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ENLARGE
You can take the skier out of the snow, but you can never take the snow out of the skier, even when she's living at the beach.
Haley Ells, a 2007 Bear River High School graduate, left the beach and took first place overall in the freestyle competition and won the silver medal in the ski superpipe at the United States Collegiate Ski & Snowboard National Championships held in Sunday River, Maine, March 1-6.
Ells represented the University of California, Santa Barbara.
“I really didn't know what to expect,” Ells said by phone Monday night. “I had qualified for nationals before, but I didn't want to miss school. But the league was paying for my registration and it just seemed a like a great opportunity, one that might not come up again.”
The Bear River grad also competed in ski slopestyle and finished fifth, while also taking ninth in skier cross.
The Gaucho ski team won the National Championship in freestyle along with first place in the ski superpipe, second in the ski slopestyle, and second in the skier cross.
She did not fair as well in the alpine events, taking 95th place in the giant slalom and 99th in the slalom.
“I definitely had a tough time racing,” Ells said, “because I was having so much fun with freestyle.”
Ells competes in the Southern California Collegiate Snowsport Conference, one of seven collegiate snow sport conferences in the U.S. Team performance is emphasized within the USCSA, a departure from the typical individual or world cup scoring format in skiing. Teams field five racers, with the top three performances being used for the team score.
Prior to transferring to UCSB in this her junior year, Ells competed for San Diego State, which is an opponent for the Gauchos.
“I am basically a traitor,” Ells said with a laugh. “No, actually, I'm still friends with all of them (at San Diego State). So it all worked out.”
Overall team performance is considered separately for each discipline, so a college can field any single or combination of a women's alpine, men's alpine, women's cross country, men's cross country, women's snowboarding, men's snowboarding.
The USCSA National Championship brings together top caliber athletes and Olympic hopefuls from all over the U.S., as well as Canada.
Ells earned her invitation to compete by being one of Southern California's top-ranked alpine and freestyle skiers.
College ski racing, freestyle and snowboard teams from across the nation converged on trails at Barker and Locke Mountains, and cross-country events competed at nearby Black Mountain of Maine. The 2010 USCSA National Championships had more than 700 competitors rolling into the mountains of Maine and Sunday River Resort, to compete for National collegiate titles in alpine, cross-country, and snowboard events.
In excess of 178 colleges from coast to coast, field some 4,700 men and women, alpine, cross country and snowboarding athletes in more than 200 race events annually. Competition takes place across three progressive tiers. Conference qualifiers determine the participants at the six USCSA Regional Championships. The Regionals are the last step on the road to the annual U.S. Collegiate Skiing and Snowboard Championships, the showcase event in college ski and snowboard competition.
Ells' performance is perhaps even more impressive considering that she started skiing during her freshman year of high school at Bear River. Her coach Janis Serrano, while noting one of her top performances for the Bruins in 2006, said she certainly is a fast learner.
"Haley is experienced and talented," Janis Serrano told The Union in 2006. "You would never guess that she's just a third-year skier. She started when she was a freshman and just took to it — she's a natural."
She's continued her skiing career despite carrying quite a load at UCSB. In addition to majoring in economics and minoring in geology, Ells works three to four days a week at a Santa Barbara restaurant before making a weekly seven-hour drive to training at Mammoth Mountain.
But she's not exactly complaining about things.
“I'm so blessed,” Ells said. “I have the best of both worlds here. I have access to a cabin at Mammoth with the team and I can look out my balcony and watch the ocean.
“I spend 3 1/2 days at the beach and 3 1/2 days in the snow. Basically, I love it.”
Scott P. Hopper is a sports writer for The Union. Contact him via e-mail at sphopper@theunion.com or by phone at 477-4231.
Haley Ells, a 2007 Bear River High School graduate, left the beach and took first place overall in the freestyle competition and won the silver medal in the ski superpipe at the United States Collegiate Ski & Snowboard National Championships held in Sunday River, Maine, March 1-6.
Ells represented the University of California, Santa Barbara.
“I really didn't know what to expect,” Ells said by phone Monday night. “I had qualified for nationals before, but I didn't want to miss school. But the league was paying for my registration and it just seemed a like a great opportunity, one that might not come up again.”
The Bear River grad also competed in ski slopestyle and finished fifth, while also taking ninth in skier cross.
The Gaucho ski team won the National Championship in freestyle along with first place in the ski superpipe, second in the ski slopestyle, and second in the skier cross.
She did not fair as well in the alpine events, taking 95th place in the giant slalom and 99th in the slalom.
“I definitely had a tough time racing,” Ells said, “because I was having so much fun with freestyle.”
Ells competes in the Southern California Collegiate Snowsport Conference, one of seven collegiate snow sport conferences in the U.S. Team performance is emphasized within the USCSA, a departure from the typical individual or world cup scoring format in skiing. Teams field five racers, with the top three performances being used for the team score.
Prior to transferring to UCSB in this her junior year, Ells competed for San Diego State, which is an opponent for the Gauchos.
“I am basically a traitor,” Ells said with a laugh. “No, actually, I'm still friends with all of them (at San Diego State). So it all worked out.”
Overall team performance is considered separately for each discipline, so a college can field any single or combination of a women's alpine, men's alpine, women's cross country, men's cross country, women's snowboarding, men's snowboarding.
The USCSA National Championship brings together top caliber athletes and Olympic hopefuls from all over the U.S., as well as Canada.
Ells earned her invitation to compete by being one of Southern California's top-ranked alpine and freestyle skiers.
College ski racing, freestyle and snowboard teams from across the nation converged on trails at Barker and Locke Mountains, and cross-country events competed at nearby Black Mountain of Maine. The 2010 USCSA National Championships had more than 700 competitors rolling into the mountains of Maine and Sunday River Resort, to compete for National collegiate titles in alpine, cross-country, and snowboard events.
In excess of 178 colleges from coast to coast, field some 4,700 men and women, alpine, cross country and snowboarding athletes in more than 200 race events annually. Competition takes place across three progressive tiers. Conference qualifiers determine the participants at the six USCSA Regional Championships. The Regionals are the last step on the road to the annual U.S. Collegiate Skiing and Snowboard Championships, the showcase event in college ski and snowboard competition.
Ells' performance is perhaps even more impressive considering that she started skiing during her freshman year of high school at Bear River. Her coach Janis Serrano, while noting one of her top performances for the Bruins in 2006, said she certainly is a fast learner.
"Haley is experienced and talented," Janis Serrano told The Union in 2006. "You would never guess that she's just a third-year skier. She started when she was a freshman and just took to it — she's a natural."
She's continued her skiing career despite carrying quite a load at UCSB. In addition to majoring in economics and minoring in geology, Ells works three to four days a week at a Santa Barbara restaurant before making a weekly seven-hour drive to training at Mammoth Mountain.
But she's not exactly complaining about things.
“I'm so blessed,” Ells said. “I have the best of both worlds here. I have access to a cabin at Mammoth with the team and I can look out my balcony and watch the ocean.
“I spend 3 1/2 days at the beach and 3 1/2 days in the snow. Basically, I love it.”
Scott P. Hopper is a sports writer for The Union. Contact him via e-mail at sphopper@theunion.com or by phone at 477-4231.
