Austin Colbert/Aspen Times
For Lena Parson, seasons don’t exist. Golfers and mogul skiers don’t seem to understand the concept of taking it easy, so the only difference is the way they train.
“I joke with my friends, I always say, ‘The hard work never stops,'” she said after winning a prep golf tournament April 17 at River Valley Ranch in Carbondale. ” he said.
“I ski all winter, but I also participate in the (golf) simulator every Monday during the winter. Then I go to Las Vegas, camp in Arizona, and pretty much all spring break. I used to play golf. In the summer, I do golf tournaments and ski water ramps. Both of my sports are year-round sports. It just keeps going. .”
This never-ending effort has paid huge dividends for the Aspen High School senior. She just finished her ski season and has garnered attention as one of the best up-and-coming mogul skiers in the country, and is currently leading the Aspen High School (AHS) girls golf team after finishing the state championship. , leading a team aiming for a championship. Runner-up last spring.
Balancing the two sports is something she doesn’t have to think about too much.
“She’s doing it without even knowing it. She’s right in the flow. She’s doing things well that a lot of girls her age haven’t been able to do,” said AHS Girls’ Golf Coach. said Shannon Day. “Working with Lena is the most exciting. I want to come back every day.”
skiing success
Persson’s fateful rise up the mogul food chain began somewhat by chance. She always had a passion for moguls, just like her father, but she really wanted to be an Alpine racer for the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club.
“I was late for a gathering that my whole family was interested in because I had come straight from a swim meet. So when we showed up, there was no one there. Only the mogul coach was there, and she said, ‘Come on. I was like, ‘We’re going to talk about this right away,'” she recalled.
“She said, ‘Let’s get all the kids into freestyle for one season and see what happens.’ And I was like, ‘Okay, okay, but I’m not going to jump.’ That’s what I thought. And that season, 10-year-old Lena was learning the 360 and skiing in the devo division. i loved it. I’ve been skiing moguls ever since. ”
And in that time, she’s improved a lot. This past season, Persson took a big step forward as a moguls skier. That includes in January, when she won the open division of her home event in Aspen, part of the Rocky Mountain Freestyle Circuit presented by USA Ski & Snowboard.
And last month, she added a national championship to her name by winning the women’s U17 dual moguls crown at the 2024 Freestyle Moguls Junior Nationals in Park City, Utah.
“A lot of her success is due to her mental strength. She is able to keep things in perspective, stay calm, and look at the task at hand a little more objectively. I always thought of her as an old soul,” said AVSC moguls coach Mido Morimoto, who has worked with Persson for the past three seasons.
“She’s not afraid to work on her jumps. One of her biggest goals is to flip the sky and the sky in her running, and that’s something she’s achieved and done very well. It paid off for her.”
In addition to winning the casual “Freestyle Friday” competition hosted by Merry-Go-Round Restaurant at Aspen Highlands on March 29, Persson’s ski season ended with a 13th-place finish.th At the U.S. Championships held on March 23 in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, he placed 24th in the moguls and 24th in the dual moguls. Considering that the 16-year-old was probably the best moguls team on the planet, as all of the top six were members of the current U.S. national team, led by Olympic silver medalist Jaelyn Kauf, who won that day. This was impressive.
“They’re at a higher level than Lena, but they’re World Cup skiers. That’s their job. I think Lena might be there too,” Morimoto said. “She could be one of those people, but she’s got a lot of work to do and she’s still young. She’s going to be heading off to golf, which hurts a little bit. To be honest, I wish her the best. I want to do my best.”
Playing against World Cup players was a highlight of the season for Persson, who was proud of the winter he spent on the snow.
“Those girls are the best. They won every World Cup event,” she said. “I started skiing pretty hard over the summer. I think I just kept the ball rolling and continued to perform well and progress throughout this season.”
It’s time to get ready
Putting skiing aside, at least temporarily, the next few weeks will be all about golf for Persson and her AHS teammates. With her and the team’s lone senior, Brooke O’Sullivan, leading the ship, the skiers will earn a legitimate showing at the Class 3A state championships to be held May 20 and 21 at the Old Course in Loveland. You could do that.
“They all support each other. Lena leads them very skillfully, which I’ve never seen before, to be honest,” Day said. “You have to go through the stages of competing in more difficult tournaments, going to the state championship twice, being under pressure. And that’s where the success that we have now comes from. Her steady attitude of mind and skill You can see it. She just believes in herself. She always had that ability.”
Aspen women’s golf is experiencing one of the most difficult times in program history. The Skiers tied for state runner-up last spring when AHS hosted the finals at Aspen Golf Club, the best finish in team history. After the two-day tournament, Persson finished in fourth place and O’Sullivan in sixth place.
The two have been steadily climbing the leaderboard this spring, winning multiple times.
“I feel like my short game is always something that needs work, but it’s improving. Over the last few years, I’ve always worked on the 100-yard-and-in shot, because the shot is half Because it’s a swing. I’m not used to that,” Persson said after shooting a 76 in last week’s RVR tournament. “I feel like I’m getting more confident with that. I also just recently got new clubs, so my irons feel better and my tee shots are a lot more consistent. I’ve started practicing a little bit more, and I’m trying to catch up on small mistakes. I would like to correct this and make a big improvement.”
The Skiers have only a few regular season tournaments left before the regional tournament on May 14 at Cat Tales Golf Course in Alamosa. Although her round at RVR was strong, she was also far from satisfied. Her intense stretches on the back nine left a bitter taste in her mouth, but she’s the type of person who has the ability to look at her play from both sides of the equation.
That’s a big reason why she’s as good as she has, both on the tee box and in the starting gate.
“She’s definitely come down, and we always knew she could do it,” Day said of Persson’s scoring average on the golf course. “I’m really proud of her and excited for her. … She has the mental strength to be proud of herself despite her frustrations, and I think that’s a really great trait.” think.”
acolbert@aspentimes.com
