Heather McPhie, of Bozeman, Mont., wins the Moguls Championships on Friday at the 2012 Sprint U.S. Freestyle Nationals held at Stratton Mountain in Vermont. (photo: Kirk Paulsen)
Events

U.S. Ski Team Champions Dominate Moguls

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Stratton Mountain, VT –U.S. Freestyle Ski Team members swept the podium in both Ladies’ and Men’s moguls at the U.S. Freestyle Championships on Friday at Stratton Mountain.

Montana’s Heather McPhie took first in ladies’ moguls, beating out the top 37 women mogul skiers in the country to climb atop the podium she took third on last year. Vermont native and Olympic medalist Hannah Kearney took second place ahead of K.C. Oakley, of Park City, Utah.

Heather McPhie, of Bozeman, Mont., wins the Moguls Championships on Friday at the 2012 Sprint U.S. Freestyle Nationals held at Stratton Mountain in Vermont. (photo: Kirk Paulsen)
Heather McPhie, of Bozeman, Mont., wins the Moguls Championships on Friday at the 2012 Sprint U.S. Freestyle Nationals held at Stratton Mountain in Vermont. (photo: Kirk Paulsen)

“Being U.S. Champion has definitely been on my bucket list for a while I’ve been really happy with my season,” said McPhie. “I’ve thrown my D-spin every single event which was my goal and to stay on the forefront of innovation. I was really excited to stick to my plan and commit to it. It means a lot that we push each other as a team and we continue to put up better and better results.”

Jeremy Cota, also of the U.S. Ski Team, won the men’s competition, which took place on Stratton’s World Cup bump run.  He stood beside teammate Patrick Deneen, of Cle Elum, Wash., who took second, and Steamboat Springs, Colo.’s Reed Snyderman, who stood in third.

“Actually I wasn’t super happy with my first two runs today so to put down my best run in the final was great,” Cota said. “This is my first singles national championship title which is a title that’s eluded me for a while so this feels really good.”

Of relegating Deneen to second place, Cota added, “Pat and I really push each other – we’ve been battling each other all season. It’s a friendly rivalry for sure and it helps us both. We both go out there and both want to win but at the same time we are rooting for each other. It helps us progress. Hopefully we’ll keep battling and next year win some titles.”

OFFICIAL RESULTS
U.S. Freestyle Championships
Stratton Mountain, VT – March 23, 2012
Moguls

Ladies
1. Heather McPhie – Bozeman, MT – 26.68
2. Hannah Kearney – Norwich, VT – 26.39
3. K. C. Oakley – Park City, UT – 24.79

Men
1. Jeremy Cota – Carrabassett Valley, ME – 26.21
2. Patrick Deneen – Cle Elum, WA – 25.85
3. Reed Snyderman – Steamboat Springs, CO – 19.64

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