Success on the Slopes
6 am. -15 degrees. Coffee in hand. The mountains were calling and and we must go. This was the mentality of the HT Alpine Team as they made their many journeys up to the slopes in Collingwood.
This was the first year since the restatement of HT Alpine that there was more skiers and snowboarders than there were spots available on the team. Sadly, cuts had to be made and lead some intense dryland training in the months of November and December to decide who would make it. With the team finalized, it was time for training on the slopes and getting up at 5 am. When asked how he does it, Sam Marchetti replied, “I am immune to fatigue". For the on hill training, the team went to the Blue Mountain Ski Resort. It was a beautiful day. A bright blue sky, the sun was shining and the temperature was -10. However, with limited snowfall this winter and lack of any cold weather, it presented a problem. Most of the ski hills had just opened a few weeks before. On a lot of the runs there were still small spots of visible grass and limited snow throughout the the courses. Additionally, most of the runs were closed due to maintenance. The Titans completed their training, attempting to limit damage to their skis and snowboards and prepared for GHAC. GHAC was held at the Alpine Ski Resort. HT Alpine had the pleasure of taking the Gryphons bus for the trek up to the slopes. Chad Arthur stated, "These seats are good to rock a snooze". The conditions were icy and due to the weather, many runs were still not available. However, the Titans battled through and put up some very good results: Male: SKIERS: Joe Cavalieri finished 16th, Chad Arthur finished 26th and Mike Czechowski finished 39th out of 120 skiers.
SNOWBOARDERS: Rem finished 18th overall, Connor Bell finished 28th and Kevin Glasek finished 32nd out of 120 snowboarders. Female: SKIERS: Maddie Czechowski finished 2nd place, Catherine Penny finished 13th and Erin H finished 23rd. Overall, our girls ski team was third out of seven teams. SNOWBOARDERS: Abi Kozma finished in the top 40. This year, Halton introduced another event into the mix, border cross. The snowboarders raced as teams of four, all at once down the hills. The team visited Beaver Valley and the slopes were in good condition. There was a lot of snow and most of the runs were open. However, it was snowing which decreased some visibility. In the inaugural year of the competition, the Titans were extremely successful: Vlad M finished 1st overall!! Delaney finished 2nd overall! Abi K finished 5th and Rachel L finished 7th. Next, it was onto OFSAA Qualifiers. The conditions were perfect. A bright blue sky, all of the runs were open and an inch of fresh powder from the previous night. The Titans thrived in the conditions: Skiers Chad finished 5th out of 87. Catherine P was 11th and Erin H placed 15th out of 47 Snowboarders Hannah was 4th, Leah was 11th, Rachel L was 13th & Delaney 14th out of 46. Aidan Darien was 8th and Kevin G was 10th out of 95 With these results, Aidan Darien and the girls snowboard team consisting of Hannah, Leah, Delaney, Rachel and Abi qualified for OFSAA. A huge shout out to both Kevin Glasek and Chad Arthur who only missed out by a few spots. HT Classic After the successful inaugural year, the executive decision was made to continue the tradition of this in house classic. Coach Leonard stated, “[The HT Classic] is the only race that matters". The results: Female Snowboarders 1st Hannah Cavanagh (Female MVP) 2nd Leah Chan 3rd Delaney Dunford
Female Skiers 1st Catherine Penney 2nd Maddie Czechowski 3rd Erin Heidecker
Male Snowboarders 1st Kevin Glasek 2nd Vlad Miksic 3rd Luke Razywoski
Male Skiers 1st Chad Arthur 2nd Joseph Cavalieri (Male MVP) 3rd Nolan Wallis
The previous season led to many rivalries, primarily between the male skiers. With Robin Chan, not defending his gold medal title, Joseph Cavalieri and Chad Arthur, who were on the podium last year were battling it out for top spot. They tied on the first run and on the second, Chad beat Joseph by a narrow margin of 0.7 seconds. After the race, Joseph stated, "I feel the race was unfair and a rematch should take place between my rival Chad Arthur and I”. Other racers were also available for comment after the race. First, when asked what was her key to success, champion Hannah Cavanagh stated, "I worked so hard that my face turned blue". When asked about why loved the sport, Kevin Glasek simply stated, "Board is life". Connor Donaldson was also asked about his favorite part, and he said, "nothing's better than the ride home". Joseph Cavalieri also added some deep insight to end the season, saying how, "skiing is the only sport where you spend an arm and leg to break an arm and leg". Overall, it was a great season and it couldn't have been done without the support of great coaches.
With many of the skiers and snowboarders in grade twelve, this may be their last run competitively in the sport. There is a lot of opportunity for new skiers and snowboarders next season. I think Kevin Glasek said it best: "It's a blast. The bus rides are everything man, really a team bonding experience. Come out and join next year".
