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Young skiers and vets battle it out for national titles

B.C.

B.C. skiers on top in freestyle national championships

The depth of Canadian freestyle ski programs became apparent as the season progressed with 11 different athletes contributing to a record national medal tally of 29 in moguls, dual moguls and aerials over the course of the season.

Two skiers, 20-year-old Jennifer Heil of Spruce Grove, Alberta and 24-year-old Steve Omischl of North Bay, Ontario earned their fair share of those medals, winning the overall World Cup titles for women’s moguls and men’s aerials respectively.

If the results from the Bell Canada Freestyle Ski Nationals at Mont Gabriel, Quebec are any indication then the team is about to get stronger as younger athletes at the provincial and development team level challenged the national team vets in every contest.

In the women’s moguls, 22-year-old Jennifer Simm of Prince George won her first national title with 24.52 points. Pascale Lamarre-Biebuyck of Montreal was second and Jacquie Brown of Chatham, Ontario was third – both are members of the national development team.

"I don’t think I could have done better," said Simm, who made the finals six times this season in World Cup competition. "It’ll be great to head into next season with the title of national champion under my belt. Today’s result is a continuation of my progress which will hopefully culminate with a big performance at the Olympics."

Whistler’s Sylvia Kerfoot was 17 th this year after winning the bronze last season. Jennifer Heil sat out the nationals with strep throat, and injuries kept Stephanie St-Pierre of Drummondville, Quebec on the sidelines.

In the men’s moguls, Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau of Drummondville, Quebec continued his comeback this season by winning his fifth national moguls title. National team skier Warren Tanner of Grimsby, Ontario and development team skier Garrett Simm of Prince George, Jennifer’s younger brother, were second and third.

"I had a good ending to the World Cup season and I wanted to keep that success going here," said Rousseau, 24. "I got my motivation today by watching a lot of the young guys and seeing how enthusiastic they were. I just told myself I’ve got to put on a good show."

Rousseau score a 26.65, Tanner a close 26.51 and Simm a 25.49.

Toronto’s Veronika Bauer claimed her third national women’s aerials title with a score of 173.12, ending an otherwise disappointing season on a high note after landing a perfect triple-twisting double somersault.

"It was up and down, but mostly down," said Bauer of her season. She was third in the world in 2002-03, but struggled to even qualify for the finals this season.

"It was nowhere near the level I was jumping at the year before. Overall, I’m really disappointed, but for me to land both jumps and end on a good note is nice."

The warm weather created some slushy conditions, forcing the athletes to begin their runs higher up to get enough speed.

Amber Peterson of Thunder Bay, Ontario was second with a 164.55. Third went to Elise Pallard of Edmonton with a 126.90.

In the men’s aerials, Ottawa’s Jeff Bean shrugged off his own disappointing season to win his second national title with a score of 198.84.

"It was a pretty rough season," Bean admitted, after failing to place higher than fifth this year. "I lost the fire a little bit after last season. I thought I was good and just sort of coasted. But I realized that if you want to be competitive at the nationals and for the Olympics you’ve got to perform.

"I came here with the intention of winning. I really wanted this one, I really needed it."

Warren Shouldice of Calgary was second in 197.01, followed by World Cup champion Steve Omischl with a 193.80.

The dual moguls competition shocked everybody, as a pair of teens snapped up the national titles.

In the women’s event, 15-year-old Audrey Robichaud of Val Belair, Quebec took the title after edging past Chelsea Henitiuk of the national development team in the finals.

"I’m hoping this will put me on the development team, and eventually I’ll ski on the World Cup in a few years," said Robichaud.

Pascale Lamarre-Biebuyck was third, edging out Maxime Durfour Lapointe from the Mont Tremblant Freestyle Club.

Whistler’s Sylvia Kerfoot came close, but settled for fifth overall.

In the men’s dual moguls, 17-year-old Guillaume Turgeon from the Quebec provincial team took the title after beating out Warren Tanner from the national team in the finals.

"The biggest thing about today," said Turgeon, "is it shows me I can compete with the top guys in the world. I had absolutely no thought of winning when I came out to compete. But it was such a beautiful day and the conditions were terrific, so I just decided to have fun."

Marc-Andre Moreau, in his first year with the national team, was third, edging out development team skier Colin Smith in the small finals.

In the halfpipe, a new World Cup event this season along with skier cross and table top, Alberta’s Dania Assaly took the top spot followed by Denis Jawarsky of Ontario and Chelsea Henitiuk of the development team.

Mike Riddle and Cody Whyte of Alberta took the top spots in the men’s halfpipe, followed by Ontario’s Andrew McIver.

In the women’s table top, Sarah Ingram of Alberta was the top jumper. Dania Assaly was second and Sybil Edmonds of Ontario third.

The men’s table went to Mike Riddle, followed by Quebec’s Olivier Rochon and Mike Henituk of Alberta.

For complete results, visit the Canadian Freesytle Ski Team Web site at www.freestyleski.com.