It would be hard to imagine the Carson High School basketball teams playing games in Morse Burley Gym without ever practicing on their home court.
But because of the early-season snow conditions at Mt.Rose, that's the type of difficult situation facing the Carson high alpine ski team, which opens its Nevada Ski Racing League season against Reed and McQueen today with dual meets at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. The Senators are taking on the Raiders and Lancers without having practiced on their home course at Mt. Rose.
"We've not had one practice at Mt. Rose; instead, we've been practicing at Boreal and Soda Springs," said Carson coach Jack Reinhardt. "But the conditions have affected everybody in the league - we'll just have to make due."
The poor snow conditions have also affected Carson's schedule; the Senators' originally scheduled opener against Wooster on Jan. 12 has been postponed until Feb. 18.
But with the two recent storms that have passed through the region, conditions have improved considerably and everything is a go for today's meets. According to Reinhardt, the Senators should cruise past the Raiders but may have a tough time with the Lancers.
"All of the Reno schools - Galena, Reno and McQueen - will be strong this season," Reinhardt said.
After a poor performance in slalom at last year's state championships, the Carson boys rebounded in the giant slalom portion of the championships to finish second in the overall standings to Reno High. The Senators have three strong retuning individuals in Nick Reinhardt (reigning state champion in GS), Aaron Reinhardt (12th in GS in '99), and senior David Crowell, but the team must deal with the losses of Brian Foley (overall champion in '99, second in the state in GS) and Bryan Horgan (third in the state in GS).
"Our boys are always competitive, but the team might not be quite as strong as last year's team," said Reinhardt, whose Senator boys teams won five consecutive zone titles between 1993-97.
The Carson girls, second in the overall standings in 10 of the last 14 years, will also have to overcome Reno High if they are going to win a championship this season. Reno High has had a stranglehold on the ski championship since 1977, having won all but one title since. The only time the Huskies didn't win the title was in 1995, when Carson broke Reno's championship streak.
"We should have a very solid girls team; we lost only two top skiers (Michelle Gamble and Janelle Bessette) off last year's team," Reinhardt said.
Reinhardt anticipates Carson's top female skiers will be Jackie Nourse, Tomi-Jo Johnson, Maria Farrow, Sara Field and Kristen Foley.
With six freshmen on the team, Reinhardt also believes the team will be solid for years to come. The freshman on the team include Chelsea Anderson, Katelynn Bessette, Liz Coon, Catarina Farrow, Brandi Mondraggon and Cicely Valent.
Reinhardt said that, while winning a state championship would be nice, he's got other goals for the ski team.
"To win is secondary - we're out to have fun, improve our level of skiing, and have no injuries," Reinhardt said.
Notes: This year will mark the first season the NIAA will officially recognize the winner of the Nevada Ski Racing League as the state champion. The Tahoe Basin Ski League, which includes Douglas and South Tahoe, will continue to compete for its own league title.
