Tom Wallisch Wins Freeski Slopestyle at Lake Tahoe; Hunder Wins Dew Cup
February 21, 2009 – 10:31 pm PT by GregTags: Lake Tahoe, Tom Wallisch, Winter Dew Tour —
Tom Wallisch scored a surprise win as the freeskiing slopestyle finals went down Saturday at at Northstar-At-Tahoe’s Toyota Championship, the final stop of the 2009 Winter Dew Tour. Wallisch entered the contest as a wildcard in slopestyle, having missed the previous two events.
Wallisch’s 92.83 was enough to give him the edge over Canada’s Alexis Godbout (91.83). Josiah Wells (90.50) was third.
The Dew Cup went to PK Hunder, who ended up in sixth for the day. Hunder’s strong finishes at Breckenridge (4th) and Mount Snow (2nd) helped set him up for the win, though Godbout’s second-place finish also landed him a close second in the Dew Cup race.
“It means a lot,” Hunder said of the Dew Cup win. “I got injured last year so I was hoping this would be my comeback year so winning the Dew Cup is probably one of the biggest things out there, so I’m really stoked.”
Action continues Sunday with the Snowboard superpipe finals. Find out more at the official Winter Dew Tour site.
Winter Dew Tour Toyota Championships at Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort
Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009
Truckee, Calif.
Men’s Freeski Slopestyle Finals
1. Tom Wallisch, Pittsburgh, 92.83.
2. Alexis Godbout, Canada, 91.83.
3. Josiah Wells, New Zealand, 90.50.
4. Sammy Carlson, Tigard, Ore., 89.83.
5. Charles Gagnier, Canada, 89.17.
6. Per-Kristian Hunder, Norway, 89.00.
7. Simon Dumont, Bethel, Maine, 85.67.
8. Nick Martini, Winchester, Mass., 85.50.
9. Mike Riddle, Canada, 83.00.
10. Bobby Brown, Breckenridge, Colo., 82.83.
More info in the official release from the Winter Dew Tour follows:
Tom Wallisch Wins Freeski Slopestyle Finals at Winter Dew Tour Toyota Championship at Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort in California
NEW YORK – February 21, 2009 – Tom Wallisch won the freeski slopestyle competition Saturday in the Winter Dew Tour Toyota Championship, his first tour event after missing the first two stops because of injuries.
The 21-year-old Wallisch, from Pittsburgh, had a few wobbles on his first run, but executed a flawless second run to score 92.83. Canadian Alexis Godbout was second at 91.83, and New Zealand’s Jossi Wells was third at 90.50.
“I haven’t been in too many big competitions, let alone live TV,” Wallisch said. “I got a little overexcited and went a little too big at first, but I went back up and just tried to focus on what I was doing and just put it all into perspective. I just skied through the course like any other day in the park and I was able to ski through it and it worked out.”
His winning run began with a 270 on to pretzel 270 out on the box and a blindside misty 630 out on the cannon rail. He continued with a rodeo 900 with high mute grab into a switch tails over 270 disaster. He finished with consecutive switch 1080’s on the last two jumps.
PK Hunder, of Norway, finished sixth in the event, but won the Dew Cup season title in freeski slopestyle.
“It means a lot,” Hunder said. “I got injured last year so I was hoping this would be my comeback year so winning the Dew Cup is probably one of the biggest things out there, so I’m really stoked.”
The four-day competition is the last of three stops on the tour that features men’s and women’s freeskiing and snowboarding disciplines. Sunday’s action features the men’s and women’s snowboard superpipe finals.
Men’s Freeski Slopestyle Dew Cup Points
1. Per-Kristian Hunder, 230.
2. Alexis Godbout, 220.
3. Bobby Brown, 205.
4. Josiah Wells, 205.
5. Sammy Carlson, 185.
6. Henrik Harlaut, 170.
7. J.F. Houle, 165.
8. Simon Dumont, 146.
9. Charles Gagnier, 137.
10. Nick Martini, 136.
The complete 2008/09 Winter Dew Tour schedule is as follows:
Event Date Location
Stop 1 Dec. 18-21, 2008 Breckenridge, Colo.—Breckenridge Ski Resort
Stop 2 Jan. 8-11, 2009 West Dover, Vt.—Mount Snow Resort
Toyota Championships Feb. 19-22, 2009 Lake Tahoe, Calif.—Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort