Spring Fling at Grand Targhee Tests SVSEF Skier Skills

Breclan McCarthy and Reid Wilke first bump enroute to their second and fourth place slalom podium.

Sunday, April 12, 2026

BY HEATHER FOSTER

Three Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation Alpine U12 and U14 athletes climbed the podium in the IMD Spring Fling this past week.

SVSEF Alpine U12 North Series athletes traveled to Grand Targhee, Wyo., April 3-5 alongside first-year SVSEF Alpine U14 IMD athletes, to take part in the always highly anticipated IMD Spring Fling.

Athletes from both teams raced to great success, with podiums in every discipline for both the girls and boys over the course of the three days.

Alex Grant took first and Halsten Bruun sixth in the Boys U14 giant slalom.

Alta Questad (U12) topped the results for the girls with a first place and two second-place finishes. Alex Grant (U14) and Walker Gove (U12) each brought home two podium finishes for the boys.

IMD Spring Fling is a great end of the season fun race for U12 and U14 athletes from the Intermountain Division, with athletes joining from the Northern Division as well. The race weekend offers an opportunity for U12 athletes to race with U14s, and for first-year U14s to have a final race of the season while the second-year U14s race the Snow Cup Series with U16s at Snowbird.

The dual format Slalom race and Kombi make for a fun weekend of racing. The Kombi offers a mix of features from giant slalom gates, to stubbie (short slalom gates) and tall pole slalom, as well as wildcard features like pole jumpers.

Pole jumpers are drills where skiers jump over poles placed across the slope to demonstrate their balance and athletic stance.

Walter Gove placed second in the boys U12 slalom.

exercises designed to show At the end of the day, the fun, mixed format rewards the most versatile racers who can bring their ski racing skills to the various features.

“We had a great weekend of racing,” said Ben Roberts, SVSEF Alpine First-Year U14 Head Coach. “The Grand Targhee race crew dug deep and delivered three great days of racing—we even had a powder day! It was great seeing our SVSEF athletes finish the season strong competitively and having fun skiing with their friends.”

The conclusion of the 2025/26 season will see the U12 North Series athletes transition to become first-year U14s and the first-year U14s grow into second-year U14s. The second-year U14s who choose to continue ski racing will move to the U16 Team.

SVSEF Athlete Results