Jesse Mast (left), Isabella Tinney, and Tate Gardner helped the Flames and Lady Flames earn the overall team championship at the USCSA National Championships in Lake Placid, N.Y. (Photos by Kendall Tidwell)
Trio of USCSA gold medalists, including first two on men’s snowboard side, elevate program
5/30/2024 9:38:00 AM | Ski & Snowboard
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Jesse Mast and Tate Gardner both won gold medals to lead the men's snowboard team and Isabella Tinney struck gold twice to help the women's skiers shine at nationals in March at Lake Placid, N.Y.
Under the direction of former Flames snowboarder and first-year Head Coach Tyler Sherbine, Liberty University's men's and women's skiers and snowboarders made program history at the 2024 USCSA National Championships in early March on Whiteface Mountain in Lake Placid, N.Y., setting a unprecedented standard of success.
The Flames and Lady Flames emerged as the combined freestyle national champions and the men's snowboarding team claimed individual (junior Tate Gardner and senior Jesse Mast) and team titles in Rail Jam and Slopestyle for the first time in program history.
"We have always been like a second- or third-place team, so in meeting with the coaches before the start of the season, we asked 'What is it going to take to finally break through (for the gold?)'" Sherbine said. "We pushed our guys, focused on jumps and linking lines on jumps and rails (and) that emphasis really paid off. Heading into the competitive season in January, we were ready to go."
Gardner, who transferred to Liberty from Northern Michigan after his freshman year, said the team peaked at the right time.
"We spent all season hyping up for nationals and … right after regionals (at Blue Mountain Resort in New Hampshire), we realized this was the opportunity, this was the golden year, this was what the future of the program is going to talk about," he said.
Meanwhile, the women's snowboarders landed a complete sweep atop the team podium, also taking the Boardercross gold medal for the first time, with senior women's skier Isabella Tinney claiming gold medals in the Rail Jam and Slopestyle finals. (Previously, the Lady Flames captured four team gold medals (women's ski and women's snowboard Rail Jam and Slopestyle) at the 2022 USCSA nationals at Lake Placid, where snowboarder Coleen Leja became Liberty's first two-time gold medalist in 2020 and Emory Orlando repeated that feat in 2022.)
Gardner and Tinney both overcame injuries to reach the top of the podium. Gardner broke his elbow at the first jump practice in the fall semester before coming back in time for the first competition at Beech Mountain (N.C.) in mid-January and landing his best performances at nationals.
"Coming into nationals, Tate was throwing the hardest, most technical tricks, and not falling at all," Sherbine said. "Coming into the first competition, he just exploded and put down really good lines."
Tinney suffered a fractured ribcage in November and reinjured it with a fall on a Rail Jam feature on the first day of practice at nationals.
"I couldn't breathe, I was like doubled over in pain, but the doctors said it wasn't broken, so I was not going to be a sissy and not compete," said Tinney, who persevered through the pain to put down two solid runs on both the Rail Jam and Slopestyle events. "It was just God helping me through and I think I had so much adrenaline … and my competitive drive kicked in when I was up there."
Lady Flames senior Josie Rich, the silver medalist in both the Rail Jam and Slopestyle, helped push Tinney to land better tricks with higher degrees of difficulty.
"She is one of my best friends and we definitely feed off each other and encourage each other a lot," Tinney said. "It definitely does put a fire under your belt when you see other girls throwing tricks that you know you can do. I definitely had a lot of anxiousness going into it because it was my last season, my fiancé was graduating, and we were getting married, so I really didn't want to get hurt before all of that, but in the moment, I was like, 'I don't even care. I just wanted to do well.' It was very fulfilling and rewarding."
Mast, whose progression over the past four years has been "astronomical," according to Sherbine, saved perhaps the best run of his career for last after qualifying second for the Slopestyle finals, striking gold in his final collegiate event.
"It was my last chance," said Mast, who landed a 720-degree spin on the second jump of his final run. "I didn't ride very well the last time we were at Lake Placid in 2022, so it felt good to get back there and land my tricks and get my runs down. It was a great way to go out."
"He was building off each competition every weekend and when it came to nationals, we said a prayer before his final run and after he put it down, we knew he was in first place and we were all celebrating," Sherbine added. Members of Liberty's men's and women's ski and snowboard teams, and head coach Tyler Sherbine (front left) show off their hardware.
Mast thought he had earned a spot on the podium for the preceding Rail Jam as well, but placed fourth behind Gardner, a Utah competitor, and Horrocks, who, like Mast and Sherbine, is a Pennsylvania native.
"We were really hoping to go 1-2-3 and we really thought we had it," he said. "We had an awesome group of guys and a really cool connection between us. We were able to push each other and completely set the course on fire so many times throughout the season."
"We knew we had a chance and we all showed out as hard as we could and we pulled out things we hadn't done before," Gardner added. "That chemistry, we all just feed off each other and it's like a chain reaction. We start going and the next guy matches it. We had so many runs in Rail Jam back-to-back, doing crazy tech tricks right in a row."
Tinney said Sherbine challenged her throughout the season to bring out her best on the slopes and rails.
"I have progressed a lot," Tinney said. "(Sherbine) really pushed us. He would speak truth over you and encourage you and that's what made me do all of the stuff that I did. It was a coaching style that I personally hadn't experienced before, and it helped me so much. He was phenomenal."
"Tyler has a really good way of being personable with everyone on the team," Mast added of Sherbine, who is one of his best friends. "He gets everybody fired up. Snowboarding is very much a mental game, so if you have someone on your side that knows how your head works … it's really beneficial to have someone that can figure that out and bring the best out of you."
"We both progressed a ton together while we rode together at Liberty, so as a coach that's a huge thing to have that experience and knowledge," he added. "He's a very talented snowboarder as well and that helps, too."
Sherbine expressed his appreciation for Assistant Coach and former Head Coach Isaac Gibson, who showed him the ropes as a freestyle snowboarder and coach after learning to do both at the Liberty Mountain Snowflex Centre.
"I really wanted to follow and build on what Isaac has grown because he set a really cool culture for the team," Sherbine said. "If I had any questions, he was always there to answer, walking me through the coaching process. He's been a huge mentor in my life, and I want to constantly thank him for that."
Sherbine will face an even more challenging sophomore season at the helm with graduation taking a major toll on the team.
"We're losing a lot of our seniors, the entire men's snowboard team," Mast said. "I've used all my eligibility, otherwise I'd be back. I love this team more than anything. I love snowboarding, I love being at Liberty, and I'd do it again if I could."
"It's going to be a rebuild year, but I think that Tyler is a great person to be tasked with that challenge," added Gardner, who grew up on a farm in Belmont, Mich., near Rockford, Mich., where both Tinney and Leja are from. "He's already networking with kids throughout the snowboarding community and he's got some prospects coming in. Liberty's kind of one of those places where it's like, 'Bring a friend.' Coleen (Leja) kind of brought Bella and Bella kind of brought me and Jesse brought Jayden (Horrocks) … and the relationships are going to last forever."
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video by Kylee (Lilge) Wright/Club Sports Video & Media Coordinator
