Eva Meyer, 15, and Miriam Satre, 13, put the Juneau Ski Club on the podium over the weekend in the Coca-Cola Classic race series at the Alyeska Race Trail in Girdwood, 36 miles south of Anchorage.
“I am excited for the season,” Meyer said. “It kind of felt like late February because we have never gone up that early to this event. It is a qualifier race for the Western Regionals so we had to go.”
The four-day competition featured over 100 ski racers with the U12 and U14 divisions competing on Friday and Saturday and the U16, U18 and U21 skiers competing on Sunday and Monday. The U16 and U14 races were part of the qualifying series for the Western Regional Championships in March.
Meyer, competing in the U16 division, earned the podium with third-place finishes in both slalom races on Sunday. Meyer posted first race runs of 55.85 (7th fastest) and 56.33 (4th) for a total time of 1:52.18. Alyeska Ski Club’s Lucy Olson had the winning time with runs of 51.97 and 54.51 (both 2nd fastest) to total 1:46.48. Meyer had second race runs of 56.41 (4th) and 58.99 (5th) to total 1:55.40. Olson won in 1:50.72 with runs of 53.95 (1st) and 56.77 (2nd).
Meyer placed fifth and fourth in the giant slalom races on Monday. Meyer had runs of 42.33 (5th) and 42.77 (4th) to total 1:25.10 in the first race. Winning time was ASC’s Ava Huey with runs of 40.66 (1st) and 42.40 (2nd) for 1:23.06. Meyer then had second race runs of 42.36 (3rd) and 43.00 (4th) to total 1:25.36. Huey won with best times 41.43 and 42.19 to total 1:23.62.
“The slalom course at Girdwood was really, really long,” Meyer said. “I just got, like, really tired halfway down. I think it was the first time I have done a full-length course this entire season.”
Juneau Ski Club U14 racer Miriam Satre competes in a giant slalom run during the Coca-Cola Classic Friday at Girdwood. (Photo courtesy Bob Eastaugh)
Satre, competing in the U14 division, reached the podium with a second-place finish in the giant slalom and a third-place finish in the slalom. Satre’s GS two run times of 37.43 (2nd) and 40.67 (3rd) totaled 1:18.10. Winning time was ASC’s Cameron Miller with runs of 37.84 (3rd) and 39.99 (1st) to total 1:17.83. Satre had a slalom two run time 34.31 (3rd) and 37.77 (3rd) for 1:12.08. Winning time was Hilltop Alpine Race Team’s Reilly Cooper with runs of 32.95 (1st) and 34.80 (1st) to total 1:07.75.
Also competing for JSC was Angus Andrews, 14, in the U16 boys. Andrews placed seventh in a slalom on Sunday and ninth in a giant slalom Monday. Andrews’ slalom race featured runs of 59.32 (10th) and 1:00.37 (10th) to total 1:59.69. Winning time was ASC’s Ted Guse with 54.33 (4th) and 55.18 (5th) to total 1:49.51. Andrews’ GS race featured runs of 43.97 (12th) and 44.32 (11th) to total 1:28.29. Winning time was ASC’s Pierre-Samuel Stiassny with 42.07 (4th) and 42.61 (4th) to total 1:24.68.
The results are even more impressive considering that the JSC has been limited in practice time with slalom and giant slalom gates due to the late snowfall at Eaglecrest.
“I was very happy with how all three athletes did,” JSC coach Kevin Stell said. “We had very little preparation for races with our lack of snow here in the early season. All three really did prove to themselves and to everybody that they are competitive with the Anchorage athletes who had a lot more preparation. And it is just the beginning of the year for us. Hopefully there are more good things to come.”
Anchorage’s ASC took multiple overall titles last weekend as U12 girl Mia Huey had first-place finishes in the giant slalom and slalom; Miller in U14 girls (1st GS, 2nd slalom); Levi Murphy in U14 boys (2nd slalom); Olson U16/18 girls (1st both slaloms, 3rd GS); Jaxon Murphy U16/18 boys (1st both GS, 2nd slalom); Paige Heinz U18 girls (1st all four races).
Juneau Ski Club U16 racer Angus Andrews competes in a slalom run during the Coca-Cola Classic Sunday at Girdwood. (Photo courtesy Bob Eastaugh)
HART U12 skier Finn Sunberg took overall titles in GS/S and ASC U16 racer Stiassny topped the podium in both GS runs.
“Miriam (Satre) had outstanding results in slalom,” Stell said. “She has had a little more preparation than other kids with the Juneau club and is really improving in her slalom skiing as far as putting two good runs together…Eva (Meyer) is gaining the confidence to compete with other athletes in Alaska and has discovered she is fully capable of being competitive with any girls her age, and that can be said for Miriam. They have shown they are competitive despite going up against a larger Alyeska club up there…and I’m very proud of Angus’ (Andrews) results. We had almost zero training in GS and slalom and to see him skiing well has been a big improvement…These three kids in particular are hoping to qualify for the Western Regional Championships in late March.”
Last season Meyer qualified as one of 10 members for Team Alaska for the WRC, which took place in Sun Valley, Idaho. She was the only Juneau skier on the Alaska team.
This year the U16 WRC will be held at Alyeska. The U14 WRC will be held in Jackson, Wyoming.
Last weekend’s Coca-Cola Classic was the first of three WRC qualifying race events.
Next up for the JSC is the Alyeska Cup, the second WRC qualifier for U14/16. It will feature speed events (two super Gs) the first week in February at Girdwood and tech events (2 slaloms/2 giant slaloms) two weeks later.
JSC will host the third U14 WRC qualifier on Feb. 24-25, which is expected to bring roughly 100 athletes to Juneau. The qualifiers also include other age groups in competition.
The JSC will also host an adult and junior free ride competition on March 1-2 at Eaglecrest. Along with local racers the event usually brings in over 50 Anchorage skiers. The JSC has roughly 90 skiers through its Mitey Mites, Freeride, Devos and Juniors programs. Information can be found at https://www.juneauskiclub.com.
