Allison Vest Returns To Competition at Vail NACS
The North American Cup Series continues into its semi-final and final rounds in Vail, Colorado
As the Brixen Boulder World Cup continues, the second stop of the 2022 North American Cup Series (NACS) begins in Colorado. This NACS event brought nearly 200 competitors across 16 unique boulder problems in the qualification round. The men and women were each allotted eight climbs, with the Top 20 moving on to this afternoon’s semi-final.
Women
Two Return to Competition
The biggest news from the qualification event was the return of American Olympian Kyra Condie and Team Canada’s Allison Vest. Both athletes took time off bouldering competitions, forgoing the recent back-to-back Salt Lake City World Cups. Yesterday, they returned to the mats scoring well within their category.
Condie led the field with six Tops and eight Zones while Vest took fourth heading into the semi-final. Although Grossman and Coscoy travelled to Italy to compete, the women’s field is deep.
Women to Watch
While Condie and Vest each have a real chance at gold, several other athletes will push them in the semi-final round. Team ABC’s Campbell Sarinopoulos looked strong through qualifiers, only missing first by a Zone. Isis Rothfork and Kerry Scott each scored four Tops and four Zones, earning sixth and eighth respectively. Both had strong 2021 seasons that they will look to continue in 2022.
Additionally, Madeline Morris, Kaitlyn Bone, Abigail Humber, and Alex Johnson all qualified for the semi-final. They each offer different strengths, but share the necessary consistency required of competition.
Men
Depth of the Men’s Field
The number of strong climbers in the men’s category is astounding. Isaac Leff, Eillis Ernsberger, Adam Shahar, Timothy Kang, Luke Muehring, Charles Barron, Solomon Barth, Simon Hibbeler and Sean Faulkner make up only some of the many, current World-Cup-level climbers competing in the Vail men’s category.
Several other names, including Carlo Traversi, have extensive experience will aim to push further into this competition. Still, despite Traversi’s incredible strength, the new style of competition bouldering is difficult to for experienced climbers to adopt. Younger athletes have grown up on this style and are adept at reading its intricacies.
Leaders
Although Leff, Shahar, and Ernsberger seem to have the best chance at making podium, Canadian Nationals silver medalist Sean Faulkner may also have a chance. Faulkner put down several hard boulder problems recently, and has climbed with progressively greater consistency in lead and boulder competitions. With that said, Shahar is currently climbing at an incredible level indoors and out, making him a tough athlete to beat.
Follow the live scoring here.
Women Advancing to Semis
1 – Kyra Condie
2 – Campbell Sarinopoulos
3 – Ella Fisher
4 – Allison Vest
5 – Catherine Harty
6 – Isis Rothfork
6 – Mira Capicchioni
8 – Kerry Scott
9 – Madeline Morris
10 – Kaitlyn Bone
11 – Paloma Slowik
12 – Abigail Humber
13 – Zoe Bitters
14 – Julia De la Paz
15 – Morgan Tadje
16 – Alex Johnson
17 – Jillian Gerlitz
18 – Arabella Jariel
19 – Shyanne Williams
20 – Kylie Szilagyi
Men Advancing to Semis
1 – Isaac Leff
2 – Ellis Ernsberger
3 – Dillon Countryman
4 – Adam Shahar
5 – Timothy Kang
6 – Daniel Martins
7 – Luke Muehring
8 – Charles Barron
9 – Caleb Franchere
10 – Josh Levin
11 – Martin Kuhnel
12 – Solomon Barth
13 – Brendan Beauchamp
13 – Simon Hibbeler
15 – Sean Faulkner
16 – Quinn Ofrancia
17 – Tanner Bauer
18 – Palmer Larson
19 – Daniel Seo
20 – Carlo Traversi
Featured image of Allison Vest by Eddie Fowke.
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