Lindsey, St. Onge take national aerials titles

By Pete RughPublished On: March 9th, 2009Comments Off

PARK CITY, UT (March 8) – Jana Lindsey (Black Hawk, SD) and Ryan St. Onge (Winter Park, CO) won national aerials titles Sunday at the 2009 Sprint U.S. Freestyle Championships at Utah Olympic Park in Park City.

Joining Lindsey on the women’s podium was Emily Cook (Bemont, MA) and Lacy Schnoor (Draper, UT) in second and third respectively. On the men’s side Jeret Peterson (Boise, ID) claimed second while Matt DePeters (Hamburg, NY) came in third.

St. Onge, who just won a World Championship gold medal last week, taking his second national’s win in as many years was not easy.

“It’s tough when you’re coming off the best results ever. It’s tough thinking of where to go from there, but I still really wanted to come out and maybe not jump perfectly today, but jump a solid jump and be consistent and have fun and I did that,” he said.

The World’s win gave St. Onge a little extra confidence going into Sunday’s competition, he said.

“We had a great day. Everyone is really tired after the season, but we really had fun today,” St. Onge said.

For Lindsey, it was her first national title and she said she achieved it by sticking to the basics.

“I was really happy with my two jumps, I landed both of them and that’s always my goal – to do the best I can. It’s my first national win and I’m really excited,” she said.

The win boosts her confidence going into the summer training period, when she said she will focus on improving.

Lindsey is fresh off her top result of the season, a fifth place at World Championships just days ago, and she said the nationals’ win caps off a good pre-Olympic season.

“Our team is doing great right now. Lacy, Emily and I are all doing triples and doubles which hasn’t happened among U.S. women before. I’m looking forward to the Olympics next year,” she said.

Cook and Peterson, Sunday’s runners up in the aerials competition, were tough competitors as they have both won World Cup events this season. They said they’ll be taking those wins with them next February when the U.S. Freestyle Aerials Team heads to Vancouver for the 2010 Olympics.

“I’m happy to be completing a really great season. It has been really incredible, I’ve improved so much with my new trick this season, a double-full-full, so heading up towards the Olympics next year things are going perfectly as planned and I’m just hoping to peak next February,” Cook said.

Though Peterson sounded tired after a long season of competing around the globe, he already had his eye on next year.

“I had a great year so I can’t be too disappointed. The last half was a little rough but I’m walking and have no injuries to speak of, so it’s ok. I realize how much work I have ahead of me going into an Olympic year. But I’m up to the challenge for sure,” he said.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
2009 SPRINT U.S. FREESTYLE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Utah Olympic Park, Park City, UT – March 8, 2009
Aerials

Men
1. Ryan St. Onge, Winter Park, CO, 219.57
2. Jeret “Speedy” Peterson, Boise, ID, 191.48
3. Matt DePeters, Hamburg, NY, 181.76
4. Zac Amidan, Ogden, UT, 163.36
5. Hans Gardner, Orchard Park, NY, 151.20
6. Nevin Brown, Streetsboro, OH, 149.87
7. Matt Flesher, Shagrin Falls, OH, 148.62
8. GW Creighton, Boise, ID, 146.35
9. David Morris, Park City, UT, 146.11
10. Andre Dumas, Park City, UT, 145.14

Women
1. Jana Lindsey, Black Hawk, SD, 175.01
2. Emily Cook, Belmont, MA, 153.42
3. Lacy Schnoor, Draper, UT, 149.45
4. Ashley Caldwell, Lake Placid, NY, 144.99
5. Denita Mudge, Australia, 129.56
6. Karen Kiczek, Park City, UT, 112.93
7. Sami Palmer, Sandy, UT, 111.70
8. Katie Sciuto, Park City, UT, 107.95
9. Jamie Crane-Mauzy, Waterville Valley, NH, 103.45
10. Sarah Goldman, Park City, UT, 95.20PARK CITY, UT (March 8) – Jana Lindsey (Black Hawk, SD) and Ryan St. Onge (Winter Park, CO) won national aerials titles Sunday at the 2009 Sprint U.S. Freestyle Championships at Utah Olympic Park in Park City.

St. Onge, who just won a World Championship gold medal last week, said taking his second national’s win in as many years was not easy.