Fast Blast For 12 Bluewood Racers

CHEWELA, WA - The Fast Blast at 49 Degrees North is always a special event for skiers in the Emerald Empire Youth Ski League as it is the only speed event of the season, offering athletes 11 years and older the opportunity to compete in a Super Giant Slalom following a day of speed training on Friday and a single practice run before a timed run Saturday.

The Bluewood Alpine Race Team (BART) fielded twelve athletes for the weekend, including the first-ever competition for the newest and youngest member of the team, Drew Worden of Walla Walla.

For this year's race, which took place January 28-30, organizers also replaced the Slalom event, normally on Sunday, with a Kombi - a new race format that combines elements of Giant Slalom, Slalom and other disciplines into one course.

Both events are a challenge for young skiers. The Super Giant Slalom requires power, endurance and fearlessness, and the Kombi's tricky rhythm changes cause a lot of missed gates and falls. All the members of BART performed above expectations, and only one disqualification in the entire weekend marks the intensity with which they attacked the event.

Maxim Pellet achieved his first top-10 finish in EEYSL competition, and Hayden White scored his first of the season, both competing in the toughest class of the field with nearly 40 competitors and some of the most talented skiers in any class.

Halle White posted a top- 10 and top-5 finish, showing her well-rounded skill in multiple events.

Colleen Gibbons continued to dominate the J-3 girls, despite having to run as a J-0 due to her licensing for Junior Olympic Qualifiers. Reid Reininger also made the transition to J-0 for this event and won the Super G but had multiple hikes in both runs of the Kombi and dropped to third, assisted by the small finish group for that event.

Evangeline Siess of Dayton finished fourth in Giant Slalom, which J-5 and J-6 competitors had in place of the Super G, and achieved her first EEYSL podium finish on Sunday after laying down the fastest J-6 time of the day on her first run of the Kombi.

The next EEYSL-scored event is a two-Slalom event at Mt. Spokane February 26 and 27.

In preparation, the BART athletes will be training at home the next two weeks and will travel to a non-league event at Anthony Lakes on the 19th and 20th.

Bluewood Alpine Race Team's "Fast Blast at 49 Degrees North" Results:

Name | Class | Saturday | Sunday

Mackenzie Davis Ladies | J-6(7-8) | DNS | DNS

Evangeline Siess | Ladies J-6 | 4th | 3rd

Sophie Pellet | Ladies J-5(9-10) | 16th | 14th

Halle White | Ladies J-5 | 6th | 5th

Colleen Gibbons | Ladies J-0(13 and older) | 1st | 1st

Andrew Worden | Men's J-6(7-8) | 24th | 22nd

Tyler Abramson | Men's J-4(11-12) | 30th | DSQ,1

Maxime Pellet | Men's J-4 | 20th | 9th

Jonathan Rasch | Men's J-4 | 31st | 20th

Max Vandersloot | Men's J-4 | 25th | 14th

Hayden White | Men's J-4 | 12th | 6th

Cody Worden | Men's J-4 | 29th | 15th

Reid Reininger | Men's J-0(13 and older) | 1st | 3rd

DSQ - Disqualified (Run Number), DNF - Did Not Finish,

DNS - Did Not Start