BY HEATHER FOSTER

The Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation’s Alpine athletes on the U16 Team had some great spring ski racing and heated competition at Grand Targhee Resort in Wyoming and Snowbird in Utah as the season wound down.

Four athletes from the SVSEF Alpine U16 Team qualified for the U16 National Championships, which took place at Grand Targhee Resort following a venue change from Snow King due to ever-changing and challenging low-snow conditions across the West.

Grand Targhee served as an excellent venue and host for the championship series, where SVSEF’s fearsome foursome had the opportunity to compete against the nation’s top U16s.

Through their strong performances at U16 Regionals, Jasmine Smiley, Neena DeGennaro, Colter Bengtson and Henry Questad qualified and represented SVSEF in the national series which included Super G, Team Alpine Combined, Giant Slalom and Slalom.

“Our SVSEF athletes skied their hearts out and were right in the mix amongst the Nation’s top U16s,” said Nate Schwing, SVSEF Alpine U16 Head Coach. “Along with the competition, U16 Nationals is a fun way to meet athletes from around the country, and it is a great experience for our athletes who qualified through their strong performances at U16 Regionals.”

With no rest for the weary, a team of 15 including U16 and second-year U14 athletes, competed at the Snow Cup, which took in April at Snowbird. Renowned as being the second longest running ski race in the United States, athletes competed in two slalom and two giant slalom races over the four-day series. The weather and snow conditions were ideal for spring racing and to wrap the Intermountain Cup for the season.

Neena DeGennaro stood on the second step of the podium in all four races at the Snow Cup, while Colter Bengtson snagged one second-place spot in the Slalom on April 5. SVSEF athletes raced their way into the top ten in every race of the series, rounding out a solid season.

“The Snow Cup was an excellent final series, with four days of racing under sunny skies and spring conditions,” said Schwing. “It was a lot of fun to have so much of our team attending, to be together and race together one last time! The team skied well, and race series provided ideal conditions and a fun environment to celebrate the ski racing season.”

SVSEF Athlete Results at U16 Nationals

Super G Women

31st - Neena DeGennaro

42nd - Jasmine Smiley

Super G Men

20th - Colter Bengtson

45th - Henry Questad

Giant Slalom Women

11th - Neena DeGennaro

31st - Jasmine Smiley

Slalom Women

13th - Neena DeGennaro

26th - Jasmine Smiley

For complete U16 Nationals race results, visit live-timing.com.

SVSEF Athlete Results at the Snow Cup

Slalom Men

6th - Paxton Harris

8th - Corbin Flood

10th - Cameron Beck

11th - Henry Questad

14th - Brooks Gove

Slalom Women

2nd - Neena DeGennaro

13th - Alexandra Heidel

18th - Olivia Harrington

Slalom Men – Round 2

2nd - Colter Bengtson

8th - Corbin Flood

10th - Wyatt Limburg

17th - Cameron Beck

Slalom Women – Round 2

2nd - Neena DeGennaro

9th - Jasmine Smiley

Giant Slalom Men

6th - Corbin Flood

7th - Declan O’Toole

9th - Paxton Harris 

11th - Colter Bengtson

14th - Jake Schlatter

15th - Wyatt Limburg

16th - Cameron Beck

Giant Slalom Women

2nd - Neena DeGennaro

8th - Jasmine Smiley

16th - Colette Duke

18th - Bianca Smith

Giant Slalom Men Round 2

7th - Colter Bengtson

8th - Declan O’Toole 

10th - Corbin Flood

11th - Henry Questad

14th - Jake Schlatter

15th - Wyatt Limburg

16th - Cameron Beck

Giant Slalom Women – Round 2

2nd - Neena DeGennaro

6th - Jasmine Smiley

9th - Bianca Smith

17th - Colette Duke

For complete Snow Cup results, visit: https://imdalpine.org/race-results/.