The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Solid showing in Telluride earns bids to nationals
The Crested Butte Mountain Sports Team (CBMST) took a contingent of snowboarders and skiers to Telluride for a USASA (United States of America Snowboard Association) event last weekend.
The two-day competition opened on Saturday, February 20 with snowboard slalom and giant slalom races, and the CBMST came out with both guns blazing.
The Healey trio of Kevin, Nora and Colleen won both the slalom and giant slalom races in their respective age groups, earning them bids to the USASA Nationals in April at Copper Mountain. In fact, Nora’s times are beating the boys’ side of the competition in her age category.
Thomas Taaca followed suit with a first-place finish as well in both, also gaining a spot at nationals. Josh Gallen improved his bid for nationals with a first place in the giant slalom and second place in the slalom.
“He’s pretty tight with a couple of other riders to make it to nationals,” says Assistant Director for CBMST and “all things knuckledragger” Christian Robertson.
The CBMST domination continued on Sunday in the slopestyle competition. The Healy clan all rode to first-place finishes to qualify for nationals in slopestyle as well.
Aaron Blunck won the men’s skier division ages 13-15 and Sean Johnson won the skiers division ages 16-18 to both make the cut for nationals with ease. Gallen is knocking on the door in the slopestyle as well, with a second-place finish in Telluride.
“They just slayed it,” says Robertson.
Several CBMST athletes are headed to Copper this weekend for a regional halfpipe and slopestyle competition and the CBMST will host a Southwest Series event on March 12-14, complete with a halfpipe competition and two days of boardercross and skiercross races.
The USASA Nationals will be April 4-10 at Copper Mountain.
“Now we need to get prepared for nationals,” says Robertson. “We still got work to do—add a few more tricks to the bag.”
