The Purgatory Alpine Ski Team, in its first major competition of the season, came out of the gates smoking over the weekend in Angel Fire, New Mexico.
Racing against other top area teams in a Southern Series giant slalom event, the team captured 43 of 60 potential podium positions along with several top-10 finishes.
Competitors in several age and ability classes competed over two days in sunny, but frigid and windy conditions. The competitors included skiers from the University of New Mexico’s alpine team, one of the top‐ranked collegiate programs in the country. The UNM skiers were not included in the podium rankings, but skied to earn race points in the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association‐sanctioned event. It gave younger skiers the opportunity to race against some of the fastest collegiate skiers in the country.
Top performers for the Purgatory girls were Isabelle Washburn (four gold), Maddie Jo Robbins (three gold, one bronze), Madison LeSage (one gold, three silver), Chloe Hirst (two bronze), Aleah Austin (silver), Ellie Gober (bronze), Abbey Shepard (bronze) and Izzy Bonecutter (bronze).
Girls who turned in top-10 finishes included Anna Cheesewright, Analise Gates, Skylar Thorpe, Gracie Henig, Madison Henig and Zoe Kiesel.
Nick Unkovskoy led the boys performers with four gold medals. Other top performers were Toby Scarpella (two gold, silver, bronze), Wes Jackson (two silver, two bronze), Zach Oliver (gold, silver, bronze), Calvin Chase (three silver), Lucas Robbins (two gold), and Barron Bronson (gold, silver).
Robbins’ performance Saturday was especially impressive. A sophomore at Durango High School, Robbins competed against the UNM men’s collegiate racers in the ability class, finishing fourth overall in combined time over two runs.
Boys who turned in top-10 finishes included Jake Washburn, Kaleb Ledbetter, Holden Bronson, Miles Bronson and Harry LeSage.
The team will compete in the second leg of the Southern Series when it travels to Taos, New Mexico for a slalom event the weekend of Feb. 7‐8. The series finale will be held at Durango Mountain Resort the weekend of March 21‐22.
heraldsports@durangoherald.com
