Tom Ryan (WHS '51, pictured in a recent portrayal by George Clooney, with beard) could really tear up the slopes on Swisher Hill in his day, so it is no surprise that his granddaughter Katie Ryan qualified for some kind of Olympic thing out in Aspen Colorado. Tom Ryan, fleet of foot, and a fancy dresser, was, is, and will always be a great Wapella Wildcat.
Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club racer Katie Ryan put an exclamation point on her return to competition this weekend after a broken arm. The 18 year-old alpine ski racer won the junior division (ages 19 and under) super-G at the U.S. Alpine National Championships at Winter Park on Saturday, April 2.
Ryan placed ninth overall in the one-run competition against competition including the best of the U.S. Ski Team. According to a report from SkiRacing.com, "The women were up first in the Rocky Mountain sun shine on a tricky, turny course that saw 18 racers fail to finish. "It was technical, definitely more gates and shorter distances than a normal super G but the snow set up better than the GS yesterday so it ran pretty smooth and good," said overall champion Julia Mauncuso."
According to the SkiRacing.com report, Ryan was quoted as saying, "it's really cool to be here with the World Cup racers, I've looked up to them for a long time and obviously watching them on World Cup has been so cool. You kind of try to ski like them and when they are right in front of you it's like the perfect opportunity to learn. Running 15 I just kind of tried to stay in their track."
Her results confirm her invitation to train with the U.S. Ski Team's Development Team this summer and according to AVSC Alpine coach Kent Towlerton, having access to the team's resources and expertise provides a big boost. "She's getting back in the saddle and getting her timing back after being out for six weeks," said Towlerton. "Having fresh legs at this point in the season probably helped, but she's strong in speed regardless even with a brace on her arm." Both Ryan and Towlerton are headed out west to Washington State and Oregon for the Western Region Spring Series in April. Ryan will start training with the U.S. Team on May 1st at Mammoth Mountain in California. "Her confidence is being built back to where Katie knows she can throw down," said Towlerton.
Photo caption: AVSC's Katie Ryan (center) on the podium at Winter Park with Libby Gibson (left) from Vermont and Taylor Rapley from New Zealand
According to the SkiRacing.com report, Ryan was quoted as saying, "it's really cool to be here with the World Cup racers, I've looked up to them for a long time and obviously watching them on World Cup has been so cool. You kind of try to ski like them and when they are right in front of you it's like the perfect opportunity to learn. Running 15 I just kind of tried to stay in their track."
Her results confirm her invitation to train with the U.S. Ski Team's Development Team this summer and according to AVSC Alpine coach Kent Towlerton, having access to the team's resources and expertise provides a big boost. "She's getting back in the saddle and getting her timing back after being out for six weeks," said Towlerton. "Having fresh legs at this point in the season probably helped, but she's strong in speed regardless even with a brace on her arm." Both Ryan and Towlerton are headed out west to Washington State and Oregon for the Western Region Spring Series in April. Ryan will start training with the U.S. Team on May 1st at Mammoth Mountain in California. "Her confidence is being built back to where Katie knows she can throw down," said Towlerton.
Photo caption: AVSC's Katie Ryan (center) on the podium at Winter Park with Libby Gibson (left) from Vermont and Taylor Rapley from New Zealand
1 comment:
I always knew Tom Ryan had outstanding ski jeans and genes.
HG
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