VAIL — Emma Resnick didn’t have to take part in the junior championships at Winter Park this year, much less win three events.
While most athletes participate in the U16 Rocky/Central regional championships for a chance to make it to the national championships, Resnick was prequalified after winning the biggest race of the season for athletes her age (ages 14-15), the OPA Cup in Switzerland in February.
But a race is a race, Resnick said, and she wasn’t about to watch her teammates from the sidelines.
“Yes, I did just win an international race, but these competitors that I would be racing against in Winter Park are amazing,” Resnick said. “It’s not like it’s an easy race to win.”
‘IT WAS REAL’
Resnick also had expectations to deal with — after winning in Switzerland, local ski racers wanted to see how the champ performed on the snow in Colorado.
“When you come home, you have to show everybody else that it was real,” said Resnick’s coach, Ski & Snowboard Club Vail Alpine coach Dan Stripp. “She had to prove to herself and everyone else that she’s skiing fast.”
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Resnick said while traveling in Europe, she missed a number of chances to ski against the regional competitors here in Colorado.
“I definitely had some of that on my mind,” she said.
Resnick started off the championships strong, winning the super-G and the combined on Wednesday and Thursday. In Saturday’s giant slalom, however, where she was the clear favorite after winning that discipline at the OPA Cup, Resnick was out of the race after just a few gates.
Resnick’s father, brother and sister were there, and they had a chuckle about the family missing the two wins and showing up for the DNF.
“But then she came back and won the slalom on Sunday, so it was really fun to be there,” Emma’s father, Eric Resnick, said. “We’re really proud of her and all her hard work this season.”
FRIENDS AND RIVALS
Resnick credits a lot of her success to her teammates in the Ski & Snowboard Club Vail program, who push her to ski faster.
After Resnick skied off the course in Saturday’s giant slalom, her teammates Bayli McSpadden and Kjersti Moritz finished in first and third, respectively. Resnick was excited to see McSpadden take the win.
“We’re all pretty good friends, but I was definitely pushing for Bayli. I know she’s been working so hard this season,” Resnick said.
In the slalom Sunday, McSpadden got off to a fast start, winning the first run.
“As much as she’s my friend, I still wanted to beat her,” Resnick said. “We were in the start gate at the start of the second run, and we gave each other a big hug and said no hard feelings — win or lose, we’re happy for each other.”
McSpadden finished third in the slalom.
Other top-10 performers from Ski & Snowboard Club Vail included Zoie Palmer, who won the downhill to start off the series, along with Kaitlin Keane, Tianna Bruce, Liv Moritz, Sophia Lehmann and Adalie Sullivan.
In the men’s events, podium finishes for the club included Toby Scarpella, second in giant slalom; Tanner Grant, third in giant slalom; and Apollo Powell, third in slalom. Top-10 finishers included Scarpella, as well as Nick Kirwood, Tanner Rosener, Tyler Webert, Sebastian Kohlhofer and William Wasserman.