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Grizz snowboarding teams win SOL titles By Chris Miller Ashland Daily Tidings These Grizzlies don't hibernate. The Ashland High boys and girls snowboarding teams continued what they've been doing all year late last week: Winning. Both teams whitewashed the rest of the Southern Oregon League on Thursday and Friday in the district meet at Mount Ashland. The boys successfully defended their league title for the fourth year in a row, while the girls completed the two-peat. In Thursday's halfpipe competition, the Grizz girls took the first six places, led by juniors Stephanie Elliott and Lily McCabe. Senior Asa Cates won gold for the boys over North Medford's Ryan Scott. Scott won the individual league title with 5,800 points over Cates' 4,920. Ashland junior Ella Street took the girls individual league title with 6,025 points, just edging out Elliott with 6,000 total points. Friday's slopestyle races were won by Street and Scott. For all of their hard work, the Grizz are sending nine girls and six boys to the state competition Mar. 7-8 at Mount Hood. The boardercross and halfpipe events will be held Mar. 7 at Mt. Hood Meadows and the slopestyle will be held the next day at Timberline. Last year, the boys took second-place in boardercross behind Summit of Hood River in the 17-team event. The girls team suffered some late-season injuries that hampered their state run. "We only had seven girls on the team last year," said fourth-year head coach Matt Faurot. "This year we have 20 - all pushing hard on each other - and a core of girls who are really skilled, so I have high hopes and I know they'll do a lot better this year." Faurot said his girl's core revolves around some seasoned boarders. He said that for the halfpipe his top two riders are McCabe and sophomore Emma Kurtz. Elliott and Street lead his slopestylers, while junior Anna Gordon-Norby, senior Aurora Dolan and freshman Hallie Beaver lead his boardercross team. "Aurora is on her third year on the team and she is really going to be missed," Faurot said. "Hallie has unlimited potential and she will be missed next year because she is moving to Olympia (Wash.)." On the boys side, the Grizzlies are made up almost entirely of seniors. Faurot said Cates qualified for state in all three events, along with senior Jason Koland and junior Alex Krill, a transfer student from Norway. "It is Alex's only year here," Faurot said. "He just showed up and he is one of our best snowboarders. He got sixth in the conference overall." Senior Owen King qualified for the boardercross and the slopestyle. In slopestyle competition, one rider at a time skis down a course loaded with huge jumps. It is considered a freestyle event where competitors get more points for doing big jumps with the smoothest ride down the hill. Boardercross is comparable to the giant slalom in ski racing, but not identical. Racers have to negotiate gates or flags just like GS. However, the course has man-made features made of snow and there are six racers on the course at one time, not two, as in skiing. Ashland's snowboarding team is growing like a weed. In the four years that Faurot has coached the team, they have expanded to 47 members, and he sees the potential next year to increase. "I expect 60 kids next year," Faurot said. With all the expansion, Faurot said he had to enlist some help. "I have four really skilled assistants this year," he said. "It's been a lot easier." Faurot said he is excited that more kids are taking to the slopes for competitive snowboarding, but he thinks the team may grow too large in the near future. "We'll have to slow the rate of growth down," he said. "I don't want to cut anyone, so we'll have to have a big junior varsity team." LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -