Under sunny skies and on its familiar home mountain, the Purgatory Freestyle Ski Team earned state championships and many more podium finishes at the State Mogul Skiing Championships at Purgatory Resort last weekend.
More than 100 skiers ages 8 to 14 competed in the event representing Aspen, Pajarito, Purgatory, Steamboat Springs, Summit County, Telluride, Vail and Winter Park.
“It was a great event at a great venue on Upper Bull run,” Purgatory coach Kirk Rawles said in a news release. “Purgatory Resort, our staff and all of the volunteers did a great job in hosting the championships. I am really proud of our hometown mountain and the excellent performance put in by the athletes.”
Amara Kirk had the top performance of the weekend. She claimed gold in the girls 11-and-under category with the top scoring run in the field, boys or girls. The 9-year-old had the top turn scores in the moguls section and sealed the run with her signature Daffy-Spread aerial trick.
Purgatory’s 11-and-under boys swept the weekend. Balin Kirk won the gold in the Devo series, while Corbett Thomas of Albuquerque was second and Chase Connors third. Rookie competitor Finn Skowlund finished 10th.
In the Rocky Qualifier Series portion of the meet, Hunter Rawles led the Purgatory team with a bronze in the 15-and-under and eighth-place overall finish in a group of 51 athletes. Aiden Quayle and Kai Skowlund had their personal best runs of the year and finished fifth and seventh, respectively, in the 15-and-under category.
Jaden Kirk finished 21s, and Ryan Bell was 27th in the 13-and-under boys field.
Farmington’s Megan Fahrety placed fifth and scored the second-best in her turn scores for the 15-and-under girls. She was seventh overall this season among 22 girls. Lucy Klotz placed eighth, while Nina Quayle was 10th.
After two days of racing, the weekend came to a thrilling conclusion Sunday with the dual mogul competition with skiers competing side-by-side. Fahrety added a sixth-place finish in her bracket, and Hunter Rawles tied for ninth.
heraldsports@durangoherald.com
