Freeride Team Represents at Extremes in Crested Butte; Bryant qualifies for nationals
Feb. 24, 2010 -- With a snowstorm that lasted nearly the entire weekend in the Gunnison Valley, local skiers had plenty to be happy about.
Dylan Bryant in Snowbasin, Utah. Photo by: Brian Swain
That was good for the Western State freeride ski team as they competed in the 19th Annual Subaru Freeskiing Championships at Crested Butte Mountain Resort.
The alpine team competed in the United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association (USCSA) regionals this weekend in Snowbasin, Utah, with Dylan Bryant qualifying for nationals.
Alpine
WSC Senior Dylan Bryant led the alpine team this past weekend at the USCSA regionals in Snowbasin, Utah.
He made two, fifth-place finishes in the slalom and giant slalom and secured the only individual invitation to nationals, which will take place in Sunday River, Maine, next week. Bryant was skiing against 100 competitors from 20 colleges in the western region.
All of the other skiers who qualified for nationals did so via team results. USCSA rules allow for one individual skier with top scores to advance to nationals, and that was Bryant.
“It was a good weekend for me,” Bryant said. “I’m happy with my performance. I’m proud that I have an opportunity to represent Western at nationals.”
Bryant will travel to Maine next week for the 32nd USCSA National Championships. His goal is simply to enjoy the competition -- the last in his collegiate ski racing career.
“I’m out to have fun; that is my main goal.”
Freeride
The 19th Annual Subaru Extreme Freeskiing Championships, aka ”The Extremes,” arrived in Crested Butte last weekend, along with a couple feet of snow.
“We got a ton of snow during the extremes,” freeride coach Eric Freson said. “It made for some awesome snow conditions for skiing.”
Ciera Glenn ended up with the highest results, coming in at 12th place for the women. Many other WSC freeride skiers competed in the event and enjoyed the epic conditions.
“It was total powder skiing,” Freson said “The new snow allowed people to push their limits. We saw people skiing lines that wouldn’t normally be skied.”
Support was strong up at Crested Butte Mountain Resort from the WSC community.
“We had a lot of supporters from faculty and fellow students,” Freson said. “It was great to see people supporting us despite the weather conditions.”
