Powder Mountain in Ogden, Utah, was the site of the 2016 USSSSA National Snowshoe Championships where Telluride's Soleil Gaylord won the Junior Women 15-19 5K with a time of 21:32.4. The sophomore from Telluride nearly won the entire race finishing 34 seconds behind Junior Men 15-19 winner Matthew Leichty of Paul Smith's College (NY). Soleil follows in the footsteps (snowshoe pun intended) of elite Colorado girl snowshoe racers:
* Anna Lieb, Golden High School - 2005 and 2006 Junior Women 19 and Under Champion
* Sam Lewis, Boulder High School - 2010 and 2011 Junior Women 19 and Under Champion, 2012 Junior Women 15-19 Champion
* McKenna Ramsay, Summit High School: 2012 Junior Women 14 and Under Champion, 2013 Junior Women 15-19 Champion
Soleil is new to the sport having raced for the first time this season. She won a snowshoe 5K race in Beaver Creek earlier this year and was second at the Colorado High School Snowshoe State Championship in the 5K. Vail Christian's Ethan Pence won the 2016 Tennessee Cookhouse Colorado State Championships Race held at Tennessee Pass at Ski Cooper Resort in Leadville. This race is the adult championship. He won in a time of 1:07:13 for 10K.
Soleil's and Ethan's wins are the cherries on top of a resurgence of Colorado high school runners in snowshoe racing. The 2016-2017 season will be one not to miss. Look for updates this fall.