It is winter time and that means winter sports. Two sports teams that some students may overlook are the ski and snowboarding teams.

Both teams were very successful at the state competitions last year with the ski team placing 12th overall and standout performers Parker Busch, senior, winning gold in banked slalom and in boardercross and Kiana Christensen, junior, winning 3rd overall. This season, La Salle’s skiing and snowboarding teams are looking to repeat the success of last year by practicing diligently.

Ski Team

“This season has been great,” says sophomore Emily Miller. “At the first high school race of the season all three of the La Salle girls finished in the top 20 out of 60 girls which is the best we have done since I started racing last year.”

The ski team practices every Thursday after school and competes every Saturday in the Three Rivers League which includes Lakeridge, Lake Oswego, West Linn, and Wilsonville. There are several coaches for the ski team who are lead by head coach, Shawn Darris.

At their first competition, freshman Clara Macedo placed 4th overall, junior Zoe Jones placed 11th, and sophomore Emily Miller placed 12th, all placing within the top 20.

“My favorite part about the ski team,” says Miller, “is cheering my teammates on during the races, hanging out with them before the race, and then racing myself!”

Snowboarding Team

The snowboarding team practices on Wednesday nights from 4-8pm and has regular competitions on the weekends. La Salle’s snowboarding team consists of fourteen members, and competes with many other high schools including Tualatin and Tigard in the Sunset League. They are coached by Bryan Miller and assistant coach, Tyler Carr.

“At our first competition,” junior Kiana Christensen says, “we took home two individual gold medals in banked slalom, two individual golds in boardercross and one team silver medal in banked slalom.”

“Slopestyle is my favorite,” Christensen added. “The judges score the runs and the best one wins.”

“I think others should join the snowboarding team, especially girls because I am the only girl on the team,” Christensen says. “The more girls the better.”

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Interested in joining the ski team or snowboarding team next winter? Be sure to ask any members of the ski or snowboarding team for additional information!