Local skiers excel in Freestyle NorAm Cup finals
Special to the Daily |
VAIL — Ski & Snowboard Club Vail athletes’ Freestyle NorAm Cup season culminated with the Freestyle NorAm Cup finals held in Killington, Vermont, on Saturday and Sunday.
The NorAm Cup Tour hosts the top American, Canadian and Australian freestyle development skiers competing just shy of the World Cup level along with a small number of additional foreign competitors allotted spots on the tour. The stakes are high on the tour, with the male and female winners earning spots on the U.S. Freestyle Team and the top juniors named to the U.S. Junior World Team to compete in Are, Sweden, in April. Ski & Snowboard Club Vail’s Tess Johnson did just that!
In the final regular season NorAm Cup event held in Val Saint Come, Canada, on Feb. 27 and 28, Ski and Snowboard Club Vail’s Emerson Smith and Kaitlyn Harrell earned wins in dual moguls. Johnson placed fifth for the women and Casey Andringa placed sixth for the men that same day in dual moguls. A day earlier in the mogul competition at Val Saint Come, Johnson placed third and Harrell placed fourth for the women with Hunter Bailey and Andringa in fifth and sixth, respectively, for the men.
With solid performances throughout the NorAm Cup Tour, Ski & Snowboard Club Vail’s Smith and Johnson came into the NorAm Cup finals held on Saturday and Sunday in Killington, Vermont, leading the NorAm Cup standings with Andringa in third.
In Saturday’s finals in Killington, Johnson and Smith took third in moguls. On Sunday, Johnson took fourth and Smith took fifth in dual moguls.
Johnson won the freestyle moguls NorAm Cup Tour for the women, which resulted in her earning a spot on the US Freestyle Team and at Junior Worlds in Are, Sweden in April. Harrell came in sixth for the women in the Freestyle Moguls NorAm Cup Tour. Smith came in second, Andringa fourth and Bailey seventh for the men in the Freestyle Moguls NorAm Cup Tour.
“I am thrilled with the performance of our athletes throughout the NorAm Tour,” Ski & Snowboard Club Vail freestyle head mogul coach Riley Campbell said. “On any given day, we could find one of our athletes on the podium or in the top five, a reflection of the depth of the team. The hard work put in by each and every athlete … has paid off.”
Top three results and all Ski & Snowboard Club Vail results are listed. Athletes are with Ski & Snowboard Club Vail unless otherwise noted. For complete results, go to http://www.fis-ski.com.
Women’s moguls, Saturday
1 Alex Jenson, Team Park City United
2 Clare Lambert, Canada
3 Tess Johnson
17 Heidi Kloser
20 Kaitlyn Harrell
23 Morgan Harty
26 Taryn Baker
27 Hannah Miles
34 Katie Coyne
Men’s moguls, Saturday
1 Troy Tully, Wasatch Freestyle Foundation
2 Laurent Dumais, Canada
3 Emerson Smith
15 Hunter Bailey
23 Matt Leseur
26 Jesse Andringa
Women’s dual moguls, Sunday
1 Taylah Oneill, Australia
2 Avital Shimko , Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club
3 Julie Bergeron , Canada
4 Tess Johnson
19 Kaitlyn Harrell
21 Heidi Kloser
29 Morgan Harty
31 Katie Coyne
34 Taryn Baker
35 Hannah Miles
Men’s dual moguls, Sunday
1 Troy Tully , Wasatch Freestyle Foundation
2 Abe Studler , Killington Mountain School
3 Laurent Dumais, Canada
5 Emerson Smith
15 Jesse Andringa
26 Hunter Bailey
35 Matt Leseur
