Flames, Lady Flames snowboarders land atop USCSA podiums again with dominating Slopestyle sweep

USCSA-overview-slope — A rider approaches the end of his men's snowboarding Slopestyle run Friday at the USCSA National Championships in Lake Placid, N.Y.

Liberty University's ski & snowboard team finished off a fantastic week of competition at the USCSA National Championships on Whiteface Mountain in Lake Placid, N.Y., clinching the overall team title after its men's and women's snowboarders swept gold medals in Friday's Slopestyle events and its men's and women's skiers earned silver and bronze medals, respectively, on Thursday.

"It was insane," Flames first-year Head Coach Tyler Sherbine said. "The Slopestyle competition was incredible. It was electric. Looking at men's snowboard, we finished first in Rail Jam, first in Slopestyle, and third in Boardercross and women's snowboard won all three."

It was a week of unprecedented success on the men's side, after the women's team had won previous team and individual gold medals.

"Winning nationals and trying to take the program to the next level, we did it and we want to keep building on that and keep the momentum going," Sherbine said. "This is the most talented group of men and women's riders and skiers I've seen in my six years being a part of the team."

The Flames were especially dominant in men's snowboarding, with a 1-3-4 finish accounting for a total score of 8 points to leave the University of Maine at Farmington (41), Lees-McRae (N.C.) College (47), and Westminster (Pa.) College (51) in their tracks.

Senior Jesse Mast capped off his Liberty career with an individual gold medal after posting a score of 71 on his qualifying run and saving his best for last with a phenomenal 83.67 run in the finals for first place.

"Jesse was behind, in second place going into his final run, and he put down an incredible line, really technical on both of his rails," Sherbine said, noting that he used a switch 270 onto the first rail and a back 360 off the second rail, as well as a front 360 off the toe-side edge on the first jump before ending the run with a backside 720 on the last jump. "That was a storybook ending to the entire week and the season and his collegiate career. Jesse did exactly what he needed to do."

Flames senior Jayden Horrocks placed third with a qualifying run of 65.33 and a finals score of 75, edging junior Tate Gardner (fourth, 60.33, 73.33), while senior Carlton Leggett (64.67, 59.67) was Liberty's fourth-highest finisher, placing eighth.

The women's snowboard competition was tremendously more competitive, with the Lady Flames' total of 25 points barely eclipsing Westminster (31) and riders from the Claremont (Calif.) Colleges (31) and Cal State Sacramento (34), San Diego State (37), and the University of Virginia (41) right on their heels.

Liberty was paced by junior Emmaus Rich's second-place performance based on her 74-point qualifying run and 65-point finals score. Senior Kylee Kraemer (47.67, 50) came in sixth and junior Abigail Foreman landed in 17th.

In the men's ski competition, the Flames totaled 28 points based on their top three finishers' seventh, 10th, and 11th-place showings to land behind only Maine at Farmington (12) on the team podium in a field of 16 colleges and universities.

Coby Liebelt placed seventh overall with a best qualifying run of 68 and a best finals run of 61.67 while fellow junior Charlie Barkow (63, 65) and sophomore Justin Maier (73, 54.33) came in 10th and 11th, respectively. Sophomore Cameron Brandenburg (57, 20) finished 14th out of 48 total competitors.

For the women, seniors Isabella Tinney (73.33, 84) and Josie Rich (66, 81.67) repeated their gold and silver medal individual performances from Tuesday's Rail Jam in Thursday's Slopestyle events. Once again, the Lady Flames didn't have a third skier available due to a knee injury to senior Gianna Niece in Monday's Slopestyle practice, so their total score of 35 placed them third behind The Claremont Colleges (18) and San Diego State (31).
Complete results are available online.

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer

Coby-Liebelt-Liberty-fans — Coby Liebelt is greeted by Flames fans and teammates after his seventh-place run in Thursday's men's skiing Slopestyle competition.

Flames, Lady Flames snowboarders land atop USCSA podiums again with dominating Slopestyle sweep

Players Mentioned

Cameron Brandenburg

Abigail Foreman

Jayden Horrocks

Kylee Kraemer

Carlton Leggett

Coby Liebelt

Justin Maier

Jesse Mast

Gianna Niece

Emmaus Rich

Isabella Tinney

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