Congrats to NASTAR Team Okemo!

Six skiers and snowboarders from Okemo Mountain Resort competed in the 2010 Nature Valley NASTAR National Championships March 25-28 at Winter Park Resort. Four returned home with medals.

“We are so proud of the six Okemo racers who competed at the Nationals,” said Okemo Mountain Resort Vice-President and General Manager Bruce Schmidt. “These men and women work so hard and are an inspiration to us all.”

Doug Gould, age 48, of Rochester, Vt., attended his first Nationals and took the bronze in the men’s 45-49 snowboard division.

Christine Jenne, age 57, of Huntington, N.Y., was hoping to repeat her performance last year - a bronze medal in the women’s 55-59 gold division.

Sue Kramer, age 44, of Peru, Vt., took first place in the women’s 40-44 platinum division. She won the same title last year at the Nationals in Steamboat.

Herb Maierle, age 74, of Middle Village, N.Y., placed second in the men’s 70-74 gold division. He took gold at the 2008 event.

Patrick Moore, age 63, of Newington, Conn., has been Okemo’s NASTAR Coordinator and Pacesetter for the past four years. He holds the title of 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010 Age Group National Snowboarding Champion and in 2008 became the first racer to concurrently become the National Age Group Champion in both skiing and snowboarding.

Bob Zawacki, age 70, of Farmington, Conn., competed in his first National Championship, finishing in sixth place in the hotly contested men’s 70-74 gold division.

NASTAR, the world’s largest recreational ski and snowboard race program, is owned and operated by Bonnier Mountain Group, publisher of Skiing magazine, SKI magazine and Warren Miller Entertainment.

Since the program’s inception four decades ago, more than six million racer days have been recorded by NASTAR. Last season, more than 220,885 NASTAR racer days and a record 553,808 starts were logged. Racers qualify for the National Championships by earning a top-three ranking in their age division at any of the 120-plus Nature Valley NASTAR ski resorts throughout North America.

Congratulations!