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A Summit sweep: Summit High School Alpine ski team wins all championship titles at final day of state

Team earns 5 state titles on final day of competition at Loveland Ski Area

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Cody Jones

Cody Jones/Summit Daily News
Seth Montgomery catches his breath after completing his first slalom run on Friday, Feb. 16. The Summit High School sophomore won his second state title in a two-day span after winning the state championship title in giant slalom Thursday.
Cody Jones/Summit Daily News

After winning three state titles on the first day of the 2024 Colorado state Alpine skiing championships on Thursday, the Summit High School Alpine ski team continued its winning ways on Friday, Feb. 16.

With the the slalom portion of the competition staged high up at Loveland Ski Area’s Loveland Valley, skiers began streaming down the steep slope, crashing through slalom gates as flurries continued to deliver a fresh layer of snow on top of the hard-packed course.

On the first round of runs for the girls, Summit managed to fight through the adverse conditions and challenging nature of the course to put four athletes within the top 10.

Leading the way for the Tigers was the dynamic duo of freshman Elodie Olsen and senior Ella Snyder.

Coming off an individual and team title the day before, Olsen continued to ski with speed and skill, completing the first run in a time of 48.56 seconds to rank second overall. 

On the first run, Olsen was only topped by Snyder, who charged down the slope and recorded a time of 47.23 seconds so the pair could successfully claim the top two spots for the Tigers ahead of the second runs.

Senior Luci Brady followed the duo in eighth (50.49), and sophomore Mackenzie Cross grabbed 10th (50.69). Outside of the top 10, sophomore Claire Jackson recorded a time fast enough for 15th (54.15), junior Kristiana Stoyanova maintained 18th (54.99), freshman Alex Stoyanova sat in 19th (55.45) and sophomore Victoria Campbell rounded out the top 40 in 37th (1:01.22).

Already well ahead of the rest of the competition, Summit firmly pulled away on the girl’s second run down the mountain.

With an inter-team battle ensuing for the individual state title, Snyder pointed her skis down the course, shot out of the start gate and displayed her veteran status in the sport. Snyder recorded a final-run time of 48.48 seconds to combine for a total time of 1:35.71. The run was just what the senior needed to lift herself over Olsen who followed very closely behind.

“There’s always hope of a win, but I think most importantly it was to be here and show up for my team,” Snyder said of winning state in the slalom. “All of these girls worked so hard to get to state and qualify. This is a really fun, cool event, and I am glad that I got to be a part of it.”

Olsen placed second with a time of 1:37.73, and Middle Park High School’s Olivia Niedzwiecki rounded out the podium in third (1:37.92).

The Tigers truly earned its second team title of the week thanks to their No. 3 through No. 6 skiers. With an impressive second run, Cross jumped from 10th to eighth with a final time of 1:41.86. Brady followed in ninth (1:42.30 ) before Jackson and the Stoyanova sisters punched their way into the top 20. Jackson placed 15th (1:49.47), Kristiana Stoyanova took 17th (1:52.06) and Alex Stoyanova finished in 20th (1:53.61)

With seven skiers within the top 20, the Summit girls Alpine ski team easily secured its second team title of the week and first slalom win since 2020, displaying its firepower in the state as a program.

“It means a lot because this is the first time that the girls have won it in a while,” Snyder said. “It is really cool to be a part of that again and help contribute to that as well.”

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After placing second as a team in the giant slalom on Thursday, the Summit boys Alpine team also had a dominant day in the slalom.

Leading the way was 2024 giant slalom state champion, Seth Montgomery. In his premier event, Montgomery made the race look effortless, soaring through every gate and recording a first-run time of 44.60 seconds. Montgomery was soon followed by senior teammate Michael Green in second (45.6) and freshman Aaron Green in sixth (47.26).

In true Summit fashion, the Tigers displayed its depth by putting two additional athletes within the top 40. Sophomore Tommy Bellavance sat in 36th (1:00.08) and freshman Jamison Lee ranked 38th (1:01.41) after the first round of runs. 

Like the girls competition, the Summit boys secured its spot at the top of the team and individual ranks on the final runs of the day. Leading over Green by a full second, Montgomery secured his second state title of the week by getting through all the gates with both precision and speed.

Montgomery clocked a time of 46.54 seconds on his final run to combine for a total time of 1:31.14, effectively becoming this year’s individual state champion in the slalom.

“I felt good,” Montgomery said. “I tried to not worry about the snow because everyone has to ski on the same thing. I skied slalom like I have been and stayed with it.”

Almost missing a gate on his final run, Michael Green fell to third with a total time of 1:33.39 before Aaron Green brought home his freshman Alpine ski season by maintaining sixth (1:36.93). 

Bellavance improved his ranking by a few spots on his final run, moving up to 31st while Lee failed to finish his second run.

Following in the ski tracks of the girl’s team, the Summit boys successfully won the team title in the slalom.

“It has been great,” Montgomery said. “It is a really good team. Everyone is so nice, and we are all good friends. It is super fun to come out here and have success together. I am happy I get to be a part of it for two more years.”

With four individual and three team state titles being awarded to the Tigers in the past two days, Summit was also crowned the champions of the overall Alpine skiing title, bringing the count to eight first-place trophies in the past 48 hours.

“It was cool to win that because obviously there are some really good teams there, and it meant that we had depth on both sides,” head coach Karl Barth said. “When you look at the bigger, state championship picture, to hand the Nordic teams leads is awesome. Especially for that boy Nordic team that doesn’t need a lead. They had a good culture this year, but mostly they performed when it counted. We are psyched.”

In addition to sweeping the podium, Summit had several athletes earn all-state honors. Montgomery earned all-state in slalom and giant slalom, Michael Green in giant slalom, Aaron Green in slalom, Snyder in slalom and Cross, Olsen and Brady in giant slalom.

Summit and the other participating high school Alpine ski teams will now wait until the conclusion of the Colorado state Nordic skiing championships next week to determine the winner of the combined Colorado state skiing championships.

The Summit boys Nordic ski team will be gunning for a third-straight combined skiing title after the Tigers ski program won the event in 2022 and 2023.

The Colorado state Nordic skiing championships are scheduled for Thursday, Feb 22, and Friday, Feb. 23 in Granby.

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