Summit Sweeps Giant Slalom Titles on Day 1 of Alpine Skiing State Championships
Photo: Patti Nagel
DILLON – Summit High School swept the girls and boys Giant Slalom state titles on the first day of the 2024 Alpine Skiing State Championships with freshman Elodie Olsen capturing the girls title and sophomore Seth Montgomery winning the boys championship.
Olsen turned in the fastest time through the girls’ first run (52.41) and then she bettered that mark the second time down the mountain, completing the race in 49.90 to finish with a total time of 1:42.31. She led a trio of Summit skiiers to top-four finishes, as Summit sophomore Mackenzie Cross finished third and senior teammate Luci Brady took fourth.
Second place went to Evergreen senior Lexi Ornstein, who took second after turning in times of 53.19 and 51.96 to finish 2.84 seconds behind Olsen (1:45.15). Cross’ time of 1:45.81 narrowly beat Brady’s time of 1:45.99, as Cross completed the first run in 53.43, and the second run in 52.38. Brady clocked in at 53.75 and 52.24, respectively.
In fifth was Battle Mountain sophomore Ruthie DeMino, who finished in at 1:46.17 (54.17, 52.00). She was followed by Evergreen senior Adriana Kahanek in sixth (54.07, 52.63; 1:46.70), Vail Mountain senior Madison Milligan in seventh (54.20, 52.73; 1:46.93), Vail Mountain freshman Annie Zurbay in eighth (54.15, 52.85; 1:47.00), Aspen junior Morgan Phillips in ninth (54.22, 53.65; 1:47.87) and Middle Park senior Olivia Niedzwiecki in 10th (54.81, 53.28; 1:48.09).
Aspen junior Jaden Schille took third with a time of 1:42.56 (50.52, 52.04), while Middle Park senior Garrett Gillest was fourth in 1:42.93 (50.68, 52.25) and Summit senior Michael Green was fifth in 1:42.99 (50.93, 52.06).
In sixth place was Aspen freshman Joshua Stephen (51.52, 51.73; 1:43.25), while Summit freshman Aaron Green took seventh (50.66, 53.15; 1:43.81). Battle Mountain sophomore Sebastian Anderson had the eighth-fastest time of the day, recording runs of 51.63 and 53.02, respectively, to finish at 1:44.65. Ninth went to Aspen senior Nico Smith (52.00, 53.16; 1:45.16) and Middle Park sophomore Alek Guziur rounded out the top-10 with a time of 1:47.10 (52.27, 54.83).
The second and final day of the Alpine Championships will take place tomorrow with the Slalom competition. The girls’ first run will be at 10 a.m., followed by the boys at 10:45 a.m. The second run will be at 12:45 p.m., followed by the boys second run at 1:30 p.m. View the start lists for the slalom races.
For spectators planning to attend, you can NOT hike up to the finish line for slalom this year, it is NOT allowed. To watch the race from the finish, you must have a pass for the day. Chair 3 ony tickets are available for $50. All mountain tickets (including Loveland Basin are $90.
