The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
by Conor Lynch, CBMST coach
Five of eight members of the Crested Butte Mountain Sports Team (CBMST) alpine race team qualified for the u14 championships with their results at the Prater Cup last weekend.
Asher Weinberg, Mason Renick, Julian Arthur, Aksel Lindenmeyr and Gavin Jobson all threw down to punch their tickets to the big show. Avi Narayana came so close, finishing the weekend just six spots from qualifying. Meanwhile CBMST athletes Persia Lovett and Grace Bernie cut their teeth on the big competitive scene of ski racing at the Prater Cup and had the time of their lives.
The Prater Cup is a qualifier where the best three results out of the five races are used. These results are scored using a modified World Cup point system to come up with a total that puts skiers in a ranking system. The top 40 percent of the athletes then qualify for the u14 championships. This year, 51 athletes are qualified to go to champs in Steamboat March 14-18.
Last year three CBMST skiers qualified: Connor Crossen, Asher Weinberg and Max Shull. Crossen is now racing u16 and is headed to the u16 championships this Saturday, where I hope he can throw down in every event. He has fast skis and is loving speed right now so I think he should do well in the downhill.
A huge thank you goes out to Katie Davidson and Graham Holland for their coaching and to Caleb Woodworth, Eric Pork Chop, Woody Lindenmeyr, Patti Hensley and Steph Prater for a great event.
We’re really excited about the progress of the program and the direction it is going. I told the athletes the results would come if they focus on the little things like enjoying every moment, learning new movements and progressions, and enjoying the small things like going fast and catching air. This is just the beginning!
