AVSC Captures 25 Medals at USASA Nationals
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| by Tyler Lindsay, Alan Cole |
April 17, 2009
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AVSC Athletes once again made a very strong showing at the United States of America Snowboard Association (USASA) National Championships this past week at Copper Mountain, walking away with 29 medals and over 50 top-ten finishes. Starting the week with a splash in their tie-dye and mustaches, Aspen athletes finished strong as well, with 4 overall National Champions among the group.
Basalt's Molly Wilson, a member of the Pacsun/USASA National Team in addition to AVSC, annihilated the competition in the Open Class Slopestyle, with big spins over the largest jumps in the course. She also picked up a bronze medal in halfpipe, just beating out teammate Kyla Sobieralski, who finished 4th. Arielle Shipe more than held her own in the 18-22 age group, capturing the bronze in both halfpipe and slopestyle. "Arielle had two solid runs in pipe, with great amplitude and style. Her positive attitude and work ethic throughout the season really paid off," said Coach Hayden Bell.
Will Adams took the podium in the 14-15 year-old men's halfpipe, beginning his run with a frontside 900, and ending with a bronze medal. Locals performed in the 18-22 year-old men's division, with AVSC claiming 3 top-ten finishers in halfpipe. Andy Szortyka captured the bronze, with Glenwood Springs' Kris Olson close behind in 5th. AVSC/CRMS Athlete Nick Joslin finished 10th. Ben Sydoryk parlayed several strong finishes, including 4th place in giant slalom, into an overall national title in the 12-13 year old men. 11 year-old Maliea Sanchez, of Aspen, had two strong runs in Giant Slalom, walking away with the bronze medal.
On the freestyle skiing side, AVSC's Torin Wallace won both halfpipe and slopestyle in the 11-15 age group, with huge amplitude and a ton of style. "His slopestyle jump run consisted of a near-textbook rodeo 5 into a switch 7 followed by a switch 1080," said SC Freestyle coach J.F. Bruegger. "Every trick had a grab and he looked effortless, ending the day with the highest slopestyle score for all the competitors including the 16-19 year olds." Andrew Tierney stepped up with big air and a clean run in Monday's halfpipe competition. "He missed his practice runs but still launched about 7 fee out for his first hit and finished eighth," said Bruegger. 10 year-old Grifen Moller followed in fifth place by "stomping two 540's and consistently going huge," said his coach. In slopestyle practice, Grifen Moler got comfortable hitting the small jumps and settled on using them. After logging a decent score on his first run Moler "noticed some of the other 10 and under boys hitting the larger jumps, watched their scores and decided to step it up," said Bruegger. "Grifen hit all three large tables, pulling huge grabs and stomping his run for 9th place." Cody Banc followed by spinning a 360, 720, 360 jump combination good for 16th place.
AVSC's adult snowboard athletes were well represented at USASA Nationals, with Overall Titles in both the Legend (40-49) and Methuselah (60+) divisions. Gailen Smith once again dominated the Methuselah division, with wins in 4 of 5 events, easily capturing the overall. Snowmass Village's Mark Hogan performed well in the Legend division, parlaying third in both halfpipe and boardercross, and a silver medal in slopestyle into an overall national title. AVSC coach Romina Harding collected a bronze in halfpipe, followed by a big win in slopestyle in the 30-39 women's division. Aspen Skiing Company snowboard instructors Rodney Smith and Aimee Hedman both performed brilliantly, capturing titles in halfpipe and boardercross, respectively. Rodney had strong amplitude and landed a nice 540 en route to the 40-49 men's halfpipe title. Hedman meanwhile, dominated the 23-29 women's boardercross, easily taking the gold medal after winning all her heats.
9 year-old Cody Warble made a strong impression in the Grommet Boys division, ending up on the podium in 4 separate events, and capturing the overall national title in the process. Cody began the week with a bronze medal in boardercross, joined in the finals by his teammate Blake Moller, who finished 5th, one of three top ten finishes for Moller. The next two days saw first and second place finishes in slalom and giant slalom, respectively. "The highlight of Cody's week was definitely the halfpipe," said Cody's coach, Brett Conover. "His run included strong style, a big 540 and the best handplant in the competition." A backside 540 and some strong rail tricks were enough for 5th place in slopestyle, and netted Cody the overall title at the end of the day.
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For details, contact
Alan Cole
AVSC
(970) 205-5104
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