Liberty University Club Sports
USCSA Mid-Atlantic Regionals
Skiers, snowboarders dominate USCSA Southeast Regionals at Seven Springs in Pa.
2/22/2023 12:10:43 PM | Ski & Snowboard
With temperatures at Seven Springs (Pa.) Mountain Resort in the 60s for much of last week, snow accumulation and terrain park conditions were not ideal for Friday’s USCSA Southeast Region Championships, but that didn’t stop Liberty University’s men’s and women’s ski & snowboard team from dominating the Slopestyle competitions.
“The day and night before they got some rain, so on Thursday morning, the snow was soft and a little slushy,” Flames Head Coach Isaac Gibson said. “As the day progressed, temperatures continued to drop, so the snow went from slushy to far more hard-packed and icy, which made it more difficult for the athletes competing.”
He said the snow conditions for the contestants’ first runs between 10-11 a.m. were much different than for their second runs between 11:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m.
“You only get two runs, and the best run counts,” Gibson said. “With the conditions hard-packed and icy, athletes weren’t trying their hardest tricks because it becomes far more dangerous to fall on. They had to be strategic and aware of the other tricks people in the field were landing and they made adjustments.”
Competing against riders and skiers from Appalachian State, Army, Christopher Newport, Drexel, Duke, Fairfield (Conn.), Florida, Georgetown, Lafayette, Lees-McCrae (N.C.), Lehigh, Maryland, Penn State, Princeton, UNC Chapel Hill, Rutgers, Virginia, and Virginia Tech, Liberty secured first-place finishes in every division except women’s snowboard and took home first-place team awards in all but women’s skiing.
The Flames swept the podium in both the ski and snowboard divisions. In men’s ski, freshman Loken Siebert executed a 270-degree spin onto a downrail followed by a cork 720 onto a jump and a slide down the rainbow rail to capture first place, followed by freshman Justin Maier and senior Maxwell Ozanne.
In men’s snowboard, sophomore Jayden Horracks landed a front 270 onto the Flat Tube, a backside 180 on the jump, and a switch 50-50 on the rainbow rail to finish first. Senior Jesse Mast placed second despite showcasing more technical stunts with his 180 on and 360 out of the Flat Tube, a 360 over the jump, and a front blunt fly 270 out as he slid down the rainbow tube backwards on his back foot. Freshman Tate Gardner executed a similar run but chose the rainbow rail for his last feature and placed third.
A rider from Appalachian State won the women’s snowboard competition followed by Lady Flames senior Emory Orlando, who performed a front blunt on a flat box over the hill before connecting that with a method air over the jump and finishing her run with a board slide on the rainbow box. Sophomore Emmaus Rich placed third to help the Lady Flames clinch first place as a team.
In the women’s ski competition, junior Josephine Rich won with a skier slide on the downrail, a straight air with a safety grab over the jump, and a sideways skier slide on the rainbow box. Sophomore Isabella Tinney came in third, as did Liberty as a team.
Gibson is optimistic about the Flames’ and Lady Flames’ chances of landing on the podium in individual and team competitions at the March 6-11 USCSA National Championships at Mammoth Mountain, Calif., where there will be men’s and women’s ski and snowboard Slopestyle, Rail Jam, and Boardercross and Skiercross events.
“Our biggest struggle, especially this winter with it being so warm, is that we have had very little practice on any type of decent jumps,” he said. “It will be a very large step going from small jumps, with the biggest at Seven Springs having a 25-30-foot gap, to those as long as 70 feet out in California and that will be our biggest barrier to overcome. Fortunately, we have some athletes with prior experience.”
Mammoth Mountain was slated to host the USCA Nationals in 2021, but the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After capturing their first two individual gold medals at nationals in 2020 at Lake Placid, N.Y., and claiming three more gold medals (including two by Orlando) and its first four team championships (in women’s skiing and snowboarding) last March at the same site, the Flames and Lady Flames will try to replicate their success out west.
Traveling to California next month, the Flames and Lady Flames will be going from one extreme to the other.
“They’ve been getting pretty much record snow out there, and more snow is forecasted all this week,” Gibson said. “They have already had 30 feet of snow this winter, which is a little different than what we’ve seen on the East Coast. That could be an issue if there’s too much snow. If it’s snowing during a competition, it will be difficult.”
From what he has heard, Mammoth Mountain features very diverse terrain and a lot of very technical slopes. It offers what is considered to be one of the best terrain parks in the country.
“Some of our team members are nervous and a little scared, but the majority of them are very excited and looking forward to the opportunity to go to the mountain and then competing in all of that stuff is just icing on the cake,” Gibson said. “Typically, it is a pretty bucket list kind of resort to go to.”
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
