Jan 28, 2010, Vernon, NJ
"Who are all these kids?" was the question from the guy doing the timing at the top of the GS course at Hidden Valley on a cold blustery night. "I thought this was a masters league." Well it is, but the rules don't bar juniors from racing in the consolation race. And race they did, as a group of J3 racers from Shawnee Mountain came out for the NJSC pasta and race night. It was a cold night, but that didn't stop a few of the kids from stripping down and racing in their suits.
At the bottom of the course, some of the faster guys from High Life were asking the same question... "who are those kids..." And when Michael Podstawski, an 8th grader from Flemington NJ smoked the course with a 23.73 on his first run, he was followed by John McDonald, also from Flemington NJ. John ran the course in 24.08. Only one master was able to beat Michael's combined time for the night, and that was Kevin Kanski of High Life. Not to be outdone by the kids which he coaches, Paul McDonald of Flemington NJ ran a 23.34, the fastest time of the night for one run.
Over on the women's side, our own Elissa Antelman, age 14, ran a 56.65 combined to take the women's race. Unfortunately for Ramapo Women, Elissa isn't 18 yet! Her teammate, Erika Brattstrom from Mt. Olive, NJ ran a 28.43 on her first run, the second fastest time. I'm sure both Ramapo or High Life would like to get these kids on their adult teams in a few years, but for now all they could do is watch with amazement, as a bunch of kids from a small ski hill like Shawnee stole the show. These are J-3 racers, age 13-14 and they will only get bigger, stronger and faster as J1 or J2 racers.
WHat did the kids think of Hidden Valley? They enjoyed racing there, but there were not too excited to ski there. "Its small, cold and slow lifts" was the general consensus. The kids did enjoy buffalo wings and fries at the bar after all the racing was over.
