Steven Holcomb, Winter Sports School Class of 1997, has made history.  For the United States, he has ended a 62 year drought in Olympic four-man bobsled gold medals.  For his old high school, he has become the first alum to win an Olympic medal of any color outside the discipline of alpine skiing — it just happens to be gold.

Steven carried the weight of high expectations coming into the four-man Bobsled competition.  While he finished outside of the medals in sixth place at the Torino Olympics in 2006, he improved over the years to come into these games as the reigning world champion.  And he met those expectations by laying down the fastest runs in the first two heats during the first day of competition, giving his team a cushion of 0.40 seconds coming into the second day.  That’s an eternity in four-man bobsled.

He then came into the second day and blazed yet another run to win the third heat as well, extending his lead to .45 seconds.

Perhaps at that point Steven finally decided he’d sent a strong enough message.  In the fourth heat he seemed content at long last to take a slightly more conservative approach to the run to avoid a crash — the only disaster that could take the gold away from him at that point.  He still finished the fourth heat with the third-fastest time and with a .38 second final margin of victory over the rest of the field.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” Steven said of his result. “You dream about it for years, and all the sudden, it’s happening. … I don’t know. It’s just kind of overwhelming.”

You’re the very picture of grace under pressure, Steven, and all of us here at The Winter Sports School are cheering your tremendous accomplishment.  Well done!

Andrew Weibrecht, from the Winter Sports School’s graduating class of 2003, may not yet be as much of a household name as his fellow WSS alums Julia Mancuso ‘00 and Ted Ligety ‘02, but that could change very soon.  In alpine racing circles, Andrew first made the world sit up and take notice with his dramatic 2007 run down the Birds Of Prey downhill course in Beaver Creek, CO.  You can watch a video of that performance at this link, and on that day it was good enough for tenth place.  Yesterday, Andrew attacked the Vancouver Olympic Super G course with the same guts and go-for-broke attitude, and this time it earned him a bronze medal.

Andrew was the third racer to attack the course, and he had another moment reminiscent of his Birds Of Prey downhill as he desperately clung to his center of balance on one ski near the top of the course, but he then recovered to smoke the bottom section and cross the finish in the lead, though he didn’t expect to hold that position for long.  “It’s the first time I’ve ever come down leading a race,” he said. “I figured I’d stay in there until about 10 guys came down and then guys would start putting fast runs. But I kept staying in there.”

In the end, he held off all but two of his rivals, and Andrew took the opportunity in post-race interviews — his big moment in the spotlight — to… deflect attention to others.  “There have been so many people that have supported me,” he said. “This has been a team effort. I want to be gracious with it. I want people to be proud of my Olympic medal.”

On behalf of all of us at The Winter Sports School, Andrew, let me just say: “Done.”

As a side note, since we are a school and should mention notable academic sides of the story as well, Andrew also attends classes at Dartmouth College during the off season, and he currently has completed more than half of the credits required for his degree in Earth Science.  So he’ll be hitting the books again soon.  Keep that brain growing Andrew!  Way to go — in more than one aspect of life.

Wow.  Two races… and two Olympic silver medals in Vancouver.  Julia Mancuso ‘00 followed up a third-fastest downhill run with the slalom performance of her life to win silver in yesterday’s Women’s Super Combined race.  No one expected her to stomp her slalom run like that — not even her coaches.  “She hid it from all of us,” said U.S. women’s coach Jim Tracy of her suddenly resurgent slalom form.

Julia sounded a little shocked herself in post-race interviews.  “I found my slalom!” she said.  “It’s been hiding!   Skiing a good run of downhill and having to follow that up with a good run of slalom, I mean, that’s tough,” she said. “I didn’t think I could do it.”

Surprised or not, Julia is entering some pretty rare territory.  She is now just the fifth United States woman to win multiple alpine racing medals in a single Olympics.  And her two silvers in Vancouver, along with her Giant Slalom gold from Torino in 2006 , combine to make her the most decorated female Olympic alpine athlete in United States history.  That’s officially very big.

Julia’s attitude about it all?  “I think it’s pretty crazy and cool.  Just to be able to ski my best and do my best in the Olympics, that’s really a dream come true.”

Alrighty then — on to the Super G tomorrow, eh?  It goes without saying, but we said it yesterday, we’ll say it again today, and we just may be saying it yet again before all is said and done: all of us at The Winter Sports School are so very proud of you, Julia.  Follow your inner tiara.

WSS Head of School, Rob Clayton, isn’t being asked for stock picks yet, but he soon may be after his prediction at last week’s school fundraiser came true within days.

The Winter Sports School has 7 alumni competing in the Vancouver Winter Olympics, and Rob presented a brief bio on each of them to fundraiser attendees.  When speaking of Mancuso, Rob said, “I know we haven’t heard much from Julia lately, but if I know her she’s got something special in store for these Olympics.  She’s a definite medal contender in several events.”

Well, as of yesterday, we’re one event into the women’s alpine competition in Vancouver.  One event, and one medal for Mancuso.  It’s silver… to match her famous tiara.

In post-race interviews, Mancuso admitted that the last couple of years have been “tough,” as she battled through a long recovery from back surgery.  But now she is officially back in a big way.   “Just being on the podium here is a victory for me,” she said. “I didn’t see myself on the podium in this race. It’s pretty incredible…  I’m not one to think about statistics. I just think that it’s awesome.”

Rob may have called it, but Julia did it.  Way to go, Ms. Mancuso!  All of us at The Winter Sports School, along with so many others,  are very proud of you.

COMMUNITY COMES TOGETHER TO CELEBRATE 2010 OLYMPICS AND SUPPORT SCHOLARSHIP FUND

THE WINTER SPORTS SCHOOL IN PARK CITY HOSTS

VANCOUVER 2010 “NIGHT BEFORE THE OPENING CEREMONIES” PARTY

Got game? We’re bringing together two games—bowling and the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games, for one great cause… The Winter Sports School in Park City. So put on your game face and come out to the Winter Sports School Vancouver 2010 “Night Before the Opening Ceremonies” Party, Thursday, February 11, 6:30-9:30 pm at Jupiter Bowl, Newpark Town Center, Kimball Junction. Your tax-deductible admission is $100 per adult and $25 per child (for up to 2 kids 17 & under when accompanied by an adult) and includes bowling, food, beverages, silent and live auctions, and gold medal fun! This community fundraising event is sponsored by American Express, Park City Tech Center, Park City Board of Realtors, USANA Health Sciences, Zions Resort Bank, and the Youth Winter Sports Alliance.

All proceeds from the “Night Before the Opening Ceremonies” Party will benefit The Winter Sports School Scholarship Fund.  Last year, the fund awarded over $80,000 in scholarships to 22 deserving students.  The scholarships help The Winter Sports School to extend exceptional sports and education opportunities to a wider range of students, creating a diverse and culturally rich learning experience for all attendees.

For event tickets and information, please call Megan at 435.649.8760 or email mdever@wintersportsschool.org.

If you’re viewing this message in e-mail and the event flier image does not appear, please click on the headline link above to view it at our blog site.

As always, if you’re viewing this message in e-mail and the video insert does not appear, please click on the headline link above to view it at our blog site.

As always, if you’re viewing this message in e-mail and the video insert does not appear, please click on the headline link above to view it at our blog site.

No Colin Carrigs were harmed in the making of this video.

As always, if you’re viewing this message in e-mail and the video insert does not appear, please click on the headline link above to view it at our blog site.

We’ll wrap up the series this week with individual profile videos from Colin Carrig ‘09, Bergen Palmer ‘09, and Alex Schlopy ‘09.  Not only are these individuals driven and motivated to make all their hopes and dreams come true, they also happened to hand in “A” quality final projects in their videography class, which means they’re suitable to share with all of you.

As always, if you’re viewing this message in e-mail and the video inserts do not appear, please click on the headline link above to access them at our blog site.

Part 1

Part 2

First in line is a transcription of Kelly Mackenzie’s graduation speech.  Kelly was one of three speakers from the class of 2009, along with Amanda Veth and Colin Carrig, but unlike the other two she left a copy of her written speech crumpled up in the stage podium for us to find, and gave us her blessing to publish it.

“Good evening ladies and gentlemen.  Thank you for joining us tonight to celebrate the graduating class of 2009.  As you may have noticed, we’re missing three students tonight: two boys are at a National Development System camp and one girl is at Olympic Qualifiers for half pipe snowboarding.  That is just a glimpse of what this season will bring for this class.  Do you sometimes wonder what we do in the winter?  It’s as if we each have our own secret lives from November to April.  Most of this class is too humble to admit their accomplishments, but nothing can hide from a little Google searching.  Among those sitting in front of you tonight are:

- J2 Nationals competitors and winners

- A NorAm Cup slalom and GS winner

- 3 Junior Worlds competitors

- 3 who are or have been U.S. Ski and Snowboard team members

- And 2 professional freeride skiers

“But our accomplishments don’t stop there.  Academically, we have:

- A National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist

- An early graduate now attending Stanford University

“Not to mention that, together, we’ve attained more A+’s than any other graduating class.  To quote members of the faculty such as Rob and Andrea, ‘This class has set new standards.’  (Hope you underclassmen can keep up.)

“We’ve all gained a lot of knowledge and common sense over the past four years.  Personally, there are four lessons I had to learn the hard way.

1. When the pencil sharpener doesn’t work, check to see if it’s plugged in.  Afterwards, don’t plug in the television instead.

2. If something is following the tiger, it’s probably its tail.

3. Regardless of the math involved, there are always 24 hours in a day.

4. Last but not least, Abraham Lincoln may have freed the slaves, but he did not invent BASE jumping.

“There are eight of us onstage who have been together since the beginning of our freshman year on April 17th, 2006.  Four years in this tiny school is a very long time.  Those who stuck with it for the whole ride are Amanda, Colin, Alex, Joss, Brandon, Jessie, and I.  While we lost the other freshmen who started with us, we gained classmates who became part of our family.  This year our family of 23 had some memorable experiences.

“While students at Park City High were itching to get out of school for the summer, we had just started our senior year.  What better way to begin than having a week long break just ten days after starting school?  The whole point of the ‘Swine Flu’ break was to prevent the spread of the flu.  So what did we do?  We went laser tagging and freaked out over the prom that was cancelled.  Some went rock climbing and others went to movies.  There were students who took part in the trend of extravagantly colored surgical masks.  We even got together with Joanne and Rosie at Park City Roasters to hold unofficial class.  One member and his friends even ran around with pig masks acting crazy.  I guess you could say that our class likes to keep it unique.

“Another trend our class went through was the obsession with internet games.  They weren’t the typical video games you’d expect from a group of teenagers.  A flashback to the 90s brought Tetris fever.  One student reached the top 96th percentile on all of Facebook, while others just came second best.  Naturally, as all else does in this class, gaming got competitive.  A 6000 mile trek for little penguins above water was the entire objective of Learn to Fly.  Finally we found Farmville, where virtually nothing could go wrong, which settled our competitive differences.

“Around the end of the year, we tried to plot a terrific senior prank.  Although it was successful, our senior prank almost never happened.  Eric, why would you ever look for students inside of portable TV stands with 2×2 ft. cabinets underneath?  Officer, you never cease to amaze me.  But thank you for leaving the buildings unlocked for us anyways.

“As you all have in your past years with the Winter Sports School, continue to make the most of your opportunities that lie ahead.  A couple of weeks ago, my dad gave me three words of advice for my future that I’d like to pass on to you: ‘Run with it.’  With that said, never forget those who made it possible for you to follow your dreams.  Let’s all give our parents a round of applause to say ‘Thank you.’

“I want to take the opportunity to say farewell on behalf of the class to the incredible faculty.  You have tolerated us at our worst and helped bring us to our best.  This experience wouldn’t have been much without you.

“As the snow falls and our eagerness to shred grows, I want to wish my class the best this season.  Continue to set new standards wherever you go and astonish whoever you meet.  I cannot wait to see what we, the class of 2009, accomplish in our lifetime.

“Thank you for your time and support.”

To cap off today’s post, here are links to the Class of 2009 Senior Slide Show, presented in two parts.  Those in attendance at the graduation ceremony had great fun watching each set of photos as they progressed from infants and toddlers to young adults.  Enjoy, and keep watching this space for more videos in the upcoming days.

(Note: If you are viewing this message in e-mail and cannot access the video links directly, please click on the message headline to visit the WSS blog site — both videos can be viewed there.)

Part 1

Part 2