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Summit Alpine ski team secures 3 state championship titles during giant slalom competition

Summit girls win team race; Elodie Olsen and Seth Montgomery win individual races

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Cody Jones

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Cody Jones/Summit Daily News
Summit freshman Elodie Olsen celebrates with her mom after securing her first state skiing title in giant slalom on Thursday, Feb. 15, at Loveland Ski Area.
Cody Jones/Summit Daily News

The 2024 Colorado state Alpine skiing championships officially got underway on Thursday, Feb. 15, under the towering ridge of the Continental Divide at Loveland Ski Area.

Summit High School skiers were eager to fly through the giant slalom gates set up within Loveland Valley for the first day of the multiday, statewide competition. With a slight wintry breeze cutting through the course, competition began with the 61-athlete girls field cutting lines down the course.

Summit competed well on its first run of the day with freshman Elodie Olsen leading the competition with a first run time of 52.41 seconds. Olsen was followed by Evergreen High School senior Lexi Ornstein in second (53.19) while Summit’s Mackenzie Cross and Luci Brady ranked third (53.43) and fourth (53.75), respectively, after the first round of runs. 

With three skiers already in the top five, Summit sophomore Claire Jackson led the Tigers to putting an additional three athletes within the top 25 before the conclusion of the first round of runs. Jackson occupied 16th (56.09), junior Kristiana Stoyanova sat in 18th and freshman Zoe Nelson ranked 21st (56.74). 

Knowing that they were on the precipice of a team title, the Tigers continued to ski strong on the second round of runs.

After recording the top time on her first run, Olsen outdid herself on her final run down the mountain, rocketing through the course and recording a combined time of 1:42.31 to become a state champion in the giant slalom by close to three seconds.

“I just wanted to ski my best today,” Olsen said. “I wanted to trust myself and trust the process. Ski as good as I could today.”

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Cross placed third with a total time of 1:45.81, and Brady finished in fourth with a combined time of 1:45.99. Four more girls placed within the top 30. Jackson placed 13th (1:49.88), Stoyanova moved up to 15th (1:50.32), Nelson finished in 21st (1:52.05) and freshman Katelyn Lemon took 29th (1:54.81).

The stacked and talented roster of the Summit girls Alpine ski team allowed the Tigers to run away with the team title, capturing more hardware for the illustrious program.

“It feels really good,” Olsen said of the individual and team title. “I like to be a good role model for people. I just want to be there and support all my friends on the team. It is nice to know I have a lot of support behind me.”

Despite having a few less athletes than the Summit girls Alpine ski team, the Tigers boys still recorded races near the top of the leaderboards.

Spearheading the team on the first round of runs was sophomore Seth Montgomery, who clocked a time of 49.80 seconds to rank second behind Aspen High School freshman Matthew McDermott in first (49.61). Montgomery was soon followed by the Green siblings with freshman Aaron Green notching the fourth best time (50.66) and senior Michael Green ranking sixth (50.93). Freshman Jamison Lee recorded the 40th first-run time (57.24) while junior Emmett Dalzell failed to finish the course.

The Tigers maintained or improved upon their spots at the top of the podium on their second runs with Montgomery impressively overpowering McDermott to win his first state skiing title of his career.

“I know I skied well the first run where I only had a few bobbles,” Montgomery said. “I was confident and knew if I do what I have been doing in races and in training I would have a good run and that it would pay off. I stuck with that plan and had a good run. It means a lot. I am really happy about it. The other kids on my team did really well, so, yeah, I am happy I get two more years of this.”

Montgomery finished with a time of 1:40.78 to narrowly beat McDermott in second who clocked a combined time of 1:40.84.

With a strong second run, Michael Green improved to fifth (1:42.99), and Aaron finished in seventh (1:43.81). Lee rounded out the results, placing 37th (1:56.93).

With just four skiers scoring points for the Tigers, Summit placed second overall, losing to Aspen by two points.

The Colorado state Alpine skiing championships will continue on Friday, Feb. 16,  where champions will be crowned in the slalom race. The race is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. at Loveland Ski Area.

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