|
January Master’s Weekend is Super…. As in Super Seed. By Brian Irwin
In January the weather can be a fickle thing. This year was no different with record warm temperatures throughout the week leading up to the weekend racing at Cannon and Gunstock. Throw in some significant rainfall and the weekend almost washed out before it could come off, but both Cannon and Gunstock produced just awesome racing despite some issues that Mother Nature had provided.
Saturday racers descended on Cannon Mountain in Franconia for the annual Hochebrige Challenge Cup. The Hochebrige is one of the oldest and most prestigious of Master’s races on the Sise Cup schedule. Racers came from far and wide in hopes of putting their names on the coveted Hochebrige trophy joining countless National and Olympic champions who had won before them.
During inspection racers felt that the surface was quite firm and would surely hold up, but unfortunately for the later skiers, this would not be the case. What the field was treated to though was a rut and hole skiing clinic by none other than Brandon Dyksterhouse, the 4 time All-American from UVM and current Men’s head coach at GMVS. “Dyster” won the 1st run by 4 seconds and would run 10th in the flip 10 Super Seed for the afternoon run. Those that made the flip were jumping for joy when results showed “ageless” Bill McCollum (class 8) made the top 10 and would mean that the Super Seed would run before the class 8 men. It didn’t really matter as the holes were already there and ended up claiming several of the skiers, Mark George and Dave Wolff included, the last 2 Sise Cup overall winners in the process. Terrence Fogarty was the best of the rest to finish second on the day. Steve Masur was third, Randy Detrick forth and rounding out the top 5 was Alex Gadbois.
The women were a bit more fortunate than the men with course conditions, but at the end of the day they were all looking up at Carolyn Beckedorff. Carolyn won by just over 11 seconds with at time that would have placed her 6th in the men’s race. Kim Wolff was second, Cythia Berlack, the local Cannon favorite, was third, Margaret Vaughn and Anne Nordhoy rounded out the top five.
As for the team challenge race, the trophy will stay at the Hochebrige Ski Club this year. The Hoch Hopefuls team made up of husband and wife Tony DiGangi and Carolyn Beckedorff, Brian Irwin and Terrence Fogarty took the crown to have their names added to the list of many famous skiers that had won before them.
On Sunday, the Master’s were down to Gunstock for a GS. The surface continued to set up with cold temperatures over night and despite sun and temps in the 30’s the courses held up fine. Times were tight as the racer’s tackled the shortened Cannonball trail. The men’s Super Seed was separated by just over a second and anyone could be the victor with a great 2nd run. It looked like Mark George might be the guy with a blistering 2nd run to re-claim family honor from his daughter Katie, making her Master’s debut, but Randy Detrick stole the show by winning both runs. Jerome Guerard was 2nd, George third, Alex Gadbois forth and Rick Cesati, he of the monster recovery on his second run, in fifth.
In the woman’s race, it was a new face to Master’s racing with an old name that served notice at Gunstock. Katie George, daughter of defending Men’s Sise Cup Champion Mark George, showed the assembled racers that she has learned a thing or two from her “sponsor.” Katie beat her dad in the first run, and all but a handful of the men, but couldn’t put him (dad) away in the second to hold on to family honor. She did however win both runs for the women. The ex-Syracuse and MMSC skier was ecstatic after the race with her first win. Local favorite Carolyn Beckedorff was second, Lisa Densmore third, Tracy Reimer, returning to racing after a 2 year absence, was forth while Nadine Price rounded out the top 5.
Next week the Sise Cup tour is off to Middlebury and Suicide 6 for a Vermont swing. Lets all hope for a return to more seasonable temperatures for then.
|