Local skiers feature in Diet Pepsi races

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 14, Issue 652, 3 September 1996, Page 8

Local skiers feature in Diet Pepsi races

Great weather and excellent snow conditions Saturday last week saw Turoa Ski Resort host New Zealand's biggest junior race series, the Diet Pepsi Giant Slalom. The event attracted some of New Zealand's

hottest junior skiers, with our local Rossignol Turoa Race T eam a prominent feature. The Rossignol Turoa Race Team had several stars who shone above the rest of the field by putting in some

very fast times over the tworace series. Alana Ridings and Brooke Wells both had exceptional races in the J4 class, with both of them battling for points and second place over the two races and finishing up with first-

equal on the points table at the end of the day. Sophie Scarf put in a creditable performance in the same class to come in third overall to make it a Rossignol Turoa Race Team whitewash in the J4 girl's category. Julian Leighton leads the points table in the boys J4 •class with an excellent win in race two. He was followed closely by Nathan Horne who put in some quick turns to finish third on the points board. Other outstanding performances from Kirsty Hoare in the J5 girls races, Byron Scarf and Owen King in the J5 boys and Adam Johansson in the J3 class meant it was an extremely successful day for the local team. Not to be outdone, Whakapapa Race team members featured in the

placings also, taking first and second places in two classes. Amanda EndicottDavies was 1st in the J3 girls with her team-mate Connie Richards 2nd. And in the J5 girls, Jana McLeod was placed 1st with ToniRose Brookes 2nd. Also in the medals for Whakapapa was Ben Griffin who was placed 2nd in the J5 boys.