At the April 2-5 Far West Championships at Mammoth Mountain, the Diamond Peak J4/J5 skiers had a strong finish to a great season.

On the first day of racing, difficult weather conditions brought early challenges to the skiers. After watching the girls finish their races in extremely high winds, the mountain closed down many of the lifts, postponing the boys’ J5 second run and the boys’ J4 single run.

Despite the high wind, the Diamond Peak girls skied well with three top 15 finishes. J5 Amanda Pretti was on the podium with a second place finish followed by teammate Belle Johnson (tenth). In J4 super G action, Lauren Keller finished 15th.

The difficult course, rather than the wind, was the challenge in the April 3 slalom races. Nelson Bedient brought the team its second podium with his third place finish in the J5 division.

The girls J5 skiers had three top 15 finishes: Amanda Pretti (sixth), Erica Kennedy (tenth) and Hannah Laurie (14th).

In the J4 division, the team had two girls, Remi Wolf (11th) and Hannah Johnson (14th), and two boys, Zane Bensing (12th) and Gavin Chen (13th) in the top 15.

In the GS on April 4 the team continued with strong results, with seven top 15 finishes:

Nelson Bedient (fourth) and teammate Winston Pretti (seventh) led the J5 boys, with Amanda Pretti (seventh) and Erica Kennedy (tenth) leading the girls.

In the J4 division, Hannah Johnson (fifth) and Remi Wolf (tenth) placed in the top 15 for the girls, with Ian Reeves (eleventh) having a great finish for the boys.

On April 5 the boys completed their super G and GS races from Thursday. The J5 race results were close. Diamond Peak boys Nelson Bedient (fifth) and Winston Pretti (seventh) finished in the top 15.

After concluding the season, coach Josee Lacasse was impressed with the results of all her skiers.

“Everyone continued to improve throughout the season, skiing to their ability and responding to the pressure of difficult terrain, conditions and weather,” Lacasse said. “I am so proud of the entire team.”

The Diamond Peak J4/5 team placed third overall for the season, ahead of many larger teams.

Diamond Peak’s J3 Ski Team wrapped up their 2008-9 technical season with strong results at the Far West Championships featuring two giant slaloms at Sugar Bowl, April 3 and 4, followed by the Emily Clothier Memorial slaloms at Heavenly, April 5 and 6.

First-year stand-out Ty Sprock showed his technical strength with an outstanding performance during the weekend, winning the gold in the slalom finale at Heavenly. Making his mark moving into next season, Sprock also stood out from his competition by securing a J3 silver and 4th in giant slalom and a podium silver day-one of slalom.

Capping a stellar season, Lila Lapanja won all four J3 titles in convincing fashion and was in the hunt for the overall at each competition, going 4-3-4-2 against all J2 through mid-racers (20 years and older). Teammate Julia Bjorkman had her first J3 podium finish, winning bronze in slalom.

J3s Sarah Wright and Kerrie Tonking of Diamond Peak also raced well, setting up their points for solid solid start positions going into the 2009-10 season. The team heads south now to Mammoth for the six final races of the season at the Far West Speed Championships featuring downhill, super-G and one giant slalom. For complete results, please visit www.fwskiing.org.

For information on the Emily Clothier Memorial Scholarship Fund, please visit www.emilyclothier.org.

Coach Vojko and his J3 girls
Heavenly Valley, 4/6/09

EVENT:    **6th Annual Diamond Cup Challenge**
Community Fun Race to Benefit the Diamond Peak Ski Team

DATE:       Saturday, April 11, 2009 (rescheduled to this date)
PLACE:    Diamond Peak Ski Resort, Incline Village, NV

The Diamond Peak Ski Education Foundation is proud to announce the 6th Annual Diamond Cup Challenge community fun race. All proceeds from this popular, annual spring event benefit the DPSEF youth racing programs. Race categories include: Individuals (age/sex groups), Family, Husband/Wife, Father/Son, Father/Daughter, Mother/Son, Mother/Daughter, Corporate Teams (of four), and Snowboard Individuals. Kids of any age, regardless of experience, and grandparents are also invited. Awards will be given to the top three competitors in each race/age category.

The entry fee is $20 per racer if received by Thursday, March 19th and $25 up to and on the day of the race.  The entry includes two runs on the “friendly” course, a BBQ luncheon and the Awards Ceremony held after the race. Luncheon tickets for non-racers are also available for $10. We would like to thank our sponsor, the Carson Nugget, for donating the food for the barbeque.

Registration will be from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. at the Diamond Peak Lodge.  Younger racers (Under 8), will begin at 9:30.  Parents wishing to race with their young racers will race it this time as well.  The main race will begin at 10:30 a.m.  The course is a dual giant slalom format on Lower Show-Off at Diamond Peak.  The entry includes two runs on the “friendly” course, a BBQ luncheon and the Awards Ceremony held after the race. Luncheon tickets for non-racers are also available for $10.

Registration Form: http://www.dpsef.org/download/Diamond_Cup_Challenge_Registration_April_11.doc

Release Form: http://www.dpsef.org/download/DPSEF%20Diamond%20Peak%20Liability%20Release.doc