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Summit County skiers named to Colo. all-star squad

BRYCE EVANS
summit daily news
Summit County, Colorado
Special to the Daily/Wendy WalczykDylan Walczyk and Leah Canfield were among five Summit skiers named to the Rocky Mountain Division Colorado All-Star Team. Also making the team were brothers
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Five Summit County skiers have been named to the 2010-11 Rocky Mountain Division Colorado All-Star Team.

The team is made up of the 50 highest ranked skiers (30 alpine, 20 freestyle) in the country from Colorado. FIS points from the previous season are the determining factor.

Dylan Walczyk, a top-ranked mogul athlete, was the lone freestyle skier from the county named to the team, while Leah Canfield, Katie Hartman and brothers Connor and Fletcher McDonald were all named to the alpine squad.



In receiving the honor, the athletes all get a season ski pass from both Colorado Ski Country USA and Vail Resorts, allowing them to ski for free at nearly every resort in the state.

“For most of these athletes, their goal is to someday be on the U.S. (Ski) Team, and it gets really expensive,” said Darlene Nolting, the competition and development manager for the RMD. ” … Between camps, competitions, traveling, the cost of the sport is great. This really helps the athletes to pursue that.”



Both Walczyk and Canfield ski for Team Breckenridge Sports Club, and the McDonald brothers both compete for Team Summit.

Hartman, a former Team Summit skier and Summit High grad, is one of the top collegiate skiers in the country at the University of Colorado, earning All-America honors last season.

A number of world-class athletes have received this honor in the past, including Olympic medalist and three-time defending World Cup overall champion Lindsey Vonn.

Athletes of 15 years and older are eligible to make the team on the alpine side, while skiers must be 14 or older to make the freestyle team.

It’s no easy task, as the 50 skiers are taken from an enormous pool of athletes from a wide range of ages and both boys’ and girls’ divisions.

“(This team) really shows the top athletes from the state,” Nolting said. ” … And with them getting the all-star (ski ) pass, this is a great opportunity for them, and it’s a prestigious honor.”

Bryce Evans can be reached at (970) 668-4634 or at bevans@summitdaily.com.


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