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Local athletes compete for Olympic spots in Snowmass Grand Prix

Photo by Phil Ellsworth / ESPN Images

The U.S. Grand Prix competition kicks off today at Snowmass Ski Area. It’s a qualifier for the Olympics, and some local athletes are vying for spots.

Local skiers TorinYater-Wallace and Alex Ferreira, and Aspen High School senior Cassidy Jarrell are competing in ski superpipe today. This is the third of five Olympic qualifiers. The top three athletes based on a points system will represent the U.S. in PyeongChang. Headed into the Grand Prix, Yater-Wallace is ranked first and Ferreira fourth.

Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club athlete Robert Pettit will compete in snowboard superpipe Thursday. Former AVSC riders Jake Pates and Chris Corning will be vying for Olympic spots. Pates is ranked second in snowboard superpipe, and Corning is ranked first in slopestyle.

Events run through Sunday.

 

Aspen native Elizabeth Stewart-Severy is excited to be making a return to both the Red Brick, where she attended kindergarten, and the field of journalism. She has spent her entire life playing in the mountains and rivers around Aspen, and is thrilled to be reporting about all things environmental in this special place. She attended the University of Colorado with a Boettcher Scholarship, and graduated as the top student from the School of Journalism in 2006. Her lifelong love of hockey lead to a stint working for the Colorado Avalanche, and she still plays in local leagues and coaches the Aspen Junior Hockey U-19 girls.