Leprechauns looking for gold would have found plenty as the Park City Ski Team hosted the USSA Intermountain Championships March 15-17 at its home mountain of Park City Mountain Resort. Athletes from Wyoming, Idaho, and Utah competed for top honors in giant slalom, salom, and dual giant slalom, with PCST racers winning six of the 12 championship races, and placing on the podium in every one.

In a departure from previous championships, and for the first time this season, Park City Ski Team (PCST) executive director and course director Jesse Hunt on Friday opted to run a dual giant slalom race instead of the usual "kombi." The dual race, which pits racers against both the clock and another racer in a series of elimination rounds, had skiers moving through a bracket system well known to NCAA basketball fans caught up in March Madness, but very new to the ski racers and spectators.

"Running a dual giant slalom was certainly a change, but one that really served us well," Hunt said. "We were able to run 156 racers through the course, safely and quickly, which was key as temperatures rose throughout the day. Although they were racing the clock, and not one another, many of the racers had never been in a dual competition before, so it added some motivation, and certainly excitement, to the race."

The head-to-head competition made for some exciting matchups, upsets and photo finishes. Sun Valley Ski Team's Maddison Ferris made it through tough competition to win the U12 Ladies dual GS race. Summit Ski Team's McKenna Schroeder placed second. Megan Ellis of the McCall Ski Racing Team was third. In an upset, PCST's Ella Dingman beat her teammate Hannah Hitchcock to take fourth, with Hitchcock taking fifth.

PCST's Mia Hunt won the U10 Ladies dual GS race, edging out her season rival, Isabella Foos, who placed second. Sun Valley's Marit Kaiser placed third; McCall's Cassidy Lamm was fourth and Snowbasin's Mary Bocock rounded out the podium in fifth.

On the men's side, Park City's Sam Levine won the U12 dual GS, his first of three wins on the weekend. Snowbasin's Jeremy Mathers was second, and Sun Valley's Wyatt Miner placed third. Eli Kimche of PCST took fourth, while Delaney Tyon of Snowbird placed fifth.

For the U10 men, it was Tucker Lee of Summit Ski Team at the top of the podium and his teammate Tyler Young in second, with Park City racers Max Denton, Colter Fry and Gunnar Travis placing third, fourth and fifth, respectively.

Saturday, another picture-perfect spring day, brought more spectators out to the Eagle Arena for the giant slalom championship races.

PCST's Brynne Hitchcock, who has outraced most of her competition this season, won the Ladies U12 race with a combined (two-run) time of 1:31.71. Sydney Weaver of Summit Ski Team (1:34.08) placed second. PCST's Katie Clouse (1:34.45) was third, with her teammate Hannah Hitchcock (1:34.58) in fourth place.

The men's U12 giant slalom race saw season-long rivals battling it out for top podium spots. Park City's Levine won with a combined two-run time of 1:32.27. OVST's Bridger Harrison placed second in 1:32.52, with Snowbird's Mathers (1:33.50) taking third.

Sun Valley Ski Team claimed both U10 giant slalom race titles. Marit Kaiser placed first in the ladies with a combined time of 1:39.83, and Josh Blackburn winning the men's race in a time of 1:38.72. Ogden Valley's Foos took silver in the ladies' race with a time of 1:41.43. PCST's Hunt placed third in 1:44.02. Molly Quinlan, also of PCST, took the podium in fifth place in a time of 1:47.28.

Summit Ski Team's Tucker Lee placed second in the U10 men's GS with a time of 1:39.84. PCST's Max Denton placed third (1:41.94), while teammate Carter Sears placed fourth (1:42.11). PCST racers had fifth of the top 10 positions overall.

Sunday, St. Patrick's Day, brought a slight shortage of sunshine but no shortage of excitement as Sam Levine performed a hat trick with a win in the men's U12 slalom. Levine, who had survived several crashes over the season, took first place in 1:19.38, the fastest time of the entire weekend.

"Sam is one of those mild-mannered, hard-working, unassuming competitors who, when he gets on hill, he goes all out," said PCST coach Jason Lance. "There have been times this season when taking risks didn't necessarily work out for him, but this weekend Sam had six incredibly clean, fast runs. We are thrilled for him, and for all our boys who have worked so hard this year."

Sun Valley's Wyatt Minor was a mere seven one-hundredths of a second behind Levine, racing to second place in 1:19.45. Mathers of Snowbasin kept up his impressive streak to finish third in 1:20.06. PCST's Kimche again finished on the podium in fifth place, with his teammate Alex Fugate finishing ninth overall.

In the ladies' U12 slalom, it was Hannah Hitchcock's turn to hoist the trophy as she edged out her sister and Summit's Weaver for the win. Hitchcock won with a time of 1:21.22, while her twin, Brynne, took second place in a close 1:21.55. Sydney Weaver was third in a time of 1:22.35; Emma Morgan of OVST placed fourth in 1:23.86, while Clouse of PCST came in fifth in 1:24.30. Helena Croise, also of PCST, finished in ninth.

"This season has been a competitive one for our girls, and probably no more cat and mouse than between Brynne and Hannah," said PCST coach Jason Lance. "They have consistently performed well throughout the season, so it's fitting they should end the official U12 season on top of the podium. We gave some terrific talent on this team and I'm already excited for next season."

Snowbasin's Mary Bocock, who has been a powerhouse this season, won the U10 slalom in 1:34.50. Sun Valley's Kaiser placed second in 1:35.21, while PCST's Hunt captured another third-place finish in 1:46.24.

Another strong performance by Sun Valley's Blackburn (1:32.70) landed him in first place in the men's U10 slalom. Hunter Johnson of Summit Ski Team placed second in 1:35.59, while Alex Deubel of Rowmark placed third in 1:37.34. PCST racer Sebastian Sheppard edged out teammates Denton and Travis for fifth place.

Said Hunt, "I'm extremely proud of all of our racers who qualified this year for these championship races. While it's wonderful to celebrate so many victories and podium placements, it's the effort, passion and attitude that impress me the most about these athletes."

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With back-to-back wins at the Snowbird Intermountain Cup FIS slalom races in January, and an impressive fourth-place finish at the FIS Western Region Tech Series giant slalom at Park City Mountain Resort, Sophie Frankenburg has been named Park City Ski Team's Skier of the Month. Gaddis Investments will donate $500 to the Park City Ski Team scholarship fund on Frankenburg's behalf, helping deserving athletes participate in the alpine racing program, and allowing them to attend championship events that they have qualified for but otherwise could not afford to attend.

"Sophie is one of those athletes everyone wants to see succeed," said PCST alpine coach Craig Bowden. "She is a tenacious trainer and a fierce competitor, and she is also a supportive teammate with a terrific sense of humor and grace. She's having a great season."

An eight-year veteran of the team, Frankenburg was recently accepted by St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York. One of the founding members of the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association (EISA), St. Lawrence has a well-established alpine racing program. Among the program's alumni are Lindsay Cone, 2009 giant slalom alpine national champion, and Olympians Thomas Vonn and Marta Vastagh.

This is the second time the 19-year-old Frankenburg has been named PCST's Skier of the Month. She also earned the honor in December 2011.

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Park City Ski Team (PCST) athletes had beautiful weather and strong competition Saturday through Monday, Feb. 2-4, as they participated in slalom and giant slalom races at Sun Valley, Snowbird and Park City Mountain Resort.

The "A" U-21 and U-18 racers were in Sun Valley for the annual Laura Flood Memorial FIS Intermountain Cup giant slalom and slalom races, held in honor of a young Sun Valley racer who died in 1990. On Saturday, PCST's Daniel Demschar skied to a second-place finish behind Canadian Brian Cookson. Harrison Padan had his best finish of the season to date, taking fourth. Bridger Clifford finished seventh, while Hayes Graham and Ralf Carestia took 12th and 13th places, respectively.

Great Britain's Jordan Fitzgerald won the ladies' giant slalom race on Saturday. PCST's Hannah Hunsaker took fifth, Rachel Jacob finished 12th, and Hava Rohloff placed 15th.

Sunday's men's giant slalom saw a near repeat of Saturday's results, with PCST's Daniel Demschar and Harrison Padan again in second and seventh places. After failing to finish on Saturday, teammate Kiernan Adams came from behind to finish ninth.

Canada's Megan Henkelman won the ladies' giant slalom on Sunday, while PCST racer Hannah Hunsaker repeated Saturdays' fifth-place finish. Natalya Polukoff edged out her teammate Hava Rohloff by one one-thousandth of a second to finish in 14th place. Rohloff took 15th.

PCST U-16 racers were also in Sun Valley, skiing in the Cheeso Memorial races, in memory of the late ski coach Craig "Cheeso" Kjesbo. First place in the men's slalom went to Sun Valley racer Taylor Cooper. PCST's Andrew Miller, who had only days before been cleared to ski following a concussion, was fourth. PCST teammate Peter Hanaman was seventh, Jonas Peek was eighth, Macintyre "Mac" Henderson placed ninth and Connor Flynn finished 13th.

Rowmark racer Juliette Park won the ladies' Cheeso slalom race on Saturday. Lauren Keller was the top PCST racer in fourth place. Heather Abate finished in seventh, while Nicole Greene placed in the top 15 as well, finishing 13th.

On Sunday, Park City's David Domonoske won the men's slalom. Harrison Fugate placed fourth, Rainer Paulus was fifth, Peter Hanaman finished eighth, Ian Osselaer was ninth and Romain Astie took 14th. For the Park City women, Megan Dingman took to the podium in third place. Claire Thomas was in eighth, and Aleksandra Uzieblo finished 13th.

The Park City Ski Team women also had strong finishes at the U14 ladies giant slalom races held at Park City Mountain Resort. While Rowmark's Sofia Yubero won both GS races of the weekend, Alix Wilkinson placed third in each event. Madison Hoffman placed fifth on Saturday and sixth on Sunday. Gabrielle Nixon was ninth on Saturday and fourteenth on Sunday. In addition, Shaye Henderson, Mia Thomas and Julia Chahine all had fast runs, placing in the top fifteen.

The PCST U14 men had their toughest competition of the season to date as Ski Club Vail (SCV) dominated the men's giant-slalom races. On Saturday, SCV had eleven of the top fifteen racers, with Bridger Gile taking top honors. Summit Ski Team racer Scott McGrath had an impressive 12th-place finish. Ben Lawson and Shane Cumming were the top PCST men, finishing in the 24th and 25th positions. On Sunday, Vail's Colby Lange won the giant slalom as his teammates snatched 12 of the top 15 spots. Cumming was able to move up to 21st place, while teammate Alex Eyring placed 22nd.

The Snowbird South Series slalom races proved to be more friendly to Park City racers. Summit Ski Team's Sydney Weaver won the ladies' U12 slalom on Saturday while Park City racers Brynne Hitchcock, Caitlin Clouse and Ella Dingman took second, third and fourth positions respectively. Hannah Hitchcock placed sixth, Helena Croise was seventh, Kirsten Keblish was eighth, and Andi Carnell was ninth, giving PCST seven out of the top 10 racers.

Ogden Valley Ski Team racer Bridger Harrison won the men's U12 slalom on Saturday. Park City's Thomas Hoffman was second, Max Miller was third, Cooper Iacobelli placed fourth, Alex Fugate was sixth, Luc Dalton finished in 11th place and Ethan Massimino captured the 14th position.

On Sunday, Snowbasin racer Jeremy Mathers won the men's U12 slalom, while Park City's Sam Levine placed second. Levine's teammate, Eli Kimche, who missed Saturday's race due to a fencing match, finished in third place. Cooper Iacobelli again finished fourth; Max Miller was fifth, and Alex Fugate took the number 10 spot.

Sunday was a banner day for the Park City U12 women, as the team had nine of the top 15 finishers. Brynne Hitchcock bettered her second-place finish of Saturday to win the race. Sami Wilkinson was third, Helena Croise was fifth, and Tillie Mintz, who had come out of her binding on Saturday, stayed in her skis Sunday to take sixth place. Lousia Keating, Kaitlin Clouse, Grace Dalton, Kirsten Keblish and Chloe Taylor also had top-15 finishes.

Park City's Sebastian Sheppard won the men's U10 Snowbird slalom races on both days. On Saturday, his teammate Max Denton was fifth. Carter Sears was seventh, Angus Percy finished eighth and Leyton Sheppard was tenth. On Sunday, Colter Frey was fourth, Jack Pollard was sixth, Denton took seventh and Sears finished eighth.

A tiny field of U10 slalom racers battled for Snowbird's podium. Ogden Valley racer Isabella Foos won both Saturday's and Sunday's races. On Saturday Molly Quinlan of PCST was third; her teammate Mia Hunt was fifth. Hunt skied to third place in Sunday's race, while Quinlan took fourth.

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