Killington, VT – Sandy, Utah’s Louie Vito nailed his runs in an icy Vermont halfpipe Saturday to take his second Dew Tour win of the season in the three stop series. Joining him in the winner’s circle was Vermont native Kelly Clark of West Dover, whose 95.75 score not only got her first, but gave her the honor of having the highest scored women’s run in Dew Tour history.nThe win marked the third overall this season for Vito, who also took first at the Visa U.S. Halfpipe Grand Prix in Colorado in December. He led the competition after the first run, but upped the ante in his second with back-to-back double corks, a frontside 10 and a frontside tailgrab, earning the top score of 93.00 on his victory lap.

“I feel great about landing a solid run out here. The halfpipe was good and everyone rode really well overall,” Vito said. “I feel good heading into Snowbasin (Utah) next month, and hopefully I can just stay on my feet.”

The streak of three puts him in a good string of consistency as he looks ahead to the X Games as well as the final stop of the Dew Tour at Snowbasin in the beginning of February.

Golden, Colo.’s JJ Thomas took second for the day, followed by Mason Aguirre, of Duluth, Minn., in third.

For Clark, the Killington Dew Tour stop marked her fourth win thus far in the season, including the Grand Prix in Colorado, the O’Neill Evolution halfpipe comp, and the Burton European Open a week ago.

“Every day is a new day and it’s hard to take the scale from one event to the next in a great sport like snowboarding,” Clark said. “I’m really happy with the way I rode and I walked away with a win I can be happy with.”

Clark knocked out a front 9, back 5, front 7, cab 7, front 5, to land herself atop the podium and the Dew Tour history books, and she was proud to be able to do it in Vermont.

“It’s definitely a big win for me today. It’s always fun to come home and do well in front of your friends and family,” Clark said. “So many people from Vermont have been supporting me for so long that it’s nice to come back and do well.”

Next up on Clark’s plate: X Games, and she says she’s as ready as she can be.

“I’m trying to get as many competitions under my belt as I can,” said Clark. “And walking away today, I think that’s the most prepared for X Games that I can be.”

Clark led the podium followed in second by Gretchen Bleiler, of Aspen, Colo., and Spain’s Queralt Castellet in third.

Bleiler, who had foregone competition this season to spend time progressing and enriching her riding, was happy to see that the focus of her time had paid off as she reached a personal goal.

“I’ve been working on my backside 9 and I was psyched to land them in both runs today,” Bleiler said. “It was a big goal of mine today – not thinking about results and just trying to get that trick down. It feels good to have risen to the level that I wanted to today.”

Aside from the achievement she felt in her riding, Bleiler said it was good to be back in a competition.

“You sort of forget that contests do bring out the best in you, even in those tough conditions, and you just have to do your thing. That’s why contests are great, you can’t second guess yourself. You just have to go with it,” Bleiler said.

And Bleiler is undoubtedly ready to get back to her hometown as Winter X Games 2011 is right around the corner.

“The X Games is one of my favorite events of the season every season, especially for it being in Aspen, my hometown,” Bleiler said.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
2011 Winter Dew Tour
Killington, VT – Jan. 22, 2011
Halfpipe

Men
1. Louie Vito, Sandy, UT, 93.00
2. JJ Thomas, Golden, CO, 88.00
3. Mason Aguirre, Duluth, MN, 86.50

Women
1. Kelly Clark, West Dover, VT, 95.75
2. Gretchen Bleiler, Aspen, CO, 92.25
3. Queralt Castellet, Spain, 86.00