Saturday, Mar. 24, 2001

Youngest JO Racers Shine at Jackson Hole

JACKSON, WYO. (Mar. 23) -- Even if they were the youngest of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association’s (USSA) ski racers, that didn’t mean they were shy about showing off their talent. "High excitement and good competition" was the description given by race officials for the Chevy Truck Junior Olympic Alpine Western Region Championship for J3 (age 13-14) and J4 (11-12) skiers. The event, held Mar. 17-19 in Jackson, Wyo., attracted an overwhelming number of kids, 204 to be exact, making this stop of the 14-event Chevy Truck Junior Olympic series one of the most memorable yet.

"It was certainly a big event, but everything went smoothly," said Maggie Hagen, Jackson Hole Ski Club’s interim Executive Director. "We had beautiful weather for all of the races, and the kids had so much fun." Hagen explained that Super G, Giant Slalom and Slalom events were completed over the three days of competition. All events were hosted by the Jackson Hole Ski Club at Snow King Resort.

In the end, Amy Harris of Incline Village, Nev., and Maximilian Hammer of Jackson, Wyo. were the shining stars in the J4 group. They both won gold medals for their overall performances in women’s and men’s divisions, respectively. In fact, Harris won individual J4 Women’s gold medals for the Super G, Giant Slalom and Slalom, while Hammer won a gold medal in his Giant Slalom event and a bronze in Slalom.

For J3 Men, Owen Koeppen of Florence, Mont., stole the show, combining points from a gold-medal victory in Super G and Giant Slalom with those from a silver-medal finish in Slalom to best his group overall and take home the gold for Combined.

For J3 Women, Kate Bragg of Park City, Utah was named the Combined gold medalist. She visited the podium once to collect a silver medal for her Slalom performance.

--Best in the World--

RESULTS

(Mar. 17) J3 SUPER G WOMEN

1. Sealy Livermore, Ross, Calif., 47.55

2. Hannah Victory, Mammoth Lakes, Calif., 47.64

3. Katherine Sawaya, San Rafael, Calif., 48.57

(Mar. 17) J3 SUPER G MEN

1. Owen Koeppen, Florence, Mont., 46.14

2. Mitt Coats, Salt Lake City, Utah, 46.25

3. Christopher Gray, Salt Lake City, Utah, 46.40

(Mar. 17) J4 SUPER G WOMEN

1. Amy Harris, Incline Village, Nev., 51.07

2. Kiley Staples, Park City, Utah, 51.29

3. Bayley Hamilton, Redding, Calif., 51.32

(Mar. 17) J4 SUPER G MEN

1. Travis Ganong, Olympic Valley, Calif., 48.71

2. Martin Harris, S. Lake Tahoe, Calif., 49.02

3. Dixon Mooseau, Ketchum, Idaho, 49.24

(Mar. 18) J3 GIANT SLALOM WOMEN

1. Sealy Livermore, Ross, Calif., 1:31.02

2. Courtney Saario, Sammamish, Wash., 1:32.24

3. Dominique Kun, Big Bear Lake, Calif., 1:32.27

(Mar. 18) J3 GIANT SLALOM MEN

1. Owen Koeppen, Florence, Mont., 1:38.85

2. Bryan Bolda, Provo, Utah, 1:39.00

3. Chris Colpitts, Olympic Valley, Calif., 1:39.63

(Mar. 18) J4 GIANT SLALOM WOMEN

1. Amy Harris, Incline Village, Nev., 1:36.69

2. Kiley Staples, Park City, Utah, 1:36.70

3. Lauren Summers, Edmonds, Wash., 1:37.97

(Mar. 18) J4 GIANT SLALOM MEN

1. Maximilian Hammer, Jackson, Wyo., 1:42.44

2. Martin Harris, S. Lake Tahoe, Calif., 1:43.13

3. Nick Bankus, Bremerton, Wash., 1:44.79

(Mar. 19) J3 SLALOM WOMEN

1. Molly Huff, Wilson, Wyo., 1:33.17

2. Kate Bragg, Park City, Utah, 1:33.55

3. Chelsea Laswell, Park City, Utah, 1:35.10

(Mar. 19) J3 SLALOM MEN

1. Shane Collins, Truckee, Calif., 1:33.07

2. Owen Koeppen, Florence, Mont., 1:33.39

3. Steele Dewald, Park City, Utah, 1:34.38

(Mar. 19) J4 SLALOM WOMEN

1. Amy Harris, Incline Village, Nev., 1:38.15

2. Kiley Staples, Park City, Utah, 1:38.62

3. Corrinne Rotter, Carson City, Nev., 1:39.02

(Mar. 19) J4 SLALOM MEN

1. Travis Ganong, Olympic Valley, Calfi., 1:35.24

2. Dixon Mooseau, Ketchum, Idaho, 1:35.39

3. Maximilian Hammer, Jackson, Wyo., 1:38.14