Wednesday, January 28, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
5
Outlaw racers slalom in sunshine
Sisters Outlaws skiers hit
the slopes in sun and unsea-
sonably warm temperatures
last weekend. The third
alpine ski race for the Sisters
High School team was held
Saturday, January 24, at Mt.
Bachelor ski area.
“Last week’s race in the
pouring rain was like ski-
ing through a car wash. This
week, it was sunny and warm,
it was like skiing down a sand
dune in the desert,” observed
Sisters alpine team Head
Coach Greg Ausman. “Last
week we were wearing trash
bags over our jackets to try
to stay dry. This week we
needed lots of sunscreen, and
no long underwear.”
The course was a very
short, very technical slalom
race.
“This was a tough course,
it was survival of the fittest,”
said assistant coach Sara
Ausman.
The Outlaws team did
much better than just survive;
both the men’s and women’s
teams had outstanding runs.
In addition to the seven
teams from Central Oregon
that normally race in the high
school league at Mt. Bachelor
(Bend, Summit, Mountain
View, Redmond, Ridgeview,
Lakeview and Sisters), there
were teams from Corvallis,
Crescent Valley, Dallas, South
Eugene, and West Albany.
There was a total of 131 rac-
ers in the event: 66 girls, and
photo by Julie benson
emily ausman navigates a technical slalom course.
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65 boys from 12 high schools.
On the women’s team,
Sisters junior Cammi Benson
placed within the elusive
Top-10 standings with a ninth
place overall. Her combined
time for the two slalom runs
was an impressive 1:03.07.
“This was a great race for
Cammi. The more challeng-
ing the course, the better she
does. When a lot of racers
lose control and miss gates,
that’s when Cammi is at her
best,” said Ausman.
Senior Emily Ausman
placed 16th overall, and also
had two very clean runs.
“Emily’s technique was
excellent, and she is very
focused and precise. She will
continue to improve her speed
and climb in the placings,”
said Ausman.
Betsy Ausman placed 26th
in the women’s standings.
“I am especially proud of
Betsy,” Ausman said. “She
was seeded early in the race
order when the snow condi-
tions were very challenging.
The shady areas were icy,
then transitioned immediately
to sunny spots, which were
slushy. Betsy missed a gate
when she slid out on the ice,
but she hiked back through it
to have a legal finish. That’s
what we needed in order to
place all three girls for the
team standings.”
The Sisters women’s team
placed fourth at this race.
In the men’s division,
Sisters senior Yasha Saldi
turned in a two-run combined
time of 58.86, placing him
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photo by Julie benson
outlaws skiers had to don the sunscreen for last weekend’s race.
13th overall.
“Yasha was very smooth
and makes hard courses like
this look easy. He is a very
fluid skier, and watching him
you can tell he just really
loves to ski,” said Ausman.
Newcomers to the Alpine
team, Jake Sahlberg and
Lachlan Wood, also had
strong performances, placing
18rd and 22nd respectively.
“Both Jake and Lachlan
are improving dramatically.
They are both new to rac-
ing, and are really figuring
it out. At the first race, they
placed in the 30-somethings,
now they’re in the top third
of the men’s division. Their
technique looked great, and
they are not making any mis-
takes,” said Ausman.
The Sisters men’s team
also placed fourth in their
division.