahoe’s JC Schoonmaker was next out of the division with a time of 30:27.20.

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The fastest time of the day in the 10-kilometer race went to Patrick Johnson, who took first place out of the senior class with a time of 27:31.50. Bernie Nelson finished with the fastest time of any female skier at 10 kilometers, crossing the line with a time of 35:32.40.

In 5-kilometer racing, Bjorn Halvorsen took first place in the boys’ U16 division with a time of 21:31.10. Phoenix Sanchez (21:46.60) was next, followed by Aaron Bronestone (23:48.90). On the girls’ side, Sofia Sanchez took first place in the U18 division with a time of 22:21.40. Kili Lehmkuhl was the fastest out of the U16 division with a time of 24:27.70. Lily Murnane (24:31.60) was next, followed by Camille Syben (25:19.70) and high school Nordic state champion Kianna Mullings (25:42.40).

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Also in 5-kilometer racing, Robert Herman captured the boys’ U12 victory with a time of 27:20.90. Susan Freeland took the win on the girls’ side with a time of 29:56.00.

Matt Seline proved to be the fastest skier at 3 kilometers, finishing with a time of 8:37.50 for first place out of the boys’ U14 division. Anna Feland won the girls’ race with a time of 15:54.80. Sven Halvorsen took the boys’ U12 win with a time of 10:59.00. Griffin Tuscano won the boys’ U8 race with a time of 14:00.60. Oscar Wettermark finished first in the boys’ U10 race with a time of 14:33.70, and Elsa Voegele was the girls’ winner with a time of 14:48.80. Charlotte Derrick won the girls’ U14 title with a time of 15:11.90, and Ida Voegele won the girls’ U8 race with a time of 20:09.00.

In the 1-kilometer race, Chasyn Halvorsen picked up first place in the boys’ U6 division with a time of 5:02.90, and Mari Tuscano won the girls’ race with a time of 11:37.60.

Looking ahead, The Great Ski Race, which takes skiers from Tahoe City to Truckee, is still planned for March 4. As snow conditions stand right now, according to information from the race website, holding the race isn’t possible, but officials are hoping for snow in the final two weeks leading up to the race.

Olympic update

Reigning Olympic halfpipe gold medalist in freestyle skiing, Maddie Bowman, of South Tahoe, had a rough final round in Pyeongchang, South Korea, on Tuesday, Feb. 20.

Bowman crashed in each of her three runs for a last-place finish in the final round of the competition.

“I didn’t want to put down a safety run, so I went for it,” Bowman said. “I sat back twice and then I frickin’ sent her and over-rotated a little bit.”

While Bowman struggled in the finals, Brita Sigourney, who is from Carmel, Calif., and grew up skiing Alpine Meadows, threw it down in a big way to claim a bronze medal.

“I’m so excited for Brita,” Bowman said. “She’s worked so hard for this and has wanted it so bad. I’ve watched her through the ups and downs and it’s just awesome to watch her walk away with a medal.”

Sigourney finished with a score of 91.60. Cassie Sharpe, of Canada, won gold with a score of 95.80. Marie Martinod, of France, was second with a score of 92.60.

Reno freeskier David Wise also competed in men’s halfpipe on Tuesday for the competitions qualifying round. Wise, the reigning Olympic champion in the discipline, reached Thursday’s finals with a score of 79.60 for eighth place.

Swift Communications Director of Content Ed Stoner contributed to this report.