Ski and Snowboard Team Shows Promise
Greenies part of Cataloochee High School Racing Program
Members of the Christ School Ski and Snowboard team only get to hit the slopes once a week.
So they make the time count in more ways than one.
The Greenies have completed a quarter of their eight-race season following Wednesday's competition at the Cataloochee Ski Area in Maggie Valley, N.C. (about 50 miles from campus). The team, which has been part of the Outdoor Program since 2009, is coached by Michael Amato and Les Thornbury.
"This is my fourth year doing it. We weren't really geared towards the racing side of it in the past, but for the first time out of four years, I feel like we're going to be one of the better teams (in the Cataloochee High School Racing Program)," Amato said. "It has a lot to do with our snowboarders who are really solid. And we've got some skiers like Justin Simmons '20 who are racing on the weekends as well."
Indeed, Justin recorded a time of 15.70 seconds last week in his first run of the season. That was good enough for a platinum medal. A pair of seniors – Sawyer Duhaime '18 (21.32) and Matthew Weed '18 (21.89) – were the top performers for the Greenies in snowboarding with silver and bronze medals, respectively.
Races follow a downhill slalom format in which skiers and snowboarders have to clear gates. The top-three times are averaged for a team score.
The regiment for the Christ School Ski and Snowboard team does not involve a whole lot of practice or racing outside of Wednesday excursions to Cataloochee. The Greenies do a 2-mile run or play group games on Monday, Study Hall is Tuesday, Thursday is circuit training, and Friday is reserved for yoga.
Icy conditions were a challenge for everyone Wednesday at Cataloochee, but Sawyer, Matthew, Eli Dowler '21 and Jack Cross '22 were able to post qualifying times in snowboarding. Justin, Sam Lemel '18, and Richard Zantzinger '20 were the top-three skiers for Christ School.
Additional members of the team are Joseph Coladonato '20, Richard Zantzinger '20, Thomas Doss '20, Weston McGrath '21, Alex Lontz '21, Ben Lowry '19, Declan Thompson '21, Gordon Brown '19, and Jimmy Burke '18.
