With the blizzard that plagued practice on Tuesday a mere memory, the skies parted Wednesday making way for a gorgeous sunny day for the Grand Prix halfpipe qualifiers.
The 22-foot pipe was in pristine condition and praised by all the competitors. “The pipe is absolutely perfect,” said Jen Hudak. “It’s about as good as it gets.”
The men’s contest started at 9:00 AM with the first heat’s 34 competitors. Standouts from this heat included Mike Riddle, Simon Dumont and Justin Dorey, all of whom moved on to finals on Friday along with Byron Wells, Benoit Valentin, Christian Allen and David Wise. Riddle took top honors of the day with a stand-out run that consisted of a huge double cork twelve expertly grabbed.
The second heat saw 34 more competitors take to the pipe with Tucker Perkins taking that heat and AJ Kemppainen behind him by only a tenth of a point spurred on by his huge mirrored nines. Rounding out the top six in heat two were Thomas Krief, Torin Yater-Wallace, Patrick Baskins, Dan Marion and Walter Woods.
Rosalind Groenwoud took top honors for the ladies with massive hits and a solid nine that boosted her to first. Jen Hudak was right behind her and Devin Logan, with a couple of unique flairs took third.
Final Results:
MEN:
1) Mike Riddle
2) Justin Dorey
3) Simon Dumont
4) Tucker Perkins
5) AJ Kemppainen
6) David Wise
7) Torin Yater-Wallace
8) Thomas Krief
9) Byron Wells
10) Benoit Valentin
11) Patrick Baskins
12) Dan Marion
WOMEN:
1) Rosalind Groenewoud
2) Jen Hudak
3) Devin Logan
4) Anais Caradeux
5) Jess Cumming
6) Dania Assaly
7) Keltie Hansen
8) Angeli Van Laanen
9) Maddie Bowman
10) Jamie Crane-Mauzy
11) Kimmy Sharp
12) Brita Sigourney
