MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN, Calif. - Competitors who win two of the five U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix Olympic Qualifiers receive an automatic "in" to next month's Vancouver Olympics.

Kelly Clark was the first to achieve that honor by winning the first two events, and Saturday that honor went to Shaun White, who took the first event at Copper and later in the day captured the third overall event.

If anyone was making bets on Shaun's performance before the Olympic Qualifiers they would have been disappointed last Wednesday. Most observers thought White was the overwhelming favorite to win every Grand Prix race. But in Wednesday's race White finished second behind Danny Davis, who was riding in tribute to his best friend Kevin Pearce, who is currently critically injured.

Apparently White's second-place finish fueled the fire for his performance Saturday.

White came out firing, posting a score of 47.00 on his first run. White's strong opening run allowed him to sit back and watch the rest of the competition as they tried to best his solid score. When no one overtook White he was able to take it easy on his next attempt and impress his fans with a victory run.

And impress he did. During his victory run White wowed the crowd with a trick most riders would consider unthinkable, a double McTwist 1260, and he nearly stuck it.

"It's a trick that's been messing with me for a while, but I'm excited to try and put it down in Park City and hopefully at the Games," White said.

Meanwhile, hearts were torn at the bottom of the pipe. White has always been a fan favorite, but Davis' victory in the last Qualifier had many hoping to see him return to the podium, proving to any doubters that Wednesday's win was no fluke.

Experts agree that Davis has what it takes to repeat his perfect, victorious run. But Saturday wasn't that day. He fell in both of his runs, leaving the doors open for White to claim his second Grand Prix victory and an automatic spot on the Olympic team.

Louie Vito, the crowd favorite dancing snowboarder, came in second with a highly technical and complex run, including a double cork and a cab double cork. His score of 45.60 edged out former Olympic bronze medalist J.J. Thomas, who laid down one of the more flawless runs of the day, keeping his amplitude consistently huge and linking his tricks with carefully practiced ease.

Vito, Davis and Thomas sit high on the list for making the U.S. Halfpipe Olympic Team, which will consist of four members. With two more Qualifiers later this month in Park City, Utah, each of them will be vying for one of the elusive spots on the team.

"I landed, I got a top three," said Vito. "That's all I really wanted and all I could hope for. Everyone's riding well and I have to keep stepping it up and I'm hoping for the best and what gets me to Vancouver."

Gretchen "GB" Bleiler won her first Grand Prix of the season in the ladies pipe final with a score of 44.10. Elena Hight finished second, at 43.30, by linking back-to-back 9's, a trick not many ladies can accomplish. Hannah Teter finished third with a score of 42.80.

OFFICIAL RESULTS 2010
Sprint U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix
Mammoth Mountain, CA - Jan. 9, 2010 Halfpipe

Men

1. Shaun White, Carlsbad, Calif., 47.00
2. Louie Vito, Sandy, Utah, 45.60
3. JJ Thomas, Golden, Colo., 45.00
4. Luke Mitrani, Mammoth Mountain, Calif., 44.20
5. Zack Black, Breckenridge, Colo., 43.30
6. Steve Fisher, Breckenridge, Colo., 41.90
7. Scotty Lago, Seabrook, N.H., 39.40
8. Matt Ladley, Steamboat Springs, Colo., 39.30
9. Elijah Teter, South Lake Tahoe, Calif., 37.90
10. Dylan Bidez, Minturn, Colol., 30.40

Women

1. Gretchen Bleiler, Aspen, Colo., 44.10
2. Elena Hight, South Lake Tahoe, Calif., 43.30
3. Hannah Teter, South Lake Tahoe, Calif., 42.80
4. Kelly Clark, Mt. Snow, Vt., 41.80
5. Ellery Hollingsworth, Stratton, Vt., 41.60
6. Holly Crawford, Australia, 33.30
7. Clair Bidez, Minturn, Colo., 26.50

Do I really even need to tell you who won today? Didn't most of us hedge our bets before this season even started? Yes, Shaun won, but more on that in a minute.


If they make a wax figure out of Shaun White they should probably make it in this pose, he gets to claim a lot of wins. Red Bull can and all. (P) Nate Abbot

Greybird skies, bitter cold temps and light flurries crept back into Copper for Saturday's finals, which contributed to many riders not being able to land their runs today.

Once in a while this kind of thing happens. A qualification day like Friday's Grand Prix's qualifications will have a higher level of riding then the day of finals. You almost have to feel sorry for the 1,000 or so spectators that braved Colorado's Interstate 70 to come watch the best riders in the world. If only they knew what they missed the day before. The field of riders yesterday just trying to make it into finals was so stacked that everyone had to give it their all. Just making it to today's finals was a victory- some of the favored to podium today's event didn't even make it in, including Kevin Pearce, Luke Mitrani, Torah Bright and Mason Aguirre.

When the pressure of the importance of these finals (due to them being an Olympic Qualifier and all) and the less than ideal weather sunk in first thing this morning, those thousand or so live spectators were treated to some pretty early-on carnage. Hit after hit, run after run, riders were bailing on their landings. It took standing up an entire run, consistency, and perseverance to make it to the top today. Luckily there weren't too many major injuries.

Let's get back to who won and why. On the men's side of things all eyes were on Shaun, as they almost always are, to take the win. Each rider had two chances to impress the judges. Most riders play it safe on their first run to get a solid score, and then go all out on their second run, but not Shaun. By the time Shaun finished his first run (with his infamous back-to-back double cork 1080's) he had won the entire event with a score of 47.00.


Men's Podium: Zach Black 3rd, Shaun White 1st, and Louie Vito 2nd

That didn't stop anyone from trying to beat him though. It only got more exciting during second run as every rider threw out their best to beat unstoppable White. Louie Vito, who was nipping at White's heels during qualifications yesterday, stood almost 5 points behind White after first run. Vito was the last rider before White to drop, and with no one else coming close to White's first run score, Vito knew he needed something cleaner and bigger for his second run.


Pretty impressive for a dancing hobbit. Rider: Louie Vito (P) Nate Abbot


And that is exactly what he did. Vito's second run was close to flawless, highly technical, and consistently huge.

You could have heard a pin drop as the judges tallied Vito's second run score. Vito and Shaun (and quite possibly everyone in the crowd) held their breath. Shaun stood strapped into his board at the top of the pipe to drop in for his second and final run, waiting to find out if his first run score was enough to take the win.

Vito's second run score was announced as a 45.60, confirming that White had clinched it by a mere 1.40 points. It was one of those "crowd went wild" moments, although it was hard to tell if the crowd was going wild for White winning, or for Vito barely losing to the red-headed wonder.

And with that, White dropped in for a victory run, and he went absolutely huge.


Louie "Twinkle Toes" Vito- Barely missing the win but happy with the results of today's finals. (P) Nate Abbot

It's hard to get noticed with names like Shaun White and Louie Vito taking center stage, but the underdog story of the day goes to third place finisher and local boy Zach Black. With top riders like White, Vito, Scotty Lago, Jack Mitrani and Danny Davis all in the finals and scrambling to get in the 2010 Winter Olympics, being an underdog and finishing third is quite possibly the biggest feat of the day- maybe even more so than back-to-back doubles. The 19 year old Black earned some street cred today by doing two things the judges love to see, keeping it consistent and maximizing altitude, and that earned him a score of 44.10. (He also did a flawless Switch BS 1080, which definitely helped his score.)

With a showing out of Black like today, it's safe to say yet another name has been added to the mix of Olympic Hopefuls for Vancouver.

On the girls side of things it wasn't so clear cut going into the day who was the favored to win. As always though, the major battle was between American's Gretchen Bleiler and Kelly Clark. Bleiler won thursday's finals but it was Clark who stepped it up for the big win today, narrowly knocking Bleiler into second place with a two point lead. For the third place finish it was Japan's Soko Yamaoka who has shown us year after year not to count her out as a threat.


Women's Grand Prix at Copper Podium: 3rd Soko Yamaoka, 1st Kelly Clark, 2nd Gretchen Bleiler

Having a win or a top finish at this first of five Grand Prix's is important for the United States Olympic Halfpipe hopefuls since the Grand Prix series is the major deciding factor for which athletes will represent the U.S.A. in Vancouver this February. There are still four more chances in the series though, so it was not crucial to place high today. Riders like Danny Kass who didn't make it to the Copper Mountain event, or like Scotty Lago, Luke Mitrani and Danny Davis, who didn't even place top 10 here, will all have more time the season to prove their worth and make it onto the exclusive team.

Stay tuned to GrindTV.com and the 2010 U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix Series. With so many talented American riders in the mix this season, these competitions deciding who will be named to the U.S.A. Snowboard Halfpipe Team may be more exciting to follow than the Olympics itself.




Results from the 2009/2010 U.S. Snowboard Copper Grand Prix:

Men:

1. Shaun White, Carlsbad, CA, 47.00
2. Louie Vito, Sandy, UT, 45.60
3. Zack Black, Breckenridge, CO, 44.10
4. Fredrik Austbo, Norway, 41.20
5. JJ Thomas, Golden, CO, 41.10
6. Greg Bretz, Mammoth Lakes, CA, 40.00
7. Steve Fisher, Breckenridge, CO, 39.40
8. Tore-V Holvik, Norway, 34.80
9. Ryo Aono, Japan, 34.00
10. Jack Mitrani, Mammoth, CA, 28.80
11. Elijah Teter, USA, 22.1
12. Charles Reid, Canada, 18.8
13. Danny Davis, USA, 18.8
14. Scotty Lago, USA, 16.0
15. Dustin Craven, Canada, 9.0
16. Nathaniel Johnstone, 8.6

Women's Results:

1. Kelly Clark, Mt. Snow, VT, 44.50
2. Gretchen Bleiler, Aspen, CO, 42.60
3. Soko Yamaoka, Japan, 40.20
4. Quera Castellet, Spain, 30.50
5. Ellery Hollingsworth, Stratton, VT, 35.80
6. Madeline Schaffrick, Steamboat Springs, Co, 35.50
7. Holly Crawford, Australia, 24.00
8. Clair Bidez, Minturn, CO, 13.60

KILLINGTON, VT (March 14)
Olympic champion Kelly Clark (Mt. Snow, VT) continued her dominance with a huge win over Gretchen Bleiler (Aspen, CO) in the final stop of the U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix presented by Sprint at Killington. Michael Goldschmidt (Truckee, CA) put down a strong second run to knock off first run leader Elijah Teter (South Lake Tahoe, CA), who finished third.

With huge crowds lining the pipe and bluebird skies for her win on Saturday, Clark distinguished herself as back-to-back-to-back winner of the overall Grand Prix title, which she says is helping build her momentum for 2010.

"Anytime that you do well in events in a row or even back-to-back years it's a great feeling, so I am looking forward to carrying this momentum into next season," Clark said.

Truly a woman who progresses the direction of the sport, Clark landed a frontside air, backside five, frontside five, backside air, frontside seven, cab seven, to wow the Vermont home crowd.

"My family is up here and I always love doing well in Vermont. It was really nice that the weather changed. It got a bit softer today and I was able to just let it go a little more," Clark said. "It's pretty hard to be progressive in an icy halfpipe, but when it's slushy like this you get to see a lot of good riding."

For Bleiler, the day was marked down as a success thanks to what she said was some of her best riding this season.

"I am really stoked on my first run today. I felt like I was really letting it go and going bigger than I have all season. I'm psyched on my riding," Bleiler said. "This pipe was awesome today. Overall it was a successful day."

Rounding out the women's podium was 14 year old Madeline Schaffrick (Steamboat Springs, CO) who marked her first time in the Grand Prix top three with a straight air, back five, front five, air to fakie, switchback five, cab three.

"I am so pumped I can't even stand it. I don't even know how to put it right now, I don't think it's hit me yet," Schaffrick said of being on the podium with Olympic medalists Clark and Bleiler.

For Goldschmidt, whose air to fakie, cab 10, front nine, backside nine, frontside seven thrust him to his first Grand Prix win, he couldn't think of a better place to win than his home state of Vermont.

"I'm just so excited. I would rather win here in Vermont than anywhere else. It just feels great," Goldschmidt said. "This win makes me feel really good. I've known that I could put together a run that could get me up there, and it feels great to have it come together and win it."

Rookie Ladley landed a backside air, front nine, back nine, front 10, cab seven to finish second.

With third place, Teter marked the first podium of his season and said he is looking forward to keeping the momentum as he moves into competition at the Burton US Open.

With a successful close to the 2009 Grand Prix series, the only thing missing on Saturday at Killington was the presence of U.S. Snowboarding's Louie Vito (Sandy, UT) and Steve Fisher (Breckenridge, CO) who were tied going into the weekend for the lead in the Grand Prix overall standings. Both spent the day in La Molina, Spain, where Vito finished second and Fisher third in a World Cup. Because neither could compete, the tie remains intact and they now share the national title.

2009 U.S. SNOWBOARDING GRAND PRIX - PRESENTED BY SPRINT
Killington, VT (March 14)

Halfpipe

Men
1. Michael Goldschmidt, Truckee, CA, 43.40
2. Matt Ladley, Steamboat Springs, CO, 42.10
3. Elijah Teter, South Lake Tahoe, CA, 40.50
4. Ross Baker, Reno, NV, 37.00
5. Tyler Troy, Weston, CT, 32.10

Women
1. Kelly Clark, Mt. Snow, VT, 45.70
2. Gretchen Bleiler, Aspen, CO, 35.50
3. Madeline Schaffrick, Steamboat Springs, CO, 32.10
4. Lizzy Beerman, Stratton, VT, 29.30
5. Kaitlyn Farrington, Sun Valley, ID, 27.60

Riders are all systems go for their final chance at halfpipe mastery for the season as the U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix, presented by Sprint, wraps up at Killington Resort in Vermont March 14-15.

"We're excited to get back to Killington. They have a 22-foot pipe this year that is being cut by Jake Ingle, master groomer," U.S. Snowboarding Halfpipe Coach Ricky Bower said. "As we get closer to the 2010 Olympics, we will, of course, be riding a 22-foot pipe up there and it's a great opportunity to compete in a pipe that size as well as practice in it."

For the second year in a row Kelly Clark (Mt. Snow, VT) will look to snatch the Grand Prix overall title while in her home state. The 2002 Olympic gold medalist, who won the first stop of the tour at Copper Mountain, currently sits in first for the overall standings and says she would be happy to have everything fall into place in Vermont.

Right on Clark's heels in second for the overall is fellow Olympic gold medalist Hannah Teter (Belmont, VT) who was third at Copper, but won the Boreal stop of the Grand Prix.

"The women's competition is going to be very exciting," Bower said. "You have three of the top female riders in the world who are closely matched and they've all been working hard this winter and I think that's going to play a key role in the upcoming contest."

In the men's standings Steve Fisher (Breckenridge, CO) and Louie Vito (Sandy, UT) are tied for first place, but, because both are committed to competing in a World Cup in Spain the same weekend, young gun Dylan Bidez (Minturn, CO) could take the overall with a finish in the top three.

"It is important that we have the maximum number of quota spots that we can for the Olympics and Steve and Louie are going to the World Cup to ensure that we can do that," Bower said. "Steve and Louie not being there has opened the door for anyone, but Dylan and Elijah Teter (South Lake Tahoe, CA) particularly have a great shot at winning the Grand Prix overall, which is a good thing to do the year before the Olympics."

Following the halfpipe action on Saturday an afternoon concert with Reel Big Fish will entertain the crowd before the Xbox Junior Jam, which features local youth snowboarders showcasing their skills in front of a panel of judges. The top male and female will be the proud recipient of an Xbox and games.

Closing out the final Grand Prix will be the Paul Mitchell Progression Session, which takes place on Killington's Lower Skyeburst trail. Riders will use their freestyle skills to master a two rail three jump set up.

U.S. SNOWBOARDING GRAND PRIX, PRESENTED BY SPRINT, SCHEDULE:

Friday, March 13
9:30 a.m. Women's Halfpipe Qualifiers
12:00 p.m. Men's Halfpipe Qualifiers

Saturday, March 14
9:00 a.m. Paul Mitchell Progression Session Slopestyle Qualifiers
1:00 p.m. Halfpipe Finals
3:30 p.m. Halfpipe Awards
3:45 p.m. Reel Big Fish live on the Bear Mountain Stage
5:00 p.m. Xbox Junior Jam

Sunday, March 15
1:00 p.m. Paul Mitchell Progression Session Slopestyle Finals
2:45 p.m. Slopestyle Awards