19' Competition Season Highlights

Another competition season at the Jackson Hole Ski & Snowboard Club has come to an end. What a season it was to coach our FIS and Post Graduate squad with Mike Syrovatka and Branko Zagar! Athletes delivered an impressive 67 top-15 finishes, 17 podiums, and 7 wins. This year was also a first for qualifications. The entire squad qualified for the Western Region Junior Championships. The PG team really charged into the final stretch of the competition season. Holden Parazette, Henry Hakoshima, and Oliver Parazette all delivered outstanding performances mid-winter qualifying them for the US Alpine Nationals and Junior Alpine Nationals in Waterville Valley New Hampshire. The boys traveled on March 21st to compete against the best skiers from around the Nation. Holden was top U19 athlete in the nation for GS at US Alpine Jr. Nationals, while his brother Oliver was one of only 6 individuals in the country to compete as a first year FIS athlete.

Momentum is building for our athletes as performance milestones are being achieved at a level not seen at the club for almost a decade. New, year round programing has set the stage for our high caliber athletes to reach their potential. Holden and Henry have been dominating the Western Region FIS circuit with a combined 15 podium results and 36 top 15 finishes. Henry achieved his first FIS win this season along with 6 other podiums. Holden delivered 4 FIS wins this season along with 4 other podium appearances. The majority of these finishes occurred at high level FIS Elite Tech races which was a slam dunk for US Nationals qualification. Meanwhile Oliver is also delivering an outstanding season. As a first year athlete, Oliver battled his way from the back of the group to establish his FIS point and seeding profile. While not only finishing 3 times in the top 15 and winning his first FIS run, Oliver has dropped his points from a starting 990 to 54 in slalom and 62 in GS. Oliver raced a different circuit than Holden and Henry competing in Europe at National Junior races. This series placed him among stiff European competition and along side US Ski Team Athletes. The high level of difficulty at this series landed Oliver an automatic development position to US Nationals. Both Henry and Holden will be graduating from the JH Ski Club and will continue competing at both Division 1 and 2 two schools as they begin their college racing careers.

Driscoll Larrow, Oliver Parazette, Isabella Davis, Martin Wilcox, and Zander Ulmer made up this seasons first-year FIS squad. The first season competing at the FIS level is one of the most challenging years for athlete development. Racing against all ages and the highest skill sets in the sport set the tone for these individuals. This sky is the limit for the amount of effort they or their competition may throw at this incredible sport. All skiers made remarkable improvements in National and FIS point/ranking profiles. This group puts in the extra mile balancing demanding training schedules, school work, and persevering through injuries. Congratulations to our dedicated group of local athletes!