Ski racing can capture the imagination of anyone who catches a glimpse. Racers hurl themselves downhill at highway-speeds on narrow fiberglass sticks, spraying snow and cutting around gates at full speed. 

However, with all of the winter sports that Wahlert has to offer, Wahlert’s snow skiers tend to fly under the radar most of the time. Several Wahlert students participate in this high-speed daredevilry during the winter months for local and national ski racing teams. 

Despite the lack of snow thus far, racers are excited to start the season. Most racers ski for the local teams, Sundown and Chestnut, and compete against teams across the Midwest. Colin Greiner,  22’, and Sully Newlin, ‘25, compete against each other but share a favorite aspect of the season: their favorite part of being on the race team is the practices because that is when they spend the most time actively skiing. “I just enjoy the thrill of it,” commented Greiner, who has been racing for 10 years.

Claire Walker 22’ races for the Mad Alpine race team in Madison, Wisconsin, and for Sundown. This season, she is most looking forward to being a senior leader on her teams and, “being the athlete and teammate that the younger kids can look up to.” Walker has been racing for 15 years and enjoys the fact that skiing is an individual sport that still comes with teammates to cheer and support while racing.

The cold Midwest winters do not stop these athletes from skiing competitively year after year. While terrifying to most, these racers are fueled by the adrenaline and thrill that only skiing can provide and look forward to it every season.