Their victories capped two days of extreme big-mountain skiing in the shadow of Telluride’s Palmyra Peak. The skies were jewel-clear for today’s finals, and the deep snow gave nearly 50 competitors a chance to break out their best stuff on some truly heroic lines. With the stakes higher for the final round, both the men and women turned up the juice. The hundreds of spectators witnessed back and front flips, 360’s off huge cornices and athletes sending it off 30-foot cliff drops. Telluride locals marveled that the Prospect Basin had never seen so many skiers going so big.



In the men’s super final, all of the top three finishers put on stunning performances. Josh Daiek of Kirkwood, CA, launched off the Dihedral Chute ribs and sailed through the tight lower turns, earning third place and an overall score of 100.38. John Nicoletta of Aspen, CO, grabbed some of the day’s biggest air up top and took home second place, scoring 101.50 overall.



But nobody could get by Post. He won with 107 points, a 5.5-point margin over second place. “I’m pumped,” he said. “To stay in first is just –well, I’m glad I didn’t blow it.”



Hannah Whitney, of Crested Butte, CO, came into today’s comps tied for second place, but she put in a strong showing on her first run and edged past Crystal Wright, of Jackson Hole, WY. Both women skied fast and fluid in the super final, but Whitney held onto her lead. She won with 95.76 points, less than a point ahead of Wright.



The North Face Young Gun Award, which honors outstanding freeskiers under 21, went to Scott McBrayer of Alta, UT. He put in three strong runs during the competition and came in sixth overall. But the most poignant moment of the competition was this year’s Tobias Lee Sickbird Award, which is handed out to the skier who puts in the most spirited, most extraordinary competition run. The award went to Tobias’s older brother, Elijah Lee, of Mount Baker, WA,(the two brothers were skiing a steep chute together at Mount Baker in 2006 when an avalanche broke, killing 25-year-old Tobias). Elijah put in an amazing, aggressive performance today in Telluride, and he was moved to tears when the judges awarded him this year’s first Sickbird buckle.



The U.S. Freeskiing Series heads next to Squaw Valley USA, CA, February 13th through 16th.



Once again, MSI will be posting same-day video webcasts on the newly redesigned usfreeskiing.com which features state of the art video and photo player technology. The daily uploads of video, photos, news and results of each day’s competition action will be available after each day concludes.



2008 Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Series & Freeskiing World Tour Schedule



• Subaru Telluride Freeskiing Open, Telluride CO, February 7-10



• Subaru Squaw Valley Freeskiing Open, Squaw Valley, CA, February 13-16



• Subaru U.S. Extreme Freeskiing Championships, Crested Butte, CO, February 19-23 (World Tour #1)



• Subaru Jackson Hole Freeskiing Open, Jackson Hole, WY, March 13-16



• Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Nationals, Snowbird, UT, March 18-23 (World Tour #2)



• Subaru Freeskiing World Championships and Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Series Finals, Alyeska, AK, April 9-13 (World Tour #3)





Special thanks to our sponsors:

Subaru of America

The North Face

Corona

Nordica

Coca-Cola

Powder Magazine

Emergen-C

Ski Press Magazine

Mt. Olympus water

Lynden Transport

Sports Insurance

Scott USA

Grabber

Skull Candy

Yakima

IFSA



Special thanks to our Resort partners:

Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort

Jackson Hole Mountain Resort

Telluride Ski Resort

Squaw Valley USA

Crested Butte Mountain Resort

Alyeska Resort





For more information log onto www.usfreeskiing.com

WOMEN
ATHLETE NAME COUNTRY HOME RESORT BIB
1 Crystal Wright USA Jackson Hole 13
2 Galena Gleason USA Telluride 92
2 Hannah Whitney USA Titcomb Mt 12
4 Rebecca Selig USA Snowbird 10
5 Alexis Bennett USA Snowbird 2
6 Kaia Sumpter USA Telluride 91
7 Clare Burns France Val D'Isere 80
8 Tanya Christensen USA Crested Butte 4
9 Kate Olson USA Aspen 8
CUT OFF
10 Kate Cardamone USA Aspen 3
11 Emily Teague USA Aspen 11
12 Andria Huskinson USA Alta 6
13 Vanessa Flory USA Jackson Hole 88
14 Kim Havell USA Telluride 89
15 McKenna Peterson USA Sun Valley 9
16 Whitney Barker USA Snowbird 1
17 Sonja Lercher CAN Blackcomb 94
18 Erica Laidlaw USA Brundage 7
19 Jacqui Edgerly USA Aspen 5

MEN
ATHLETE NAME COUNTRY HOME RESORT BIB
1 Griffin Post USA Sun Valley 62
2 Jake Cohn USA Telluride 28
3 Oliver Holmes USA A. Basin 39
4 David Wintzer USA Snowbird 75
5 Josh Daiek USA Kirkwood 32
6 Kent Hyden USA Alta 38
7 Sean Doyle USA Mt. Hood 29
8 Daryn Edmunds USA Alta 33
9 Cliff Bennett USA Snowbird 20
10 John Nicoletta USA Aspen 58
11 Kenjiro Matsuo Japan Tokyo 53
11 Joey Smallwood USA 68
13 Andy Sabatier USA Sun Valley 65
14 Drew Krawczuk USA Breckenridge 40
15 Ryan Banker USA A. Basin 17
16 Adam Moszynski USA Aspen/Snowmass 55
16 Drew Stoecklein USA Alta 67
18 Justin Modroo USA Red Lodge 52
19 Jason France USA Snowbird 34
19 Robert Dickinson USA West Mtn 31
21 Thomas Nutting USA Park City 60
21 Elijah Lee USA Mt. Baker 45
21 Todd Ligare USA Snowbird 42
24 Brad Bermes USA The Canyons 19
24 Darrell Haggard USA A. Basin 37
26 Will Cardamone USA Aspen 27
27 Tim Normand USA Snowbird 59
28 Travis Wolfe USA Telluride 93
29 Ollie Nieuwland-Zlotnicki USA Aspen 57
29 James Donald USA Winter Park 30
29 Scott McBrayer USA Alta/Bird 50
32 Mark Welgos USA Aspen 76
32 Timmy Boulay USA A. Basin 78
34 John Mason USA Breckenridge 51
35 Drew Billington USA Alta/Bird 21
36 Jason Brown USA Aspen/Snowmass 15
CUT OFF CUT OFF
37 Andrew Whitford USA Jackson Hole 74
38 Staffan Bjorklund SWE Are 84
38 Scott Hermanski USA Alta/Bird 35
40 Justin Richard USA Breckenridge 64
40 Jared Lynch-Gilbert USA Alta 41
40 Jesse Bryan USA Mt. Bachelor 22
43 Eddie Schelert USA Mt. Rose 95
44 Ryan Brennan USA Telluride 24
45 Elliot Marsh USA Crystal Mountain 54
45 Casey Bayless USA A. Basin 16
47 Mike Tracy USA A. Basin 73
48 James Binkley USA Bridger Bowl 87
49 Johnny Manekin USA The Canyons 56
50 Adam Buzan USA Arizona Snowbowl 23
51 Bobby Lee USA Alpine Meadows 44
52 Zak Gerots USA Telluride 86
53 Luke Hinz USA 36
55 Matt Hamilton USA Summit County 79
56 Zach Berman USA Loveland 18
57 Jonathan Campbell USA Alta/Bird 26
58 Lars Chickering-Ayers USA Mad River Glen 25
59 Brian Anzini USA Snowmass 14
60 Brett Phelps USA Kirkwood 63
61 Dave Stratton USA Kirkwood 70
62 Chris Tatsuno USA Aspen 71
63 Conan Norkus USA 61
64 Ian Ross USA Seven Springs 85
65 Shaun Spacht USA A. Basin 69
66 Luke Smith USA Bridger Bowl 77
67 Jonny Manwaring USA Park City 48
68 Mark Chapman USA Winter Park 81
69 Eric Koczab USA 90
69 Al Magnatta USA Keystone 47
71 Steven Walicki 96
72 Mike Leake USA Alpine Meadows 46
74 Brady Smedsrud USA Alta 66