14 strong racers from JFBB took to the start gate atop Roundtop Mountain for Saturday’s slalom event and Sunday’s GS event at the 2025 Pennsylvania Alpine Racing Association (PARA) State Championship. The contingent was the most from all the clubs across the state that saw 37 girls and 52 boys take three runs per day in the derby formatted race.
Each racer strongly demonstrated the traits inherent to a JFBB Race Team member.
Cassidy M.—By declaration, Feb. 23, 2025, the second day of the State Championship competition shall be known as “Cassidy Day.” After a tough first day that saw her record only a single scoring run, Cassidy woke up on Sunday with renewed determination. She swept the three GS runs on her way to a second in the overall competition.
Riley R.—Where Cassidy had trouble on Day 1, Riley has had trouble all season putting together two solid runs. Riley’s perseverance paid off as she was able to put together two solid days of racing. With her best performances coming on the third run each day—second in slalom run 3 and fourth in GS run 3. Riley finished third overall in the competition.
Grace C.— To ski with grace is to ski like Grace C. Always a smile on her face, she put together and impressive season with consistent skiing. Finishing as high as fourth in SL run 3, she earned a seventh-place overall finish.
All three skiers earned a place on the 11-deep State Team that will head to the 2025 Francis Piche Invitation at Gunstock Mountain March 14-16.
Josetta M.—Not to be fooled by an ever-present smile, fierce determination lingers behind that grin as Josetta used an 8th, 15th, and 9th place finish in GS to earn a tenth-place medal.
Kylee G.—Persistence was key for Kylee. She improved on each run in GS leading to a top 20 finish overall.
Gabby W.—As a first year U12 racer, Gabby surpassed expectations and personal goals to qualify for the state championship. She might have been the biggest supporter of all her teammates.
Hope H. – A lost pole was nothing that first year U12 racer Hope couldn’t handle as her steezy skiing landed her in the top 30.
Gabby and Hope finished in 6th and 8th respectively for the first year U12 racers and look to be back at Roundtop next year.
As typical, the boys followed the girls but showed equal moxie in their pursuit.
Shota O.— “Show me the Podium” skied his way to a third-place overall finish. Despite one DNF, Shota never finished a run outside of the top 9, including throwing down the fastest first run in GS. He placed fifth in GS and fourth in Slalom.
Kellan B.—The only thing that Kellan likes more than skiing fast is building suspense. After four runs of placing no higher than 20, Kellan threw down in his final two runs with a second-place finish in run 2 and a first-place finish in run 3. The gutty performance earned him a silver in the GS and a spot on the State Team.
Andrei T.— Strong in both the legs and the heart, Andrei returned to top form just in time for the derbies after his fall earlier in the season. Consistent skiing all weekend not only earned him a ninth-place finish in the Slalom but also a spot on the State Team.
Shota, Kellan, and Andrei will represent JFBB and Pennsylvania U12 boys at the Piche Invitational in March.
Sawyer D.—A DSQ on the first run of states is not a great way to start, but Sawyer rebounded from his first ever DNF to finish day 1 with an 11th place and 9th place SL finishes. He started GS hot with a sixth place run and his herculean effort to keep upright on run 2 saved him some points. He threw down an eight spot on run 3 and finished with a tenth-place medal in the GS event.
Kenji G.—First year racer and first-year U12 racer, Kenji’s smile was only matched by his impressive skiing. A pair of 16th place finishes in GS landed him 22nd overall.
Julian Q.—Right on Kenji’s heels, first-year U12 Julian threw down an impressive 15th place SL run 2 and 13th place SL run 3 giving him 23rd place overall.
The two first-year U12 racers finished fourth and fifth among the first year U12 racers at States this year and look to be back for vengeance in 2026.
Preston D.—With his most impressive skiing of the season, Preston seemed to run faster and cleaner on each run, ranking as high as 15th in a GS run. A fire has been lit under his skis that will surely blaze into the 2025-2026 season.
Thanks to all the coaches for their unwavering support all season!