Devo Freestylers Hit Highlands for Aerials, Moguls Comp
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| by Alan Cole |
February 9, 2009
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The youngest members of the AVSC Freestyle Team got their shot to compete on their home course at Aspen Highlands this past weekend, Jan. 31 - Feb. 1. Coach Lynn Merriam led a group ranging in age from 7 to 11 against their Rocky Mountain Division rivals in aerials and moguls for the first competition this season.
On Saturday, J6 skier Simon Wiviott shined in his first ever aerials competition "at the ripe old age of seven," said Merriam. "The field was tight but Simon went big which was enough for second place" in his age group. AVSC 9-10 year old skiers Andrew Tierney, Grifen Moller and Joey Lang finished one-two-three in aerials for their J5 age class. "It was a close contest for first and second place," said Merriam. "The degree of difficulty in Andrew's 360 put him on top and Grifen's grab earned him a silver." The J4 age class drew the largest field of competitors and two AVSC skiers cracked the top-10, Gage Carr in ninth and Kinley Niebur in tenth. 13 year-old Mak Grandy won his J3 age class.
Leading the way for the ladies on Saturday was 11 year-old Ruby Lang, who not only won for the J4 girls but also finished third overall for all the women. "Ruby got a late start in the season so this result is remarkable," said Merriam.
According to Merriam, while young Simon Wiviott "went huge in his mogul airs" but struggled on the landings, it was enough to give him a fourth place finish for his J6 age group. "Because it was the first ever competition for a lot of these guys, there was a lot of nervous energy at the start," said Merriam. Grifen Moller showed his all-around skills with a third place result for the J5s. All the after-school practice paid off for Ethan Burkley, as he vaulted into fourth place overall, just ahead of hard-working teammate David Henschel who took fifth. "Ethan had a standout performance - everything just clicked for him," remarked Merriam. Gage Carr threw a 720 and landed it for the first time in competition for 13th place in the hotly contested J4 age class. Mak Grandy's new mogul skis carried him to second place for the J3s.
Alpine ski racer Pascal Augspurger took a dare from her sister and entered the devo event. The result was a tenth overall finish (fifth place for her J5 age class). "She's very coachable," said Merriam.
The highlight of the day was Swedish X-Games champion and freestyle phenom Jon Olsson who was in attendance and handed out medals to all the top finishers. Olsson is working to make the transition to alpine ski racing and compete on the World Cup circuit.
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For details, contact
Alan Cole
AVSC
(970) 205-5104
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