Mother Nature showed up in full force at the Far West J4/J5 Championships, held March 30 through April 2 at Mammoth Mountain, creating extremely challenging course conditions for the 400 racers participating. The Diamond Peak Ski Team converged on the mountain from all over California and Nevada to race in the season finale.

Two days of racing, including the long-anticipated Super G and a dual giant slalom, were canceled due to too much soft snow and poor visibility.

A very taxing slalom course with mogul-like ruts set the stage for the first day of racing.

The J5 Incline girls withstood the pressure, grabbing three top ten finishes: Elizabeth Ryan took a third place podium spot with a time of 1:21.32, followed by Julia Bjorkman in sixth (1:24.32) and Annie Kate Genasci seventh (1:24.51).

Teammate Marie Johnson clocked a 1:35.20 and Lauren Keller gave her best, but did not finish her second run.

Three days later, the girls showed up again for top finishes in the giant slalom with Ryan taking fourth (1:14.87), Genasci in sixth (1:15.33), and Johnson in 11th place (1:16.70), followed by Keller with a time of 1:29.38.

Bjorkman was having a great first run, but fell.

Ty Sprock defied the elements and simply laid down two solid runs for a first-place finish for the J5 boys with a time of 1:07.62 in the slalom, more than three seconds faster than his next competitor.

Sprock summed up his accomplishment with one comment: “I love to race.”

Fellow J5 racers Ian Reeves and Jack Bessette made their Far West Championship debuts with Reeves taking a respectable 17th place finish (1:19.34) and Bessette rounding out the field with a time of 1:37.80.

The J5 boys had a tougher day in the giant slalom, with Reeves clocking a 31st place time of 1:20.16 and Bessette following with a 1:26.51.

Though team leader Sprock did not finish his first run in the GS, he did come home with first place overall for the season at the end of the day.

Racer Lila Lapanja led the J4 girls, boldly confronting the slalom “rodeo” course ruts and landing a 13th place with a 1:33.27. She came back in the giant slalom with a good run of 1:18.93 for a sixth place finish.

“I’m fired up about next year now,” she said. “I have a really good feeling.”

Out of a field of almost 100 girls, teammates Grace Dolan and Whitney Hill took 22nd (1:34.61) and 39th (1:43.72), respectively, in slalom.

Dolan clocked a time of 1:25.09 in the giant slalom, putting her in the top third of the overall field.

Though he hiked in the slalom, Luca Genasci was the top J4 boys finisher for the team with a ninth place finish of 1:15.11 in GS and a second place overall for the season. Alexander Fulton was strong and consistent, finishing 18th in slalom (1:34.61) and 12th in GS (1:15.57).

Erik Johnson grabbed a 16th place (1:16.94) in the GS and Kyle Reeves and Drew Bessette finished in the top half of the field both days, but J4 teammate Alex Tanner broke his wrist on a training run prior to the first day’s competition and was out for the weekend.

“The kids put their heart and soul into finishing the season on a strong note,” said Diamond Peak Ski Team coach Vojko Lapanja. “I was proud of them even though they were faced with extremely soft courses and uneven conditions. Looking at the skiers we have on the team, I am very excited about next season.”

For complete 2006 Far West J4/5 Championship results and more information, visit the Far West Skiing website.

Diamond Peak Ski Team Top Overall Finishes-Far West North Series-2005-6 Season

J5 Girls
Elizabeth Ryan 2nd place
Annie Kate Genasci 9th place
Marie Johnson 14th place

J5 Boys
Ty Sprock 1st place

J4 Girls
Lila Lapanja 4th place
Grace Dolan 8th place
Katie Hillson 10th place

J4 Boys
Luca Genasci 2nd place
Alexander Fulton 14th place

Article reprinted from North Lake Tahoe Bonanza