Forest Lake student qualifies for National Ski Championships
Contributed by
Cynthia Patterson and Hula Communications

Joseph Castengera

Local snow skier Joseph Castengera, a fifth grade student at Forest Lake Elementary, will participate in the Nature Valley NASTAR National Championships taking place March 22- 25, 2007 at Steamboat Ski Resort in Steamboat Springs, Colo. Castengera qualified to compete in this prestigious national event with a winning run at Sugar Mountain Ski Resort in Banner Elk, N.C.

He will join more than 1,300 of the nation's top amateur ski and snowboard racers for the Nature Valley NASTAR National Championships, a program of SKI Magazine. The Nature Valley NASTAR National Championships are the culmination of a season- long race program taking part at 118 ski areas, constituting the largest recreational ski and snowboard race program in the world.

The top three racers in each age and gender category in each division from each resort are invited to the National Championships competition. As of today's date, 1,324 racers have pre- registered hailing from 44 states in the U.S., and from as far away as Canada and Australia.

Castengera started skiing when he was four. He was visiting family near Sugar Mountain just after Thanksgiving. A big snow storm occurred just a few days before the visit, and his mother, Cynthia Patterson, mistakenly promised him he would see snow.

Unfortunately, the snow had melted by the time Castengera arrived. Not wanting to disappoint her child, Patterson took him to the ski slopes to see the promised snow. Castengera saw some skiers and said, "Momma, I want to do that!" He skied that day and the rest is history.

After several years of skiing, Castengera joined Team Sugar, the race team at Sugar Mountain Resort. He competes with the team in the High Country Junior Race Series where competitions are held amongst the local ski teams. That series recently ended, and Team Sugar finally won the championship the Appalachian Ski Team had dominated in the past.

This is Castengera's third appearance in the last four years in the NASTAR series.