NYSEF Freeride at Junior National Freestyle Championships

2015 NYSEF Junior National Freestyle Championship Team in Park City, UT

View of the Slopestyle course from the start

Brett DeWeese & Emma Lauria

Taylor Bond(NWS '15)(left), Jake Prichard (2nd to right), & Brian Gardiner (right)

The Freeride team, accompanied by Head Coach Justin Perry and Moguls Coach Nick Arnold headed to Park City, Utah last week to compete in the 2015 USSA Junior National Freestyle Championships.

Winter-term athletes Brett DeWeese and Emma Lauria qualified for the Moguls competition in their first year in the "A" division. Though they didn't make it into the top 20 that went to finals, the girls had a great experience skiing with the top junior skiers in the nation and Coach Nick was proud of their performance.  2016 is another year and we know they'll be working hard to get back there.

On the men's side, Coach JP had three athletes qualify through Eastern Freestyle competition: Taylor Bond (NWS '15), Brian Gardiner, and Jake Prichard.  All three competed in Slopestyle while Brian also qualified for Big Air.  

In Slopestyle, Brian won his qualifying heat and Jake took 4th in his to qualify into the 16-man finals.  Taylor just missed out and ended up 21st out of 79 athletes.  Both boys put down great runs in finals, and finished solidly in the top ten: Jake took 6th overall and 3rd in his age group while Brian took 8th overall and 4th in his age group.

In Big Air action the following day, Brian stomped a double cork 1260 mute on his first run to land him in 4th overall and 2nd in his age group.  Unfortunately, he fell hard on his 2nd attempt while trying for the same trick with a tail grab and couldn't better his first run score. Regardless, the performances overall were stellar and left room for improvement, which says a lot about the potential for reaching the podium in the future.

For Brett and Emma, championship season is over, however for the Slopestyle crew, they'll be traveling to USASA Nationals at Copper Mt, CO. April 4th-7th with their sights set on one more championship opportunity.  Go get 'em boys!


Click the link for a great article on Brett DeWeese in the Saratogian

East Coast A Mogul Championships

Brett DeWeese, Mike Lynn, Nick Arnold, Jake Roney, Emma Lauria

The NYSEF A Mogul crew headed this past weekend to Waterville Valley, NH for the East Coast Mogul Championships with Coaches Mike Lynn and Nick Arnold.  Brett DeWeese came away with a 14th place in Saturday's singles competition to lead the team with Emma Lauria taking a 23rd and Jake Roney a 29th place in their first year of A level competition.  Emma and Brett also competed in Dual Moguls on Sunday and happened to be paired against each other in their first heat.  Brett came away with the head-to-head win and then lost in the next round to the eventual 3rd place competitor, Savannah Forehand.  Brett also was given the most improved skier award at the Championship banquet.  Great job!

All three of these competitors not only represent NYSEF but also our Winter Term Program based at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, NY.  Athletes in the Winter Term train 6 days per week and live at the OTC side by side with elite athletes from many disciplines.  They also benefit from world class training facilities, personalized tutoring, and nutritious meals provided daily.  What a great way to experience and excel in your chosen sport!

We wish Emma and Brett the best of luck as they continue on to Junior Nationals in Park City next weekend.  Show them what you're made of!

USSA East Free Tour Slopestyle Finals @ Sugarloaf

The NYSEF Slopestyle team traveled to Sugarloaf, ME to compete in the USSA EastFree Tour Finals February 14th. It was another cold day of competition but the NYSEF athletes were red hot! Jake Prichard of Old Forge, NY stomped his second run to take the top honors and the title of East Coast Champion for 2015. Taylor Bond, (NWS '15), also took his second top 10 result of the season with a 9th place finish.

Click here for a full list of results.

Jake grabbing safety in a sw 720 in practice

T-Bond loading up for a prezle 270 out, after stomping a sw 270 on

Brian Gradiner locking on for a super fed

The 50-50 master himself - Avery Higgins-Lopez

Gavin with a steezy front 4 out

Jake speachless after his first USSA win!