Finch, Clark grab halfpipe titles as Grand Prix makes first trip to New Jersey

Finch, Clark grab halfpipe titles as Grand Prix makes first trip to New Jersey{mosimage}USSA — Nearly 1500 fans packed the halfpipe stadium Saturday night at Mountain Creek, New Jersey, to watch Andy Finch top Olympic gold medalist Ross Powers in a showdown for the overall Chevrolet U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix title. Another Olympic champ, Kelly Clark, won the women’s halfpipe.

“Lately I’ve been just having fun, I don’t even worry about the pressure. If I put pressure on myself I buckle so I just come out here and put confidence in my riding, pump up all the riders because that what we used to do back in the day,” said Finch, a Californian. “I definitely had a good time out here, they’ve really been giving us the red carpet and Mountain Creek put together a great pipe.”

The drama was set up when Finch notched a first run score of 45.5 to lead Powers by 0.8 points into the second run. Finch then fell in his second run, leaving the door to the title — and Chevy truck — wide open for Powers. The Vermont rider upped his score to 44.1, but fell 0.4 points short of the $10,000 first prize and the keys to the Chevy Colorado.

“I came out here tonight with a positive attitude; it was a good pipe and Finch and I were ready to battle,” said Powers, who will hold a snowboard camp at Mountain Creek next week. “I’m just glad to be up on the podium. Mountain Creek did a wonderful job, they’re not used to having big events out here, and they really catered to the riders — I’m really pleased with how they treated us out here and I hope we come back next year.”

After winning two Grand Prix events in 2002 en route to the Olympic gold medal, Clark climbed back on top with a first run score of 41.5, for a convincing 8.3-point win over Stratton Mountain School grad Lindsey Jacobellis, who got her first Grand Prix podium since joining the series in 2000.

“I had a lot of fun at this contest and it’s nice to be home on the East Coast,” said Jacobellis, whose mom cheered her to victory. “I love having my parents get the chance to come and watch me because I always call them and tell them what I’m doing, but it’s great when they can be here and be a part of it.”

With Clark’s big first run score on the board, all eyes focused on Grand Prix superstar Hannah Teter, who needed a huge second run, after falling on a difficult frontside 900 to McTwist combo, to complete a 2004 series sweep. Teter went for the same combo and missed, ending the night in fifth. But she did get the overall title and a Chevrolet Colorado of her own.

“All my family was here and I was looking to just go home for them and land my run. But my friend was just saying that God works in weird ways and today wasn’t supposed to be a winning day, just a truck day,” said Teter. Her older brothers Elijah and Abe also made the finals Saturday night, finishing fourth and fifth, respectively.

Also competing in the powerhouse final were ’02 Olympic bronze medalist J.J. Thomas and fellow Olympic team members Tricia Byrnes and Tommy Czeschin. Thomas and Byrnes rounded out the men’s and women’s podiums in third.

Chevrolet U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix
Mountain Creek, New Jersey
February 7, 2004
Men’s Halfpipe Final
1. Andy Finch, Fresno, Calif., 45.5
2. Ross Powers, South Londonderry, Vt., 45.1
3. J.J. Thomas, Golden, Colo., 43.3
4. Elijah Teter, Belmont, Vt., 43.1
5. Abe Teter, Belmont, Vt., 41.2

Women’s Halfpipe Final
1. Kelly Clark, Mount Snow, Vt., 41.5
2. Lindsey Jacobellis, Bondville, Vt. 33.2
3. Tricia Byrnes, Stratton, Vt., 32.4
4. Karla Gembarowski, Brattleboro, Vt., 27.8
5. Hannah Teter, Belmont, Vt., 24.6

Men’s Overall (possible 300)
1. Andy Finch, 280
2. Ross Powers, 230
3. Abe Teter, 120
4. Tommy Czeschin, 112
5. Mason Aguirre, Duluth, Minn., 109

Women’s Overall (possible 300)
1. Hannah Teter, 245
2. Kelly Clark, 180
3. Tricia Byrnes, 140
4. Lindsey Jacobellis, 130
5. Molly Aguirre, Duluth, Minn., 105