Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Sports at a Glance

All stories by Jean Schurman

Downhill dreams March ‘Mat-ness’ Good indoor season for Wasser

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There are times now when Malika Coston wonders why she and her husband, Tom, decided to start their daughters skiing. Most of the time, it’s when their daughter, Lexie, is flying down a ski slope at speeds that only can be imagined by mere skiers. This, from a mother who has spent most of her life riding horses, including barrel racing in rodeos and jumping.

But Lexie has made her own way in life. She could have followed her mother’s footsteps and become an accomplished horsewoman. Or, she could have chosen the path of her grandmother, Elenita Brown, into dance, but she didn’t. Instead Lexie chose her own path, a steep mountain at high speed making turns and catching some air. She’s cracked ribs and torn her shoulder but still loves to ski.

Lexie, at the ripe old age of 14, has been skiing since she was three. She and her 10-year-old sister, Sylvie, began skiing in the Missoula Ski Education Foundation program when they were young. Both Malika and Tom skied both for fun and competitively and had decided that skiing would be a great sport for the entire family to enjoy. Now, the two are often left behind in the wake of the younger Costons.

The two girls competed in Little Griz skiing events in Missoula but about three years ago, Lexie decided she wanted to devote more time to skiing and began competing in the United States Ski Association sanctioned races. She said the Little Griz program was good but that she wanted to learn more of the techniques used in the turns in the Giant Slalom, Slalom and Super G races.

These are the three races in which Lexie competes in the Northern Division of the United States Ski Association. The Giant Slalom or GS is a step below the downhill races that are in the big events like the Winter Olympics. For every direction change in the GS, the course must drop 13 to 15 percent vertically, making this race a very technical race. The Super G course is about a mile long and encompasses long sweeping corners while the Slalom features tighter turns on a shorter course.

There are approximately 30 young skiers from Montana and Northern Wyoming who compete in these races with the races divided by gender as well as age. Although Lexie has been competing around the state for the last three years, it wasn’t until February’s President’s Day weekend that she had any success.

“I hadn’t finished a race without crashing,” said Lexie.

The race was at Big Sky that weekend and it was the only time to qualify for the Super G. Lexie put together three great runs, finishing third, fourth and fifth in the three-day event. The placings were enough for Lexie to qualify to compete at the Junior Olympics, which were held over the weekend at Bogus Basin outside of Boise, Idaho. There were about 130 racers competing in Lexie’s division alone at the Junior Olympics.

The Junior Olympics serve as a starter program for those skiers who compete at the national and world level including the World Cup and the Olympics. The program is in its 31st year. The Junior Olympics provide an opportunity for young skiers to gauge their performances through competition with the hope of gaining the notice of those professionals who make the invitations to training camps or U.S. Ski Team international competitions.

For Lexie, this has been a chance for her to learn new techniques, meet new people and, much to her mother’s dismay, go fast. “I just want to do well for myself,” she said. “And try my best.”

The races were spread out over three days with a race on each day. The skiers had to have a chance to ski the course for the Super G and so had a training day on Friday. Saturday was the race day for the Super G. The GS was on Sunday and the Slalom on Monday. Results were not available at press time.

Training is very time consuming for the Stevensville eighth grader. Weekends are spent either training for competition or competing. Lexie has been on almost every ski hill in Montana. She says she likes Big Sky the best since she has had the best luck there but likes the other areas as well. Training takes up about two to three hours during the week and full time on the weekends. A typical Saturday morning finds her up and at the hill by 8 a.m. if she is in training. Sleeping in is not an option; she’s up by 6:30 a.m. on non-competition weekends.

Because the rest of her team is in Missoula and trains there even on non skiing days, Lexie and her coaches have developed a ‘dryland’ training program for her to do on days of no skiing here in Stevensville. These activities include cycling, running and lifting weights. She does track, tennis and mountain biking to break up the training. Lisa Brzycki of Peak Fitness in Stevensville was instrumental in helping Lexie with her training program.

In fact, there are a number of people who have helped Lexie in her pursuit of Alpine Gold. Her coaches from the Missoula Ski Educational Federation are Jared Roberts, Justin Singer, and Logan Cook. They have provided instruction and opportunities for Lexie and her teammates. Although there are mainly boys on the team, Lexie will not be the only girl from the Missoula team traveling to Boise. Holly Hollinger of Missoula is an alternate on the team.

When she’s not training, Lexie is a typical teen who likes to hang out with friends. “All winter, it’s just my team and me,” she said. “So it’s nice to be with my friends some too.”

Although she’s just beginning this stage of competition in the skiing world, Lexie and her teammates had a chance to see the pros compete at Banff, Alberta, Canada, at the World Cup event held there. They are planning to attend a camp at Whistler in British Columbia later this year as well.

The Junior Olympics may open some doors for Lexie and her fellow competitors. Corporate sponsors watch these young people and select a few to sponsor. It’s a very expensive sport with not only equipment but also travel involved and if there are sponsors to be had, Lexie would like a chance at them.

Even though she has her goals in mind, she must attend to the daily chores as well. She is an honor student at Stevensville Junior High and must maintain her studies or there is no more skiing. She credits the school and her teachers with helping her attain this goal.

But most of all, this lively young lady wants to thank her parents for putting her on skis all those years ago. And her friends for sticking by her. She says that just because she is from a small town, it doesn’t mean she can’t work towards her dream and she encourages others to follow their dreams as well.

Steve Green, contributor

Approximately 450 elementary and junior high wrestlers descended upon Missoula's Sentinel High School Saturday for the Little Guy Wrestling Western Montana Championships. The Bitterroot Valley was well represented, with 101 wrestlers from Lolo, Florence, Corvallis, Hamilton and Darby. The Corvallis Team placed first in the Large Team competition and Lolo took top honors in the Small Team Division. Fifty-one wrestlers from the valley brought home medals in the one-day event.

Junior high division:

85 - 1. Derek Sisneros, H. 90 - 4. Marcus Malone, C. 95 - 2. Raymond Jessop, C. 100 A - 2. Kenny Thomas, C. 100 B - 2. Nick Cropp, H. 3. Brian Dubose, C. 105 - 1. James Dubose, C. 3. Kody Davidson, F. 112 A - 1. Zach Newbary, F; 2. Devin Williams, C. 112 B - 1. Levi Lee, L; 4. Kevin Fogel, C. 119 A - 4. Caleb Caicedo, D. 125 B - 1. Neacho Smith, D. 2. Justin DuBose, C. 130 A - 4. Tyler Berner, C. 130 B - 3. Gabe Reinhart, H. 135 - 1. Riley Nagel, C.; 3. Zach Carrey, F. 152 - 1. Sawyer Depee, F. 171 - 4. Jimmy Henderson, C. 189 - 2. Alex Masters, D; 4. Austin Atkins, C. 215 - 1. Brian Green, H; 4. Matt Roberts, F.

Middle school division:

65 - 2. Coltin Cox, H. 70 - 1. Tyler Olsen, C; 2, Jake Marr, L. 75 - 1. Dakota Venema, C. 80 - 2. Dylan Schulte, L. 90 - 1. Chase Malone, C; 2. Wyatt Jessop, C; 4. Dylan Meyers, F. 95 - 3. Joe Ciacedo, D. 147 - 4. Justin Harbinson, L. 166 - 3. Zach Brown, H. 224 - 2. Dusty Jessop, C.

Novice division

55 - 3. Devon Day, C; 4. Colton Belcourt, F. 60 - 3. Shilo Venema, C. 65 - 2. Ryan Ramos, L. 70 - 3. Dylan Puffalo, L. 75 - 1. Chase Conner, D. 80 - 3. Walker Kay, L; 4. Justin Horvath, D. 95 - 1. Alex Draper, C. 100 - 2. Dillon Weidow, H. 124 - 1. Luke Channer, C; 4. Shelby Gifford, C. 140 - 2. Cole Schmidt, C. 158 - 3. Ian Fiorino, L.

Sophomore sprinter Kyla Wasser earned a pair of 2nd place medals at the Dakota Athletic Conference Indoor Championships, held in Spearfish, S.D. the last weekend of February.

She sped down the track in the 55m dash in 7.39 seconds and finished the day with a stellar 27.20 clocking in the 200m sprint. Prior to enrolling at Dickinson State University, Wasser was a star track athlete for the Stevensville High School Yellowjackets and competed under the tutelage of her mother and head coach, Sue Wasser.

Kyla is now blossoming into the type of sprinter that collegiate teams want to place on their roster. In the 55m race, she led a flock of Blue Hawks who took four of the top five slots and consequently earned 23 team points. The DSU women turned some heads as they compiled 164 points in the meet and took home second-place team honors.

Wasser had already shown several signs of her abilities earlier this winter. One highlight came at Chadron State College on January 25, in which she set a meet record with her winning time of 7.38 seconds. In the Bison Classic in Fargo, N. D., on February 16, she took 3rd place in the 60m (7.93) and 4th in the 200m (26.76). Wasser competed in the National N.A.I.A. meet in Johnson City, Tennessee and will compete this spring in outdoor track for Dickinson State.