Mountain Sports Team racers rip home hill

Solon Gray wins four in a row

Crested Butte Mountain Resort hosted the Alpine Orthopaedics Age Class giant slalom races this past weekend on Buckley and eight members of the Crested Butte Mountain Sports Team (CBMST) had standout performances. Their results ran the gamut from a series of podiums to incredible gains in speed and confidence across the board.
First and foremost was J3 (ages 13-14) CBMST athlete Solon Gray. Gray made his mark at the J3 level last season in his first year and appears to be taking command of the age class this year. Gray strung together four wins out of four races over the weekend.
“He pretty much threw down,” says Mountain Sports Team Director Drew Cesati. “He was, by far, the fastest skier on the mountain.”
Gray’s teammate Derek Schomler exceeded his own pre-race goals. Heading into the weekend he was looking to break into the top 10 but when all was said and done, he found himself stepping onto the podium.
“He had a great weekend and chased down his first podium,” says Cesati. “It was pretty amazing to watch.”
Summit Wallace jumped leaps and bounds over the course of the four races. After finishing in 14th place the first race, he climbed his way to a third place finish by the fourth and final race.
The J5 CBMST contingent had a strong weekend as well. Winter Wallace, Marco Alling, Karavela Zeiter, Skylar Klemme, Robbie Oberling and Joseph Stock all got a taste for racing and thrived.
“It was an eye-opener for those guys and by the end of the weekend they were putting it down on the hill,” says Cesati.