2023 National Championship Recap
04.21.2023 |Bill Madsen
They came for the competition, the camraderie and the opportunity to win a National title and some went home with cold hard cash.
The 2023 NASTAR National Championship hosted at Snowmass Village, CO was an exciting week of racing. There were 500 racers and 300 guests that represented 64 NASTAR resorts from across the country. Snowmass, Aspen Mountain and Deer Valley took first, second and third respectively in the team competition but Bear Creek Mountain Resort, PA earned enough team points to take fourth place. Sugar Mountain, NC took fifth place in the team race.
April 3rd
The week kicked off with the NASTAR Slalom Championships for Junior and Adult racers. Participants raced their way into one of two divisions within each age group. Racers that scored either Platinum or Gold level handicaps earn their way into the Platinum/Gold Division. This proved challenging as Wiley Maple set a blistering pace for the races. Racers that earned Silver or Bronze handicaps were placed in the Silver/Bronze Division and the top three won a place on the podium. The stubby gate slalom courses were fast and fun as 220 competitors raced their way through one of four courses. Many of the participants hadn't raced slalom all season so it was a great way to kick off the week of racing.
Junior Results-slalom
Adults Results-slalom
April 4th
The bronze division championship races experienced some windy conditions at times but course conditions held up well. There were a number of racers that had not raced NASTAR this season so they used the bronze race to qualify. The McIntyre kids from Australia competed each day by bumping up from one division to the next. They raced in the bronze division and bumped up to the silver division. The McIntyre kids then bumped up from the silver division to the gold division and finally they competed in platinum division. All participants that earned a handicap higher than bronze were bumped up to the silver division. Racers that earned bronze level handicaps were presented National Championship medallions on the podium.
Junior Results-Bronze Division
April 5th
The top 32 adult and the top 32 junior racers that earned bronze level handicaps and scored the most NASTAR Points, qualified to compete in the Bronze Division Race of Champions Finals. The adaptive athletes also qualified to compete in their own head-to-head competition and the Challenge Aspen athletes had a blast competing in the dual format with the pro styled start gates. Tanner Jadwin narrowly edged out PJ McLaughlin taking first and second place and Chris Guay earned third place with a win over Brendan Kelsey.
Aubrey Hall took the win in the junior race ahead of Zoe Setton with Gus Ruder taking third place.
The adult race was won by Steven Faggella after a photofinish with Judith Luszcz. J Phillips won the bronze medal by beating Michael Piper to earn third place prize money
The silver division national races were really exciting. There were a number of junior racers that bumped up to compete in the gold division race the next day and a few adult made the cut and qualified to race in the gold division too.
Junior Results-Silver Division
April 6th
The Silver Division Finals were a hotly contested. Drew Fitzpatrick, the 15 year-old racer representing Perfect North Slopes, OH took the win in the junior race defeating seven-year-old Edward Matsko of Ski Sundown, IA. Five-year-old Arabella Shirazi from Park City, UT held on to take third place ahead of Halston Miller. The podium clearly showed that the NASTAR format is wide open and everyone has an opportunity to win if they can ski consistently and fast.
In the adult race, Tim Ruder, racing out Tyrol Basin, WI earned the win edging out Jane Woloson. Jane, 60-years-old racing out of Copper Mountain, CO had to get past Robert Silverstone to make the finals and they had a very close race, but Jane took the win. Robert then had to face Patti Zehner in the small final for third place. Patti skied fast and consistently but Robert did just enough to win.
SILVER DIVISION FINALS-JUNIORS
The gold division races were held under brilliant blue skies and our pacesetters, Wiley Maple and Erik Arvidsson were having a blast racing head to head.
April 7th
The pace picked up for the Gold Division Finals and the junior racers were throwing down to take home their share of the prize money. Tess Bergom, 10-years-old racing for the Hidden Valley Ski Area, MO missed the podium the in girls 10-11 gold division race but she was selected as an alternate for the Finals. She waited patiently at the start to see if any of the qualified racers did not show up to race. When the 25 seed did not show, Tess got her chance and she took full advantage of the opportunity. She met the number one seed, Conrad Garnett in the quarter finals and defeated him in a very close race to move on to the simi-finals. She then beat Tanner Hall to make the finals where she faced Tanner Zirinsky. Tanner, racing out of Bear Creek Mountain Resort, PA was up for the challenge and when Tess made a small mistake at the bottom of the course Tanner took the win. Ten-year-old Emil Musovic worked his way through the middle of the bracket to face Tanner Hall in the small final, and in another close race, Emil prevailed to take third place.
The adult final was full of hot prospects and any one of them could have taken the win, but 32 year-old Tommy Shimak was able to narrowly beat 64-year-old Foster Butler to take the win. Tommy had not raced for a number of years after a serious construction related injury, but he did not hold back. Foster had his best runs in the finals but Tommy edged out Foster for the win. Ethan Miller, 26-years-old and racing out of Castle Rock, CO faced Mark Hughes, 43-year-old from Crystal Mountain, MI in the small final. Most thought the younger racer would take the win, but Mark had his best run of the week and earned third place.
The platinum division racers hit the gates on Friday morning and it was clear that they were ready to race. Kamden Burke was determined to beat pacesetters Kyle Negomir and Erik Arvidsson and after nine runs, he finally earned a zero handicap.
Junior Results-Platinum Division
Adult Results-Platinum Division
There are three special awards that are presented annually at the National Championships. Pauline's Cup is awarded to the fastest senior women in the platinum division. Nancy Owen earned the trophy and joined a cast of remarkable women to have won the award in the past. Nancy also recorded the most NASTAR runs this season, posting 760 starts.
Tony Lizotte won the Jerry Taylor award for winning the men 75-79 platinum division. Jerry Taylor's dream was to win a National Championship title in the platinum division. He chased his dream for ten years, and finally won the 75-79 division in 2011. The next year he lost his battle with cancer but his grit and determination carries on with an award in his honor. Tony certainly displays the qualities that Jerry embodied.
The John Fry award is presented annually to the fastest, most veteran male racer at the NASTAR National Championships. John Fry's vision was to create a recreational racing program where friends, family and competitors to compete across the country regardless of when or where they raced. He created the NAtional STAdard Race (NASTAR) in 1968 with eight ski areas hosting the program. After 55 years, NASTAR has hosted more than 8 million participants at more than 150 ski areas. We are all deeply indebted to John Fry for his vision. The trophy simply states, "For the Joy of the Sport". Congratulations to Michael Borrelli for recording the lowest handicap for the men 80+.
(L to R Erik Arvidsson, Michael Borrelli, Nancy Owen, Tony Lizzotte and Kyle Negomir)
GOLD DIVISION JUNIORS-Finals
GOLD DIVISION ADULTS-Finals
April 8th
The Platinum Division Finals lined up to be exciting racing between NASTAR's fastest competitors. In the junior finals there were four boys from the 8-9 age group that scored 10 points and earned the highest seeds. They looked to be the favorites to take the win, but nine-year-old Parker Jones had other ideas. Jones entered the semi-final skiing fast but had to beat Parker Knadle to make the final, which she did. Sienna Feltz was paired against her brother Alexander Feltz in the semi-final and the older sister dispatched her younger sibling sending him to the small final to race for third place against Parker Knadle. Alexander and Parker had a close race but Alexander held on for the win to take third place. The final race for $1000 in prize money matched Parker Jones against Sienna Feltz and both girls skied their best runs. The girls were side-by-side going to the final gates but Parker's lunge for the finishline put here ahead of Sienna to take the win.
The adult race was equally exciting with a bracket filled with very fast racers representing multiple disciplines. Kamden Burke was the number one seed but he ran into Kathleen Radtke in the round of 16. The 63-year-old from northern Wisconsin ended Burke's day early as she worked her way through the top of the bracket. However, Kathleen's march to the finals ended when she was beat by Anne Fields, the snowbike racer from the Purgatory Resort. Melanie Schwartz was the number two seed and three track skier swept the bottom half of the bracket to make the final. Melanie got faster each time she raced the course and when she met Anne in the finals, she would not be denied the win. Melanie took the win and the $1000 check, Anne Fields took home $750 for second place and Kathleen Radtke earned $500 for third place beating Jake Bright.
PLATINUM DIVISION JUNIORS-Finals
PLATINUM DIVISION ADULTS-Finals
It was an amazing week of racing at Snowmass, CO. Thank you all of the participants and event sponsor that made the 2023 NASTAR National Championships a success.
Town of Snowmass Village
The Aspen Skiing Company
HEAD USA
mountianFLOW
CanDo Keto Krisp
Fuxi Racing USA
Share Winter Foundation
