Young skiers prepare to head to Junior Olympics

Throughout the recently completed California-Nevada Interscholastic Ski and Snowboard Federation season, junior skiers competed for more than just individual and team medals.

They also raced for enough points to qualify for the Junior Olympics.

Recently, 24 junior cross country skiers from across Northern California found out that they complied enough points to qualify for the Junior Olympic Cross Country Ski Championships.

The Junior Olympics are held every March to allow the fastest junior skiers from across the nation the chance to race head to head.

This year the championships will be held in McCall, Idaho March 4-10. The events will consist of a 1.5-kilometer sprint race, a long classic race, a long skate race and a three-person relay which determines which division has the most depth.

Racers also compete for age-group medals in the J2 (14-15 years old) J1 (16-17) and the OJ (18-19) categories.

And thanks to a quality field of junior racers from Truckee to Tahoe City, Marin to Mono County, the Far West Division of the United States Ski Association, which includes California and Nevada, will be sending one of the largest teams in recent years to compete at the junior championships.

The 24 racers sent by Far West this year is up from the 16 who qualified last year.

“Junior programs from all across the Sierra Nevada and foothills have really stepped up the quality of their ski programs, and so we are seeing many more motivated and talented athletes from our region who can compete with the best at a National level,” said Far West Nordic and Auburn Ski Club Head Coach Jeff Schloss.

This year’s team includes racers from the Tahoe Basin as well as athletes from the eastern Sierra, the foothills and the Bay Area.

Truckee has the lion’s share of athletes with nine qualifiers.

Schloss gives credit to the local school programs for the large number of Truckee athletes.

“The Truckee middle school and high school programs have been consistently training top cross country ski racers and many of them are now among the best in the country,” he said.

The level of competition is extremely high at the Junior Olympics, with over 200 athletes from nine different divisions skiing for top honors.

Schloss said he hopes to exceed last year’s tally of two individual medals, but stresses that it is not all about the medals.

“My goal is for each athlete to go to Idaho and ski their best, to really push themselves, and to enjoy the whole process of skiing at a national level. To me that is success. I feel that this is one of the strongest teams Far West has ever put together and am very excited to see what we can do in McCall,” Schloss said.

2002 Far West Junior Olympic Team:

Cindy Apodaca, Mammoth Lakes

Sarah Armstrong, Bishop

Tony Bozzio, Tahoe City

Kati Clark, Soda Springs

Lindsay Collin, Truckee

Steffi Christiana, Mammoth Lakes

Kayla Evans, Truckee

Jessica Ford, Lee Vining

Matt Gelso, Truckee

Joaquin Goodpaster, Truckee

Maisha Goodpaster, Truckee

Nick Grimmer, Soda Springs

Jenna Harlow, Tahoe City

Dominic Henriques, Tahoe City

Scott Hill, Carnelian Bay

Natalie Joffe, Kentfield

Kara Lapoint, Truckee

Jennifer Meyers, Mammoth Lakes

Dana Mosman, Nevada City

Whitney Prosor, Truckee

Garrett Reid, Palo Alto

Nick Sterling, Truckee

Andrew Van Blarigan, Truckee

Phillip Violett, Brownsville

Coaches:

Jeff Schloss, Truckee

Nancy Fiddler, Crowley Lake

Anna Sterner, Truckee

Bill Sterling, Truckee

Dan Hill, Truckee

Larry Ford, Lee Vining

Lynn Harriman, South Lake Tahoe