Snowshoe’s Forever Wild team finished the first events of the season in a big way bringing home 31 medals.
The USASA season kicked off Jan. 11 at Seven Springs in Pennsylvania with two Slopestyle events and a Rail Jam event. Forever Wild also had three athletes competing at Beech Mountain in North Carolina. Forever Wild brought home 28 medals with 14 athletes from the Seven Springs event and three medals with three athletes at Beech. More importantly, 10 kids have just about punched their tickets to the National Championships in Copper, CO in April.
Notable finishes at Seven Springs, in the Appalachian series, include:
Ski Girls
- Kennedy Harris (7-8) 2nd Slopestyle 1, 1st Slopestyle 2
- Ali Gregory (9-10) 2nd Slopestyle 1, 2nd Rail Jam 1
- Isla Zollars (9-10) 1st Slopestyle 2
- Evelyn Simmons (9-10) 2nd Slopestyle 2, 1st Rail Jam 1
Snowboard Girls
- Georgianna Fritz (7-8) 1st Slopestyle 1, 1st Slopestyle 2, 2nd Rail Jam 1
- Payton Moyer (9-10) 1st Slopestyle 1, 1st Slopestyle 2, 1st Rail Jam 1
- Evelyn Prandi (11-12) 1st Slopestyle 1, 1st Slopestyle 2
Ski Boys
- Ilan Gavrilets (7-8) 2nd Slopestyle 1, 2nd Slopestyle 2
- Ari Gavrilets (9-10) 1st Slopestyle 1, 1st Slopestyle 2, 1st Rail Jam 1
- Nathaniel Fritz (9-10) 3rd Slopestyle 1, 3rd Slopestyle 2, 3rd Rail Jam 1
- Keenan Joyner (15-16) 1st Slopestyle 1
A bit further south, at Beech Mountain, NC, the three Heroy brothers were the lone competitors for Forever Wild in a Southeastern Series event. Leo Heroy took second in the 7-8 Boys Freeski Slopestyle event, Arthur Heroy claimed 1st in the 9-10 Boys Freeski Slopestyle, and Linus Heroy secured second in the 11-12 Boys Freeski Slopestyle.
“We’re very excited to see the [progress this] season,” said ski coach Bradin Baum. “Our kids are definitely starting to go out of their comfort level, take more risks and chances in a safe way.”
The team’s early season success can be attributed to two things. First, is the new Mountaineer Park Rope Tow, “It gets the kids a lot more reps, like exponentially more reps, ” said snowboard coach Clay Edwards.
“I think we were talking about it the other weekend,” added Baum, “In one weekend, the amount of hits that we did was equivalent to about a months worth of training.”
Another huge addition to the team is that of Coach Stephanie Fritz. Fritz is a snowboard coach with 20 years of teaching experience behind her including traditional classroom, outdoor schools, and snowboard instructing. Fritz prides herself on being able to connect with her athletes. She draws on her years of teaching experience to figure out how she can make her athletes the most comfortable trying new tricks and adapting her teaching style to each athlete’s learning style.
Fritz is also joined by Junior Coaches Nolan Street and Bridget Moyer, both former members of the Forever Wild team.
Forever Wild has one of, if not the, strongest fanbases in the series. “Parents are unequivocally supportive of all the athletes,” said Fritz when asked about why she decided to coach Forever Wild.
Up next for the team is a Slalom and Giant Slalom event at Massanutten Resort in VA. However, the team’s biggest competitions still loom. The Snowboard Cross and Ski Cross events that are taking place at Snowshoe Feb. 22-23 are some of the biggest races on the calendar, attracting competitors from as far as New York.
Come out to the USASA Boarder and Skier Cross event to show your support for the team. You can also check out their Facebook for other ways to support the athletes and coaches.