“Gnarly,” junior Luke Mitchell, UCSD snowboard team captain, said, after viewing the mountain’s obstacles. “That is the only way I can describe the deadly course.”
While a New Year’s storm may have prevented the UCSD ski and snowboard team from competing in its first scheduled races, the team let nothing stand in its way while racing down the courses at Mammoth Mountain, Calif., on Jan. 16 and Jan. 17.
“These were definitely the most difficult courses I have seen since I have been racing,” Mitchell said. “But the conditions did not even seem to phase the newcomers.”
While racers from UCLA, San Diego State, Cal State Long Beach and defending champion UC Santa Barbara dropped out after surveying the courses, all the UCSD rookies declined to drop out. As a result, they placed in the top five for their races.
Senior skier West Vane started the string of stellar rookie performances, placing fifth in the men’s giant slalom. One of the top male returning skiers from UCSD, sophomore Evan Sharbrough, finished first for the event, while sophomore Jake Cohen placed ninth.
A newcomer also shone on the men’s slalom. Senior Peter Mehrhof placed first in his first race as a member of the UCSD ski team. As a native of the Mammoth area, Mehrhof is very familiar with the mountain’s runs.
Mehrhof joins Vane, Sharbrough, and Cohen as the top male skiers on the team this season. Cohen, Sharbrough and Vane finished third, fourth and sixth, respectively, in the slalom.
The women dominated their slalom as well. Freshman Anja Smith led the field with the fastest time, while senior Sierra Bourne finished right behind her in second place. Ski captain Katie Wurden finished in fourth, while another rookie skier, freshman Sarah Callaham, finished in fifth.
“I am stoked with the way our team raced in the slalom,” Wurden said. “You cannot ask for much more than having four of the top-five racers in the event.”
The results of the giant slalom looked very similar to those of the slalom for the women. Again, Smith placed first, and Bourne followed right behind her. Bourne began racing again this year after taking a season off while studying abroad. Junior Brooke Mosley also skied well in the event, finishing in fourth.
Wurden placed in the top five for the skier-cross, coming in third, while rookie Callaham again took fifth.
“We have a strong team,” Wurden said. “I am very pleased with the way we performed after the first week. We have a good group of newcomers, and I am excited to see how we build as a team this season.”
The snowboard team overcame more then just a difficult course — they also had to worry about their safety. A midair collision between Mitchell and sophomore Scott McDonnel sent both racers tumbling down the hill on top of each other.
“I remember taking off on this huge jump, and then all of a sudden I see Scott right on top of me,” Mitchell said.
While the collision took Mitchell out of the race, Scott continued to race down the mountain and was able to move on to the next round.
“I could not believe he was able to qualify after that fall,” said Mitchell, who earlier placed second in the snowboard giant slalom.
The women’s snowboard team was able to walk away with a victory as a result of junior Billiana Veleva’s first-place finish in the snowboard giant slalom.
“I could not be more pleased with the way we raced,” Mitchell said. “The people do an excellent job at setting up the obstacles, the jumps are very technical, and the course is very demanding.”
The team will race again Jan. 29 at Mammoth Mountain, where it will again attempt to overthrow UC Santa Barbara at the top of the Southern California Collegiate Snowsport Conference.
