The Pickle in the Peaks pickleball tournament has grown every year it has been put on by the Summit County Pickleball Association and the town of Silverthorne.
The fifth annual tournament from Thursday, July 18, through Saturday, July 20, was no different.
“Year one we had 60 teams, this year we topped out with 136 teams,” Summit County Pickleball Association organizer Julie Worthington said. “We had a strong showing from our own Summit County picklers but welcomed players from all over Colorado.”
The action took place at both Trent and Rainbow parks in Silverthorne, and tournament play involved both singles and open doubles competitions.
Stuart Redding led the results in the men’s singles division, winning the competitive competition. Blake Hemming took second place, and Brian Fitzpatrick followed in third.
In the women’s singles recreation division, Monica LaCroix took first overall, Kristen Griffen took second and Kathy Fitzpatrick finished in third.
The Fitzpatrick family continued to post finishes on top of the podium in thewomen’s singles competitive competition as Emily Fitzpatrick placed first overall. High Country Soccer Association executive director Miriam Hickey took second, and Mary Pape took third.
The 2.5 open doubles division was won by a duo made up of Steve Denny and Gary Frett. Cami Gill and Hayden Kirby took second overall in the bracket, and Lelis Vernon and Bob Veron Jr. placed third.
The tournament continued into Friday where participants competed in the mixed doubles and junior doubles.
Following up on the success she encountered from the day before, Hickey returned to the court with partner Jerome Hickey. The Hickeys dominated the mixed doubles 3.0 competition, taking first. The Hickeys were followed in second place by Brianna and Mason Mosiman in second place, and Michelle and Greg Burnette took third.
Similar to the Hickeys, the Fitzpatricks continued to post finishes within the top three. A team composed of Emily and Brian Fitzpatrick took second overall in the mixed doubles 3.5 division. Jenni Lee Reiss and Chris Van Regemorter took second, and Trish and Brad Kembel took third.
Tournament action on Friday concluded with the mixed doubles 4.0 competition. Becca Mazur and Matthew Siegert were crowned the champions, Bonnie Scott and Dave Hartman were named runner ups and Mandy Underwood and Tommy Gogolen took third.
The tournament came to an end on Saturday with women’s and men’s doubles. Maria Garcia and Nicole Lengen won the women’s doubles 3.0 tournament, and Nancy May and Gina Bigelow finished in second. Peggy Donovan and Kathy Keidel secured the final podium position.
With Courtney Skinn as her teammate, Miriam Hickey took first overall in the women’s doubles 3.5 division. A team made up of Lisa Johns and Kim Halal finished in second, and Karen Rebol and Tracy Frick finished in third.
The women’s doubles competition concluded with the 4.0 division. Kate Oshaughnessy and Lindsay Klemmer topped the bracket, Sandy Rice and Patty Pyle finished in second and Treva Copeland and Trish Tolentino took third.
Ross Friends and Scott Mints took first overall in the men’s doubles 3.0 bracket. Mason Mosiman and David Durik placed second, and Greg Burnette and Fonzi Natavelli finished in third.
The men’s doubles 3.5 division was won by a team made up of Bob Dunn and Tony Graziano. MatthewandMichael Lightman took silver, and Rick Garcia and Nate Saylers finished in third.
The final tournament bracket — the men’s doubles 4.0 — was won by a team composed of Justin Hollenbeck and Tom Gibson. Hollenbeck and Gibson were followed by Dick and Matthew Siegert in second and Brad Kuhlman and Tom Cartmell in third.
Beyond spirited pickleball action, the fifth annual Pickle in the Peaks also included appearance by seasoned veterans of the tournament.
Bob Haege, a resident of Naples, Florida, has attended every Pickle in the Peaks pickleball tournament since its inception.Since attending his first tournament five years ago, Haege has organized his whole summer around attending the tournament in Summit County.
“After year one, I was hooked,” Haege said. “… It is so well organized, with such a positive vibe, reasonable in cost and there’s not a better setting in the world than playing pickleball in the beautiful mountains of Summit County.”
Ree Migliozzi, of Massachusetts, attended her first Pickle in the Peaks four years ago as a spectator and now plays in the tournament every year.
“It is the only place in the world where I can get up at 4:30 a.m. to go hiking, then go play pickleball surrounded by those same beautiful mountains I just hiked on,”Migliozzi said.
With pickleball being easy to learn and having the power to unite young and old, Bob Vernon Sr., 84, of Naples, Florida used the tournament as an opportunity to play alongside his daughter and grandson.
“I started playing pickleball in 2015,” Vernon Sr. said.” I told all my kids and grandkids, when they came to visit us, that if they wanted to spend any time together they had to learn the sport of pickleball. I taught them all, and now 11 of my family members play. We play together all the time.”
