STRATTON MOUNTAIN SCHOOL RIDERS SWEEP GRANITE STATE HALFPIPE

LINCOLN, N.H. (Jan. 25) – Despite bitter cold, Stratton Mountain School (SMS) riders slammed the door on the East Coast deep freeze Sunday, dominating the Eastern Regional Championships at Loon Mountain with a sweep of the men’s and women’s halfpipe.

Michael ‘Goldy’ Goldschmidt (Bondville, VT), a staple on the Chevrolet U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix series, topped the men’s contest followed by Grand Prix travelling buddy Louie Vito (Bellefontaine, OH) and Saturday’s snowboard cross winner Alex Deibold (Manchester Center, VT). Getting the job done for the women was Mary Sallah (Toledo, OH), SBX second place finisher Alex Duckworth (Stratton, VT) and Liza Mitrani (Stratton, VT), older sister of 13-year-old pipe phenom Luke Mitrani.

"Stratton really supports these kids, both academically and athletically so that they have to tools to take their talents as far as possible," said Head Coach and Program Director Mike Mallon, who shares the position with Scott Palmer. "We’re celebrating 10 years of snowboarding this year and it’s our biggest yet with 28 riders at the school – eight of which are actively competing against the best in the world. At this point, Goldschmidt, Vito and Deibold are at the level where they can take snowboarding anywhere they want and what an exciting level to be at, especially at their young age."

The wins for Goldschmidt and Sallah secured their spots on U.S. Snowboarding’s Project Gold team and earned them a ticket to train with U.S. coaches at a Mount Hood, Oregon summer camp prior to the 2005 season.

Established in 1972, SMS celebrates a rich tradition of academics and athletics with alumni successfully moving onto college programs, U.S. Ski and Snowboard Teams and professional sports careers. Snowboarding was added to the school’s list of sports in 1993 and has produced such distinguished alumni as two-time Olympic medalist Ross Powers (South Londonderry, VT) and recent graduate Lindsey Jacobellis (Bondville, VT), who is a constant threat at World Cup and national competitions in both SBX and halfpipe.

"The SMS kids cleaned house," said U.S. Snowboarding Program Director Becky Woolley. "It was a lot colder today than yesterday – most of the lifts were on hold till late morning, but these kids where still up there throwing back to back sevens, McTwists and even Cripplers."

Woolley also said that Loon staff did a great job getting the pipe ready to host the competition as multiple weeks of sub zero temps have socked New England.

"The pipe was really good, excellent actually. We could have done without the wind, but it was sunny and everyone was in a great spirits. I always get a thrill at this event because there are so many young talented riders that catch you off guard. It’s a great opportunity for our program to do some serious scouting."

The regional champs swing across the Mississippi to Aspen, Colorado February 28-29, allowing West Coast riders a shot at the U.S. Snowboarding pipeline.