Olympic ski racing is awesome to watch, and you have to respect the college racers who put in a lifetime of effort throughout their childhood.
But when it comes to ski racing excitement and memorable experiences, the Stowe Duals is the pinnacle of ski racing in northern Vermont. Win or lose, ask any seasoned ski racer about their favorite ski racing moment, and the Stowe Duals is top of mind.
Robbie Kelley, a Mount Mansfield Ski Club alum and World Cup athlete, was recently asked about his fondest ski racing memory, and instead of talking about any of his World Cup experiences, he quickly responded, “Winning the Stowe Duals.”
Imagine watching more than 185 boys and girls from all over Vermont skiing through parallel slalom courses in a pro-style race complete with a mid-course jump that's larger than most competitors.
They are all vying for one of the 16 spots per gender of a single-elimination shoot-out that starts in the afternoon. This is ski racing’s March Madness! Add to that one of the most pristine of racing days — cold but not frigid, cobalt blue sky, and an electric atmosphere.
Each athlete took two qualifying race runs in the morning, one on the blue course and one on red. If a racer fell on one run, he or she had a chance to qualify for the Sweet 16 on the next run. Call it home field advantage, or just extra excitement of being in Stowe, but MMSC racers claimed 16 of the 32 possible single-elimination spots for the afternoon race.
MMSC boys who qualified included Declan Coggins, Hugo Vanovac, Boone Parsons, Linden Bechtel, Levi Colon, Tanner Carlson and Mateo Calcagni.
On the girls side, MMSC qualified Emmy Marron, Emma Murphy, Lucy Knittle, Sofija Vanovac, Clara Stram, Mia Bryan, Evie Lovell, Gabriella Hermsdorf and Katie Quinn.
Almost 60 head-to-head race runs later, it was an all-MMSC field for each final.
In the end, Sofija Vanovac edged Evie Lovell for the girls crown, and Levi Colon bested Declan Coggins for the boys. The legendary race was over, and the memories begin!
Tormey Challenge
In what might have been an echo, a similar race took place on the Smugglers' Notch side of the hill in the George Tormey Challenge, which was also a dual-paneled slalom, single-elimination race.
Not to be outdone, the MMSC boys swept the single-elimination podium with Evan Gramas in first, Peter Stojanovic second, and Anthony Marron third.
In the U12 shootout, Isobel Lovell got first, and Christina Winchell got third. For the U12 boys, Ian Zimmerman was first.
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