Despite freezing temperatures, ungodly wind and more snow than you can shake a stick at, The US Open held halfpipe qualifiers today. The hopes and dreams of 15 lucky athletes were realized today, while the rest of the field had theirs crushed under the weight of bad conditions. Two heats split between the 34 men today was the order, the top six advancing to tomorrow’s finals, with another three qualifying out of an LCQ round.
Heat 1 had some heavy hitters like Scott Hibbert, Matt Duhamel, Gus Kenworthy and Tyler Petersen. Matt and Tyler consistently kept their amplitude up while dropping tech tricks like right and left 900s to appease the judges and take the top two spots. Scott Hibbert, finally allowed in the US, blew minds with his technical run, spinning both ways, switch and regular, to take 3rd. Luke Kary, Gus Kenworthy and Christian Allen rounded out the qualified men in Heat 1.
Heat 2 was a little less stacked, but the athletes still had their work cut out for them, especially because Mother Nature decided to not turn off the crap weather. Geoff Straight, Noah Bowman and Derek Spong took the top 3 spots respectively, with Sean Colin, Jack Sullan and Cristhian Ravelo sneaking in to tomorrow’s finals.
The LCQ featured the next 8 highest scores, with Evan Walls, Colin Campbell and Marshall Lacroix taking advantage of the 3rd run to ski tomorrow. Unfortunately Ian Cosco, Cam Schuster and Mike Mertion all failed to qualify (all Canadians too).
As the soft snow blew through the air, it was matched by Uncle E and Luke Van Valin’s dueling commentary, floating deep into our cerebellums. As Luke pointed out, there were indeed no Mexican competitors, which is unfortunate. The trick of the day was the 360 to 360 spin… a double, if you will. A double 360… also known as the 720. Last hit. The icing on many run’s figurative cake.
Stay tuned tomorrow as these lucky 15 athletes go up against the pre-qualified men. It is still unknown how many pre-quals will compete, but look forward to the trickery of Justin Dorey, Mike Riddle, Peter Olenick, Taylor Seaton, Lyndon Sheehan, Walter Wood, Matt Philippi and many more. Also, the women take the stage and showcase their talents to the spectators at Copper, as well as the entire internet community. Tomorrow should be JAM PACKED with excitement, spill and thrills (and both genders!).
Heat 1 Qualifers
1) Matt Duhamel
2) Tyler Petersen
3) Scott Hibbert
4) Luke Kary
5) Gus Kenworthy
6) Christian Allen
Heat 2 Qualifers
1) Geoff Straight
2) Noah Bowman
3) Derek Spong
4) Sean Collin
5) Jack Sullan
6) Cristhian Ravelo
LCQ Qualifiers
1) Evan Walls
2) Colin Campbell
3)Marshall Lacroix
