The Jasper Alpine Racing Club posted a succession of top ten finishes this weekend, with Jacqueline Proc once again leading the way in what is turning out to be the most successful season for the team to date.

Twenty-one skiers competed in two races on March 20 and 21 at Rabbit Hill and Lake Louise, with the skiers aged six years old to nine years old competing in Edmonton, and the ten year olds travelling to Lake Louise.

Proc finished first in the 10-year-old girls category at the Don Meyers Memorial race, building on her strong showing at Mount Norquay.

The first races of the weekend were held on a very challenging portion of the World Cup men’s downhill run – Gun Barrel.

“All of our kids posted great times in this very competitive south zone race,” said coach Brent Schleppe.

Proc shared the top ten category with her team members Kala Schleppe (sixth) and Nicole Frechette (ninth). On the boys side, Patrick Mahler finished sixth.

“The two major factors in the success of our young racers this year has been the quality of coaching and the eagerness of our athletes to try every day,” said Jasper Ski Team president Alex Rayner. “Other clubs are complimenting our program, success and improvement and that is definitely a feather in the cap for all involved.”

The Jasper team also posted several top ten results at Rabbit Hill. Eva Chalifoux was the top finisher, landing on the podium with a second place finish in the six-year-old girls category. Brynn Noble also posted a tenth-place finish in the same category.

In the seven-year-old girls category, Goelle Chalifoux grabbed fifth place, followed closely by Abbey Palamarek. Laggan Mamalis finished ninth in the eight-year-old boys category.

The nine year olds also posted five top ten finishes. Jenna Slience (fifth), Kysa Wadsworth (sixth) placed well for the girls, while Walter Ostrander (third), Saje Rayner (sixth) and Lochlan Beauchamp (seventh) posted top times for the boys.

The results are a bonus for the team, Rayner said, but not the end goal.

“I strongly feel we cultivate a healthy balance between competition and fun,” Rayner said. “We want to generate success, but on a level where we are dealing with personal bests. It’s just that now, some of our athletes’ personal bests are top ten and podium finishes.”