Sunday, January 13, 2002 -- Champion, PA
NASTAR Mixer (iPO Event Id#: 4731)
Story and photos by Don Parks

[Details] [Coverage] [Overall Results] [Pic Set 1] [Pic Set 2] [Pic Set 3]

See ya at the bottom!

"Go fast and take chances," were the words of advice from Dan Oshop. It seemed to work for the young 49-year-old at this year's NASTAR Mixer. He took home the prize for the fastest, over-21, snowboarder to crash through Seven Springs Resort's NASTAR dual slalom course.

The "Mixer" was another fun event put on by the Western PA Ski Council (WPSC) and, as always, open to everyone. It didn't matter if you were 5 or 72, a snowboarder, telemarker, or Alpine skier, there were prizes for all classes.

Oh, and let's not forget that the fine folks at Penn Brewery ("Pittsburgh's Microbrewery") came out to make sure it was a party. (Especially for the over 21 crowd!) But we'll get back to the awards party a little later.

When it came to racing the weather on the mountain left you wondering exactly what you were going to get... winter at it's finest. One minute the sun would be shining, the next it seemed like a blinding blizzard. Regardless, it was the same set of gates that everyone had to negotiate to get their best time out of two runs.

Winter at is best at 7 Springs

With the weapon of choice being the Alpine skis, the fastest line from top to bottom was 33-year-old David Fullard with a time of 20.75. The next closest time was a 21.27, and that time was recorded by both 47-year-old Douglas Wible and 33-year-old Nobuyuki Kurosawa.

For the 21-and-not-any-younger women it was Jace Pasquale (23.19) taking the win ahead of Lynne Hartnett (24.94).

In the under-21 crowd of Alpine racers it was 15-year-old Amanda Borelli (28.90) racing uncontested for the ladies and 19-year-old Brian Matisko (24.17) taking top honors for the gentlemen. But let's give some credit to the young guys in his class, most not even half his age, that gave him a run for his money.

We'll give you the whole board, but you'll only need the edge...

In the rest of the other disciplines, it was Adam Ganste (24.17) winning the snowboard under-21, Yvette Blair (43.90) the women's snowboard, Paul Cline (27.22) the men's telemark, and Debbie Rauf the women's telemark.

Once the racing was over it was time to hit the slopes and keep working on the appetite for the awards party. So what did your five bucks get you other than the thrill of competition? Well, how does all the pizza you can eat, a nice new Penn Brewery pint glass (and a special deal to fill it up), and a bunch of random prizes sound?

Not enough, well 50% of the crowd went home with new WPSC T-shirts. Which half? The half on the winning team, of course. We'd try to explain it to you, but we're still not sure we've got it right. You'll just have to come to the next "Mixer" and find out which team you're on!