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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us January 7, 2006 A senior season full of promise AHS snowboarder focused on going out a winner By Alan Panebaker Ashland Daily Tidings When Ashland High School senior Hallie Beaver isn’t sneaking out of study session to talk with a reporter, riding her horse Capone or shooting pool, she’s always focused on one thing: snowboarding. Last year’s Oregon state slopestyle champion, Beaver is ready to go even bigger this year. “I think this year is my year,” she said. “I’m really ready to push myself, but I’m being more conservative also.” Ashland High Senior Hallie Beaver flies through the air at Mount Hood Meadows during the snowboardcross championships on Dec. 16. Beaver leads another solid Ashland High lineup that is seeking another berth to the state meet. Bruce Ely | Courtesy of The Oregonian Back in school Friday after competing in the Chevrolet U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix competition at Mount Bachelor Thursday, Beaver snuck a few minutes out of school Friday to talk about the upcoming competitive season. With a 14th-place finish out of 25 girls in Thursday’s international competition, Beaver is excited to be back on her feet with her mind game ready to take state. After a serious crash last year that resulted in a dislocated elbow, broken radius and concussion, Beaver has her head back in the sport. “Last year I overshot a tabletop at Bachelor and just crunched,” Beaver said. “It was a mental thing for a while, but it only stopped me from doing three competitions.” While Thursday’s competition didn’t end with a top finish for Beaver, she was happy to have a clean, safe competition rather than going too big and compromising her head game. “That was the biggest course I’ve ever looked at, let alone ridden,” Beaver said. “There were these ginormous tabletops and some sketchy rails.” While Beaver survived the top-level competition to make it back to school and try to survive AP chemistry class, she headed back to Mount Bachelor Friday for another competition. Winter travel for the Ashland senior is just part of the routine, but it is the part that has caused her the most problems. Missing school for snowboarding is not the same as taking of with the girls’ soccer team for a game (Beaver played goalkeeper for the Grizzlies in the fall). While the rest of the snowboard team raced a giant slalom course Friday, Beaver stayed in school trying to play catch-up. She couldn’t miss another day. “It’s really, really hard because people don’t think of it as a sport,” Beaver said. “No one would say anything when I skipped school for soccer, but with snowboarding, they are like, ‘that’s too bad.’” However, Beaver doesn’t let this phase her. She’s too busy lofting big tabletops and struggling through head-to-head competition in boardercross, no-holds-barred races. “Boardercross is the biggest adrenaline rush I’ve ever had,” Beaver said. “But the cool thing about slopestyle is how everyone can mix it up and be more creative … when you’re going bigger and doing new tricks, you feel like you’re achieving something.” Beaver’s attitude of achievement transfers from snowboarding to any type of competition. Along with this year’s soccer season, Beaver takes as much time as she can to ride her horse and best friend Capone. She plays pool with “a bunch of old guys in Medford” and is a member of the U.S. Pool Players Association. Unfortunately for Capone, snowboarding has consumed Beaver’s life lately. Without enough spare time to spend with her friend, Beaver said, “Sadly, he’s for sale.” With her sponsor, Hotskates Company in Medford, helping out with entrance fees and gear, Beaver stays busy all winter long traveling and competing. “I think what really drives Hallie is that she’s comfortable with every aspect of snowboarding,” Ashland High snowboard coach Matt Faurot said. “She is the consummate all-around rider.” With Beaver and sophomore Allison Wren leading the girls’ snowboard team in points last year and the boys’ teams finishing with top places in the Southern Oregon League, Faurot is ready for a progressive year from the 62 girls and boys on the teams. Competing in giant slalom, boardercross and slopestyle (jumps and rail tricks), are aiming for another berth to the state meet at Mount Hood this year. Faurot said last year’s girls’ boardercross state champion Wren is one to look out for. On the boys’ team, Faurot said seniors Eli Otter and Galen Prichard and junior Paniele Minitti are on the list of those to progress the team. Second in the league for overall points last year, Faurot said of Otter, “He’s another scary fast rider. He was untouchable in giant slalom last year.” With impressive slopestyle from Minitti on rails and funboxes and Prichard’s developing style, Faurot hopes his boys’ team will step it up even more in 2006. Faurot said Prichard, like many of his athletes, is developing a style of his own. “His [Prichard’s] slopestyle technique is getting more and more fluid,” Faurot said. “He’s really developing a unique style.” The next time to check out the Ashland High snowboard team will be at Mount Ashland Jan. 20 for a slalom competition. Alan Panebaker is a correspondent for the Ashland Daily Tidings. To comment on this article, contact Sports Editor Joe Zavala at 482-3456 ext. 224 or [email protected]. 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