BOALSBURG — The Tussey Mountain Alpine Racing Team, TMART, is making a name for itself in Pennsylvania USSA skiing.
Recently, team member Van Glantz won the Governor’s Cup as the number one slalom and giant slalom youth 18-year-old racer in Pennsylvania, and Kesley Glantz won the state championship 12-year-old slalom championship.
For years, larger ski areas referred to Tussey Mountain as “Tussey Bump.” But, things are changing in the local ski community as TMART is now known as a respectable racing program.
Van Glantz’s state championship races were held March 3-5 at Elk Mountain in Susquehanna County. He completed 16 state race runs in 2023 and came away with a significant victory over some of the best skiers in Pennsylvania, bringing Tussey Mountain the coveted Governor’s Cup.
His road to winning the cup didn’t come without hardships.
In February 2021, while on a practice run, he suffered a debilitating ACL injury that required reconstructive surgery. He missed all of the championship 2021 races and all of the races in 2022.
In fact, he wasn’t able to put on a pair of skis until June 2022.
The ending may have been different had he not taken it upon himself to use the two years away from skiing to improve his skiing abilities in different ways. He religiously followed the therapist’s instructions and, at the same time, entered a weight training program, three days a week.
For several months following the surgery, his weight training was limited to his upper body, but later he was able to incorporate leg strengthening and full-body strengthening work. As a result, when he returned to skiing, he was stronger than ever and ready to compete.
Although he competes in the 18-year-old category, Glantz isn’t quite there yet. He turned 16 years of age in November 2022.
His first race back, last month, was at Seven Springs. Due to his two-year hiatus, he was required to start last in the 47 competitors.
Last is a bad place to start in skiing as the courses develop ruts from the front-of-the-pack participants, making it more difficult for the last skier to complete the course, let alone with a good time.
Glantz came in second on that first run, then won his next three runs to bring home his first trophy of the 2023 season. His success continued at Blue Mountain, culminating at the three-day Governor’s Cup races.
No longer starting last, Glantz had risen to the top point holder position of all ski racers in Pennsylvania. He was the skier to beat.
Glantz handily won the Governor’s Cup competition and will now represent Tussey, and Pennsylvania, at the 18-year-old Eastern National Championships at Gunstock, New Hampshire, March 23-25.
But the story doesn’t end there.
Glantz’s sister, Kesley, a 12-year-old racer at Tussey, has also been winning her races.
She won a two-day slalom event at Elk Mountain, a two-day slalom event at Tussey and finally the state championship races at Boulder, Colorado.
Her slalom wins were sometimes close, but some were by an astounding three or four seconds.
When asked if she would ever be as fast as her older brother Van, she replied “No, I will be faster.”
In Boulder, she was awarded the state 12-year-old slalom championship for the second year in a row and earned the right to participate in the Eastern National races at Gunstock, New Hampshire, March 18-19.
Tussey Mountain Ski Club has been in existence for decades but has grown in recent years to a team of more than 100 skiers ages eight through 19. The team is an even split between girls and boys and has 11 experienced coaches. All of the racers get personalized instruction at the three or four practice sessions each week.
The Tussey Mountain Alpine Racing Team is an organization of young ski racers, parents and coaches and offers a variety of programs to satisfy diverse levels of racing interest. The mission of the organization is to create and maintain an exceptional skiing and a racing program in a fun and challenging environment.
TMART’s vision is to provide all racers with the highest quality coaching and to prepare them for regional, state and national competitions with an emphasis on sportsmanship and skill.
Last year, TMART racers competed in PARA and USSA races at ski hills throughout the state.
