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Robertson, Cota Take Duals Titles

SQUAW VALLEY, CA (March 28) - It was the way Squaw was hoping to wrap up the weekend as hometown favorite Shelly Robertson (Reno, NV), along with Jeremy Cota (Steamboat Springs, CO), took the dual moguls titles during the Sprint U.S. Freestyle Championships Sunday.

"This is so awesome being at Squaw in front of all my friends and family," Robertson said. "I'm so excited to win today. This is where it all started for me on this run right here when I was 15. It feels good to finish on this run on top."

Robertson was joined on the podium by Eliza Outtrim (Steamboat Springs, CO), who marked her second silver of the weekend, and Heather McPhie (Bozeman, MT) who was pulling in another third for the event.

According to Robertson, her fourth U.S. title came with a little luck and some hard-fought skiing throughout the bright day in Tahoe.

"I felt like I got a little lucky on a couple of the runs before, and I wasn't skiing on my game. I knew I'd have to put it together on this last run," Robertson said. "I was happy to finally put down the run that I wanted to ski on this last one."

After a weekend riddled with successes, Outtrim is looking back on what she feels are two weeks that can push her forward.

"It's incredible. I've probably had my best three results I've ever had in the last week and a half," Outtrim said. "They're my first podiums at U.S. Champs and to get two seconds is pretty sweet."

Now, Outtrim is just looking to keep the momentum going strong.

"It feels so good and it's so motivating. I can't wait to get back and start training again this summer," Outtrim said.

Absent from the competition, but there watching with friends and family was local hero and Olympic bronze medalist Shannon Bahrke (Tahoe City, CA) who was not racing due to an injury.

On the men's side, reeling in his first U.S. title had Cota very excited that he could go up against some of the sport's best and succeed.

"This is my first time winning a national title and I'm definitely psyched," Cota said. "There's a lot of incredible skiers in this event and for me to win I had to do my very best, and I was happy to be able to do that."

For Cota, the day marked the outcome of a season building toward something great.

"The whole season has been a confidence builder. As the season went on I kept doing well and was able to ski my best. It kept building and here I am," Cota said.

In the end, Cota feels the motivation to keep it going in order to reach a new level in moguls skiing.

"I'm excited and I'm going to do a lot of summer training. This year was definitely an eye opener to where I need to be to reach my goals. I have a plan now and I'm going to stick to that," Cota said.

Also on the podium with Cota, marking his second appearance in the week was U.S. moguls champion Joey Discoe (Telluride, CO) in second, and Dave DiGravio (Farmington, ME) in third.

"I feel great. I just came out here and I got to ski all my runs and put them all down. It's great being on the podium twice," Discoe said. "Hopefully next year I get those first World Cup starts. That's my main goal and I think this will help me."

With the dual moguls complete, the U.S. freestyle athletes now depart to train for the summer in anticipation of the 2011 season, and particularly the FIS Freestyle World Championships, which will be held at Deer Valley Resort in Utah.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
2010 Sprint U.S. Freestyle Championships
Squaw Valley, CA - March 28, 2010
Dual Moguls

Men
1. Jeremy Cota, Steamboat Springs, CO
2. Joey Discoe, Telluride, CO
3. Dave DiGravio, Farmington, ME
4. Zak Watkins, Telluride, CO
5. Bradley Wilson, Park City, UT

Women
1. Shelly Robertson, Reno, NV
2. Eliza Outtrim, Steamboat Springs, CO
3. Heather McPhie, Bozeman, MT
4. Laurel Shanley, Squaw Valley, CA
5. Mikaela Matthews, Frisco, CO

Hudak, Perkins Take HP Crowns

SQUAW VALLEY, CA (March 27) - Under the radiant California sun, Jen Hudak (Park City, UT) and Tucker Perkins (North Hampton, NH) threw down to take the halfpipe titles at the Sprint U.S. Freestyle Championships at Squaw Valley on Saturday.

The women's skier halfpipe podium was rounded out by Brita Sigourney (Carmel, CA) in second and Maddie Bowman (South Lake Tahoe, CA) in third.

The day marked the fourth title for Hudak, who had to sit out the previous year's event due to an injury.

"I had to miss last year because of my knee and that was a bummer because it was here and it's fun here," Hudak said. "But the whole day went well and the pipe held up nicely for how late in the day we were skiing. You cant complain about a little Tahoe sunshine."

Hudak threw a 540 mute, alleyoop critical, 540 safety, alleyoop 5 for the win, but some tricky snow caused the champ a problem in the end.

"I was planning on doing a 7, but the soft snow snaked me a little bit and I didn't get my full run in finals," Hudak said.

But, despite the shortcoming, Hudak was happy with the way she came out of the day.

"I just didn't quite get to finish my whole run, which would have been the icing on the cake. It would have been good to get the full run for the final," Hudak said. "But I was happy with the part of the run that I landed."

On the men's side, Perkins took charge of the day to mark the first U.S. Champs title in his career.

"I competed four years ago and got second, so it's good to be back and grab the title," Perkins said.

Perkins was joined on the podium by Walter Wood (Evergreen, CO) in second and Wing Barrymore (Hailey, ID) in third.

The winning run consisted of double side flip, rightside cork 900, leftside cork 900, alleyoop flatspin 540, leftside cork 1080. According to Perkins, the pipe was just right for the tricks he wanted to put down.

"The pipe was great. The cutter got a great shape on it and we were all able to do the tricks we wanted to on it," Perkins said. "This is the run I was planning on doing in finals so it happened to work out for my last run."

The 2010 Sprint U.S. Freestyle Championships wrap up Sunday with men's and women's Nature Valley dual moguls.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
2010 Sprint U.S. Freestyle Championships
Squaw Valley, CA - March 27, 2010
Skier Halfpipe

Men
1. Tucker Perkins, North Hampton, NH, 45.6
2. Walter Wood, Evergreen, CO, 43.9
3. Wing Barrymore, Hailey, ID, 40.8
3. James Campbell, Reading, MA, 40.5
5. Tyler Peterson, Holladay, UT, 39.9

Women
1. Jen Hudak, Park City, UT, 32.6
2. Brita Sigourney, Carmel, CA, 32.1
3. Maddie Bowman, South Lake Tahoe, CA, 29.7
4. Hannah Haupt, Sun Valley, ID, 27.8
5. Annalisa Drew, Andover, MA, 25.4

Cook, DePeters Win Aerials Titles

SQUAW VALLEY, CA (March 27) - It was fun under the sun on Saturday as Emily Cook (Belmont, MA) and Matt DePeters (Hamburg, NY) marked the end of the 2010 season with national aerials titles during the 2010 Sprint U.S. Freestyle Championships in Squaw Valley.

"Squaw is so much fun. I'm excited and it's a great end to a really fun season," said Cook, marking her fourth U.S. title on the day.

Cook was joined on the championships podium by Ashley Caldwell (Hamilton, VA) in second and Jana Lindsey (Black Hawk, SD) in third.

According to Cook, the Championships are a great time not only to unite the athletes in the U.S. freestyle world, but also to see the future of the sport emerging as their talent grows.

"It's always fun being out here at U.S. Championships with all the athletes and the future of our sport. It's great to see so many young guys and girls representing our sport so well," Cook said.

With the podium out of her way, Cook's immediate future holds some nice turns with her closest friends.

"I had the best day of skiing the other day with my teammates. We had a great time and I'm looking forward to another day of skiing tomorrow," Cook said.

It was the first time on a U.S. Champs podium for Caldwell, who emerged to make the 2010 Olympic team from the Elite Aerial Program at the age of 15.

"I had a great year and this is another check on my list of awesome great achievements of the year," Caldwell said.

With spring-like temperatures, nice snow and bluebird skies, Caldwell could not have imagined a better spot for the event to take place.

"I think this is the ideal U.S. Championships. It's really sunny, it's warm and everyone is having a good time. These are awesome jumps and people were hucking, so it's pretty fun here," Caldwell said.

It was also the first time on top of the U.S. Champs podium for DePeters, who was elated to take the win.

"This is my first national title and I'm pretty happy. I came out and just wanted to jump my best, and try to set a personal record. I did that and I can't be happier right now," DePeters said.

DePeters was followed by Dylan Ferguson (Amesbury, MA) in second and Nevin Brown (Streetsboro, OH) in third.

Just like the rest of his teammates, DePeters enjoyed marking the end of the 2010 season in sunny Squaw Valley.

"I always look forward to this event. The sun is out, we get nice soft landings and it's a nice end of the year event for us. One of my favorites," DePeters said.

Just recovered from an unexpected bout with appendicitis, which took him out of the sport for eight weeks, Ferguson was happy to nab the second silver U.S. Champs finish of his career on Saturday.

"I feel good. I'm just coming back from my injury. I haven't jumped in two months, so to be able to put down a really good full, double full, full was all I really wanted," Ferguson said. "Squaw is awesome. I'm enjoying the sun and having a good time here."

OFFICIAL RESULTS
2010 Sprint U.S. Freestyle Championships
Squaw Valley, CA - March 27, 2010
Aerials

Men
1. Matt DePeters, Hamburg, NY, 214.87
2. Dylan Ferguson, Amesbury, MA, 193.59
3. Nevin Brown, Streetsboro, OH, 190.87
4. Ryan St. Onge, Winter Park, CO, 177.82
5. Jeret Peterson, Boise, ID, 174.43

Women
1. Emily Cook, Belmont, MA, 173.14
2. Ashley Caldwell, Hamilton, VA, 163.57
3. Jana Lindsey, Black Hawk, SD, 145.98
4. Allison Treleaven, Fort Wayne, IN, 120.83
5. Jamie Crane-Mauzy, Waterville Valley, NH, 119.32

Discoe, Kearney Take Moguls Gold

SQUAW VALLEY, CA (March 26) - It was icing on the cake for one, and a new frontier for the other as 2010 gold medalist Hannah Kearney (Norwich, VT) and Joey Discoe (Durango, CO) took moguls titles at the Sprint U.S. Freestyle Championships at Squaw Valley Friday.

Joining Kearney on the podium were two women who picked up the first World Cup wins of their careers this season. Eliza Outtrim (Steamboat Springs, CO), just off a win at World Cup finals in Spain, was second and Heather McPhie (Bozeman, MT) was third.

Kearney was happy to share the podium with such distinguished talent.

"The podium was three individuals who have won a World Cup so you're really skiing against the best in the world, which makes it that much more difficult," Kearney said.

The Olympic champ broke out some new moves Friday, throwing a mute grab off the bottom air to freshen up her run and set herself apart from the stiff competition.

"That was the first time I've ever thrown a mute in competition or qualifying and a new trick, it's always satisfying when that goes well," Kearney said. "I like to try to push myself because I've been stuck in a rut for a few years as far as my tricks go."

For Outtrim the day marked another career landmark, which she said she was hoping for after her time in Spain.

"I've never been on a U.S. Championship podium before, so that's incredible," Outtrim said. "I really wanted to come off the win from last week, ski well here and follow up on that win."

As far as her run went, Outtrim was pleased and plans to keep it up.

"I feel like I messed up my top air a little, but I was really happy with the rest of my run," Outtrim said. "I feel like I'm skiing faster and I've been trying to do that - to push the limits a little bit."

Outtrim wasn't the only one making first impressions Friday, as Discoe took down his first Champs podium appearance as well.

"I'm really excited. It's an amazing feeling and I'm super stoked," Discoe said. "My skiing has been coming together for the last three events with a couple World Cups making the finals. I got a top 10 there and just kept the skiing going into here."?
Joining Discoe on the podium were Jeremy Cota (Carrabassett Valley, ME) who was second and Michael Morse (Duxburry, MA) who was third.

Now with the champs win in Hand, Discoe has a plan for how he can keep his momentum rolling into 2011.

"Lots of training. I'm going to go home for the summer and take a little bit more of a break to clear my mind and then just get right back into it," Discoe said.

Young Cota was also a happy camper on the sunny ski day as he also marked his first appearance on a U.S. Champs podium.

"It feels great. I skied really well and was happy with the way I skied. I did my harder tricks and landed them, so I was stoked on that. I'm just happy to be on the podium," Cota said.

Sprint U.S. Freestyle Championships continue Saturday with men's and women's skier halfpipe and aerials competitions.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
2010 Sprint U.S. Freestyle Championships
Squaw Valley, CA - March 26, 2010
Moguls

Men
1. Joey Discoe, Telluride, CO, 25.51
2. Jeremy Cota, Steamboat Springs, CO, 25.41
3. Michael Morse, Duxbury, MA, 25.30
4. Reed Snyderman, Winchester, MA, 25.29
5. Dave DiGravio, Farmington, ME, 25.17

Women
1. Hannah Kearney, Norwich, VT, 26.37
2. Eliza Outtrim, Steamboat Springs, CO, 25.41
3. Heather McPhie, Bozeman, MT. 25.02
4. Shelly Robertson, Reno, NV, 24.81
5. Laurel Shanley, Squaw Valley, CA, 24.31

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HOME SKI AREA LINKS SKI CLUBS ADVERTISING EMPLOYMENT SKI AREA EVENTS SKI TIPS WANT ADS GREAT SKIERS ARCHIVED FEATURE ARTICLES LODGING