Paul Kimbrough ruled one event and was second in another Thursday when the Alyeska World Comp kicked off with two runs on The Headwall, but sharing the spotlight was a strong contigent of junior men from Girdwood whose alpine scores rivaled those of the top senior-level competitors.
Kimbrough, of Bellingham, Wash., turned in a spectacular effort on his first telemark run, scoring 153 points for the day's only telemark score that broke the 150-point mark. He followed that with a 144-point showing on the second run to top the standings with a two-run average of 148.5, putting him comfortably ahead of New Zealand's Rory Camm, who put up a 135.5.
Kimbrough ranked second in the men's alpine competition with a two-run average of 147, trailing Aaron Long of Girdwood, who posted big runs of 153 and 158 for a 155.5 average.
The third and final run is today, with action starting around 11:30 a.m. on the Headwall.
And while Kimbrough and Long are certainly among the competitors to watch, so are some of the youngsters.
Tanner Cabana paced a strong group of junior men's alpine skiers with a two-run average of 148.5 -- a score that would have placed him second among the senior men. He scored 150 points on his first run and 147 on his second.
Zach Halverson followed with a 145 average that included a 151-point second run, the best of the day among the juniors. Max Durtchi was third with a 137.5 average and Tucker Jonas fourth with 130.
Leaders in the snowboard competition are Dee Hurley among the women (118-point average) and Toby Englert among the men (139). Paige Brady leads the women's telemark competition with 122 and Kami Cabana leads the women's alpine competition with 133.5.
Thursday's results
Two-run averages
Men's telemark -- 1) Paul Kimbrough 148.5, 2) Rory Camm 135.5, 3) Eric Nyce 132.5, 4) Dave Magoffin 132, 5) Jake Sakson 131.5, 6) Spencer Jonas 128, 7) Andy Banas 127, 8) Ryan Davis 124.5, 9) Conner Davis 122.5, 10) Jundai Nakashio 119, 11) Tom Murphy 107.5, 12) Spencer Bosket 99.5, 13) Jeff Requist 92.5, 14) Chris Bouch 80.
Women's telemark -- 1) Paige Brady 122, 2) Megan Michaelson 109, 3) Lizet Christiansen 95, 4) Brooke Edwards 90, 5) Candy Froerer 87.5.
Men's alpine -- 1) Aaron Long 155.5, 2) Paul Kimbrough 147, 3) Abraham Gioffre 135.5, 4) Josh Randich 130.5, 5) Jake Sakson 126.5, 6) Ryan Morrill 121, 7) Ryan Anderson 119, 8) Greg Stafford 118, 9) tie, Conner Davis and Brian Horton 115, 11) Michael Greenlee 87.
Junior men's alpine -- 1) Tanner Cabana 148.5, 2) Zach Halverson 145, 3) Max Durtschi 137.5, 4) Tucker Jonas 130, 5) Brent Carse 69.
Master men's alpine -- 1) Joe Schumacher 109.5.
Women's alpine -- 1) Kami Cabana 133.5, 2) Emilie Fetscher 114.
Men's snowboard -- 1) Toby Enlert 139, 2) name not available 126.5, 3) Kenny Jones 111.5, 4) Gabriel Gibbs 86.
Women's snowboard -- 1) Dee Hurley 118, 2) Sarah Taylor 100.5, 3) Marnie Hamilton 73.
Anchorage Daily News
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