Alpine Skiers Slide into the End of Season Strong and Confident
February 19, 2024
Guest post from TA Alpine Ski Coach Paul Dixon
The Thetford Academy Alpine team is heading into the end of the season and hitting their stride after a delayed start to the season. We are seeing so many breakout performances from athletes across both the Ladies and Men’s teams. Many are seeing this reflected in the race results and having their best finishes ever. This has largely been due to hard work and deliberate practice to refine their skills every day we are on the snow.
We have completed four more races since the season opener at Saskedena Six on January 18th. A Slalom At Bromley on January 22nd, a Giant Slalom at Pico on January 29th, a Slalom at Pico on February 8th and most recently a Giant Slalom at Saskedena Six on February 15th.
On the Ladies side Maya Dixon has led the way and continued to ski very strongly with consistent top 15 finishes including a 6th place finish in the Giant Slalom at Saskedena Six. Maya has been supported by Bianca Pulaski, Lily Miller, Mavis Downey, Ella Harvey and Sophia Harvey as the top finishers on the ladies side. We are also seeing some very strong and confident skiing from Heidi Hewes and Willow Slayton as they continue to close the gap with the top 6 racers.
The Men’s team has also seen some tremendous progression as they all continue to close the gap with the top racers in the Southern Vermont League. Most notable have been Oliver Yukica, Elijah Renner and Hardy Payson who have all cracked into the top 20 finishers and a top 15 finish for Oliver in the Slalom on February 8th at Pico. We also continue to see great progression from the rest of the men’s team as they refine their skills and ski stronger and more confidently.
We are looking forward to the rest of the season including the Hometown Flannel Classic on Friday February 23rd under the lights at Storrs Hill. This is an opportunity for us to have a “home” race against the other teams (Lebanon and Hartford) who also train at Storrs. All are welcome to come out and watch this free event and have some dinner as the gill will be going. Racing starts at 5:30.
