Senior Jesse Mast lands on the edge of the down-flat-down rail at the end of his men's snowboard Rail Jam run, helping the Flames to their first-ever team gold medal at the USCSA National Championships in Lake Placid, N.Y. (Photos by John DiGiacomo/Placid Times)
Men’s, women’s snowboarders sweep Rail Jam gold medals at USCSA nationals; skiers strike silver
3/7/2024 9:19:00 AM | Ski & Snowboard
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Liberty dominated the Rail Jam led by gold medal men's snowboarder Tate Gardner and women's skier Bella Tinney and the Lady Flames also won the Boardercross competition for the first time.
For the first time in program history, Liberty University's men's snowboard team landed atop the podium at the USCSA National Championships, on Wednesday at Whiteface Mountain in Lake Placid, N.Y., accomplishing the feat in dominant fashion in the men's Rail Jam.
Tate Gardner
Junior Tate Gardner captured the gold medal for first place individually and Flames senior teammates Jayden Horrocks and Jesse Mast and sophomore Curren Cook finished third, fourth, and fifth, respectively, out of 38 riders for a championship total team score of 8 points. Liberty's closest competition in the 18-team field came from Southeast Region rival Lees-McRae (N.C.) College (34) followed by the University of Maine at Farmington (43), Westminster (50), and UCLA (57).
"We took first place as a team and as an individual for the first time in men's program history," Flames first-year Head Coach Tyler Sherbine said. "We said it earlier in the season, nationals is our focus and that is pretty evident right now. It was really cool to see that come together. Everyone did what they needed to. They all performed to the best of their ability and made finals. (Gardner and Mast) had incredible runs."
Sherbine noted that the Rail Jam featured a stable rail, a flat tube, two flat rails, one transfer rail, and one down-flat-down rail, making it a very similar layout to what the Flames and Lady Flames have to practice on at the Liberty Mountain Snowflex Centre.
On Tuesday, the men's snowboarders placed third in Boardercross with a total of 40 points and two of its riders advancing to the finals. The Flames finished behind Lees-McRae (N.C.) College, which won a tie-breaker over the University of Wisconsin Madison after both teams totaled 15 points.
Gardner came in ninth after his time trial of 51.68 seconds and Cook placed 14th after clocking a 52.2 in the time trial, giving both riders a spot in the finals. Mast placed 17th, missing the finals cut by one spot.
"Boardercross is a discipline we don't practice in, so I was pretty proud of the guys," Sherbine said.
Liberty's men's ski team secured second place in the Rail Jam with 19 points, behind only Maine at Farmington (7) and ahead of Fairfield University (46), and Army (53) in the 15-team field. Sophomore Justin Maier claimed the bronze medal and juniors Charlie Barkow (fifth) and Coby Liebelt (11th) also made the finals.
"The field was really heavy, and it was very competitive," Sherbine said.
Junior Emmaus Rich
Liberty's women's snowboard trio of juniors Emmaus Rich (second) and Abigail Foreman (third), and senior Kylee Kraemer (eighth) combined to land atop the podium in the team competition with their 13-point total, half as many points as runner-up Westminster (26) with the University of Virginia (32), UC San Diego (36), and San Diego State (40) rounding out the top five.
The Lady Flames also won the women's Boardercross competition for the first time with 36 points, edging second-place Lees-McRae (42), The Claremont Colleges (53), JMU (54), and Minnesota-Duluth (62) behind Rich's third-place finish after her 53.52-second time trial. Kraemer (16th, 57.65) also made the finals and Foreman (18th, 56.49) narrowly missed the cut.
Senior Bella Tinney
Senior Isabella Tinney overcame a rib cage injury sustained after landing on a rail in practice on Monday to strike gold in Tuesday's women's ski Rail Jam, followed by senior teammate Josephine Rich's silver medal performance.
"They both did incredible," Sherbine said, "Bella was able to battle through her injury. It was inspiring and impressive, considering the fact that she was in so much pain, that she was able to put down a couple good lines."
Rich finished runner-up, as did the Lady Flames (31 points) in the team standings, behind The Claremont Colleges (25). That was because Liberty lost senior Gianna Niece, who suffered a knee injury on the first day while practicing jumps on the Slopestyle course, and a ghost rider determined its final team score by adding a last-place point value.
The USCSA competition concludes for the Flames and Lady Flames with men's and women's skiing Slopestyle today and men's and women's snowboard Slopestyle on Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
By Ted Allen/Staff WriterFlames junior Coby Liebelt placed 11th in the men's skier Rail Jam to help Liberty to a second-place team showing on the podium.
