BY WILL FALLTRICK
Nearly 200 competitors converged on Rotarun Ski Area this past weekend—Jan. 31 and Feb. 1—for the annual Monroe Cup.
U10 and U12 athletes from the North Intermountain Division in Idaho and Wyoming competed in the event hosted by the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation. The event serves as a qualifier for athletes in the North to compete against athletes in the South Intermountain Division (Utah) at the IMD Championships at Jackson Hole, Wyo., March 20-22.
Asa Sattler and Walter Gove each finished first in a slalom race, with Gove posting the fastest time of the entire weekend.
“We just had a spectacular Monroe Cup race at Rotarun!” said SVSEF Alpine U12 North Series Head Coach, Claudia Stern. “Every single one of our North Series athletes showed up with purpose and drive and showed us some of their best skiing to date.
“We had multiple podiums and personal bests, a few crashes but mostly lots of smiles and team spirit. Thanks to all the volunteers, and to Julian Tyo and his team who managed to lay out an incredible venue for us despite this year's lack of snow and warm temps.”
The Monroe Cup continues to honor the legacy of Lane Monroe who was the Program Director and Head Alpine Coach at SVSEF from 1970-1996, with a hiatus between 1973 and 1976 to serve as a coach for the U.S. Ski Team.
From 1973-1974, Monroe was the Men's Special Teams coach and then the Head Women's Coach from 1975-1976. The Monroe Cup was first held in 1997 on Bald Mountain and continued there until 2021 when it moved to Rotarun Ski Area as a slalom-only event.
The girl’s races saw fierce competition along with wide smiles and lots of glitter. SVSEF's athletes were led by Alta Questad who claimed third place in Race 1 with a combined time of 58.81 seconds and Amelia Beck securing third place in Race 2 (1:05.49).
Marie McNeal showcased her versatility with a strong second-place finish in Race 2 after a challenging first race. SVSEF athletes dominated the field, with multiple athletes finishing in the top 20 across both races.
Asa Sattler led the SVSEF boys with a victory in Race 1, posting the fastest time of 1:00.72. Walker Gove responded with a commanding win in Race 2, finishing in 54.87—the fastest time of the entire weekend. Vance Gardiner demonstrated consistency with top-10 finishes in both races, placing eighth in Race 1 and seventh in Race 2.
After the dust settled on two days of competitive racing at Rotarun, Mia Anderson of McCall Winter Sports Club (MWSC) was awarded the Monroe Cup after finishing in first place for Race 1 and second place in Race 2 for the girls. Grand Targhee Ski and Snowboard Foundation’s (GTSSF) Liam Gardner won the Monroe Cup for the boys with a third place in Race 1 and second place in Race 2 during Sunday’s races.
SVSEF Athlete Results
Women's Slalom Race 1 (January 31)
3rd – Alta Questad (U12) – 58.81
4th – Amelia Beck (U12) – 1:00.25
6th – Sophie Robins (U12) – 1:01.20
8th – Kayla Kloster (U12) – 1:03.52
9th – Rienza Buoncristiani (U12) – 1:05.66
11th – Dylan Meyer (U12) – 1:07.29
13th – Dylan Spengler (U12) – 1:09.92
14th – Payton Minor (U12) – 1:10.02
15th – Blakely Martens (U12) – 1:11.97
17th – Ivy McNamara (U12) – 1:12.46
18th – Lexi Barthel (U12) – 1:12.52
19th – Teodora Smither (U12) – 1:12.96
20th – Estelle Turzian (U12) – 1:12.98
24th – Freya Moffat (U12) – 1:14.27
26th – Riley Copperman (U12) – 1:15.17
27th – Lila Vanderwyst (U12) – 1:15.56
35th – Maude Bates (U12) – 1:19.21
37th – Eleanor Hopeman (U12) – 1:20.20
41st – Ruby Rogers (U12) – 1:20.55
43rd – Morghan Kearney (U12) – 1:21.29
46th – Elise Eng Greener (U12) – 1:21.90
48th – Stella Smith (U12) – 1:22.43
49th – Morgan Thomas (U12) – 1:22.47
51st – Tindsley Glenne (U12) – 1:23.07
53rd – Rosie Hill (U12) – 1:24.66
60th – Marie McNeal (U12) – 1:27.38
62nd – Eleanor Robinson (U12) – 1:30.81
65th – Emma Osher (U12) – 1:33.04
66th – Lottie Cook (U12) – 1:33.05
69th – Maeve Conklin (U12) – 1:35.98
74th – Lark Johnson (U12) – 1:38.95
76th – Kingsley Loughlin (U12) – 1:39.84
78th – Wren Presnell (U12) – 1:41.51
80th – Kyle Bruun (U12) – 1:46.02
Women's Slalom Race 2 (January 31)
2nd – Marie McNeal (U12) – 1:05.03
3rd – Amelia Beck (U12) – 1:05.49
6th – Sophie Robins (U12) – 1:06.85
7th – Kayla Kloster (U12) – 1:08.42
9th – Rienza Buoncristiani (U12) – 1:11.93
10th – Payton Minor (U12) – 1:13.30
11th – Dylan Spengler (U12) – 1:13.54
12th – Estelle Turzian (U12) – 1:13.63
14th – Mckenna McCarthy (U12) – 1:14.25
15th – Ivy McNamara (U12) – 1:14.31
16th – Blakely Martens (U12) – 1:14.71
17th – Teodora Smither (U12) – 1:15.25
18th – Freya Moffat (U12) – 1:16.33
19th – Lexi Barthel (U12) – 1:16.75
22nd – Riley Copperman (U12) – 1:18.66
26th – Eleanor Hopeman (U12) – 1:20.84
30th – Lila Vanderwyst (U12) – 1:21.68
31st – Tindsley Glenne (U12) – 1:22.94
32nd – Stella Smith (U12) – 1:24.09
36th – Ruby Rogers (U12) – 1:24.58
37th – Maude Bates (U12) – 1:24.58
43rd – Elise Eng Greener (U12) – 1:26.67
46th – Morghan Kearney (U12) – 1:27.47
47th – Grace Boccabella (U12) – 1:27.65
49th – Morgan Thomas (U12) – 1:28.15
53rd – Clementine Brumbach (U12) – 1:29.11
54th – Torin Farmer (U12) – 1:29.21
55th – Blakeslee Tindall (U12) – 1:29.32
56th – Rosie Hill (U12) – 1:29.39
58th – Charlotte Mitchell (U12) – 1:30.41
62nd – Eleanor Robinson (U12) – 1:32.98
63rd – Lottie Cook (U12) – 1:34.19
64th – Beau Jaeger (U12) – 1:34.41
69th – Emma Osher (U12) – 1:36.94
71st – Lark Johnson (U12) – 1:38.13
72nd – Siena Martin (U12) – 1:38.45
78th – Kingsley Loughlin (U12) – 1:42.45
79th – Maeve Conklin (U12) – 1:42.62
82nd – Wren Presnell (U12) – 1:45.01
88th – Rose Vanderwyst (U12) – 1:50.35
Men's Slalom Race 1 (February 1)
1st – Asa Sattler (U12) – 1:00.72
3rd – Evan McGregor (U12) – 1:01.42
8th – Vance Gardiner (U12) – 1:03.18
14th – Cole Martens (U12) – 1:08.54
15th – Keller Alan Spachman (U12) – 1:08.73
22nd – Tucker Thurston (U12) – 1:11.51
24th – Dillon Wells (U12) – 1:12.67
25th – Tommy Banta (U12) – 1:13.20
34th – Nathan Sattler (U12) – 1:14.79
35th – Brock Smith (U12) – 1:15.83
36th – Graham Lyle (U12) – 1:16.25
37th – Werner McNamara (U12) – 1:16.62
38th – Blaise Terra (U12) – 1:16.73
42nd – Samuel Sattler (U12) – 1:17.47
45th – Arthur McNeal (U12) – 1:18.88
47th – Rowan Hoffman (U12) – 1:19.42
49th – Evan Schwing (U12) – 1:19.98
53rd – John Massa (U12) – 1:24.41
57th – Luca Smither (U12) – 1:25.33
58th – Smith Matthews (U12) – 1:25.56
60th – Mitchell Crist (U12) – 1:28.21
63rd – Patrick Phillips (U12) – 1:29.99
67th – Henry Parks (U12) – 1:31.44
69th – Jayden Orihuela (U12) – 1:32.19
72nd – Brenner Ehleringer (U12) – 1:37.11
74th – Jace Terra (U12) – 1:38.61
75th – Ellis Gouley (U12) – 1:38.71
Men's Slalom Race 2 (February 1)
1st – Walker Gove (U12) – 54.87
2nd – Ford Rixon (U12) – 56.25
4th – Dylan Smiley (U12) – 57.08
7th – Vance Gardiner (U12) – 58.82
13th – Cole Martens (U12) – 1:01.60
23rd – Tommy Banta (U12) – 1:05.76
25th – Tucker Thurston (U12) – 1:06.32
33rd – Nathan Sattler (U12) – 1:07.40
36th – Dillon Wells (U12) – 1:07.68
37th – Arthur McNeal (U12) – 1:08.30
38th – Graham Lyle (U12) – 1:08.43
41st – Brock Smith (U12) – 1:09.09
43rd – James Christopher (U12) – 1:09.39
44th – Blaise Terra (U12) – 1:09.66
46th – Rowan Hoffman (U12) – 1:11.02
48th – Samuel Sattler (U12) – 1:12.78
51st – Werner McNamara (U12) – 1:13.50
56th – Will Turzian (U12) – 1:14.90
57th – Luca Smither (U12) – 1:15.46
59th – Smith Matthews (U12) – 1:15.66
60th – John Massa (U12) – 1:16.36
65th – Keller Alan Spachman (U12) – 1:19.53
67th – Patrick Phillips (U12) – 1:20.31
70th – Henry Parks (U12) – 1:21.49
75th – Jayden Orihuela (U12) – 1:24.07
78th – Brenner Ehleringer (U12) – 1:25.81
80th – Kingsley Bruun (U12) – 1:28.05
81st – Ellis Gouley (U12) – 1:30.38
84th – Jace Terra (U12) – 1:34.72
Complete results for each race may be found at the following link. Click on “North Series” to see complete results: https://imdalpine.org/race-results/.
Up next for SVSEF Alpine: SVSEF will host the 35th Annual Laura Flood Memorial Race in Sun Valley Feb. 19-24. For details on the race, visit: https://svsef.org/laura-flood-memorial-race/.