New England's 'Magnificent 7' punch tickets to Vancouver

By Matt Boxler

East Coast snowboarding will be well-represented when the Olympic Games kick off in a couple weeks in Vancouver, as seven riders with New England roots earned coveted spots on the 2010 team.

Leading the way is Kelly Clark (Mount Snow, Vt.), who was named to her third Olympic women’s halfpipe team. Clark, 26, the 2002 Olympic gold medalist, dominated qualifying events for the Vancouver Games this season by winning four of the five Grand Prix contests. A former Mount Snow Academy student, Clark has won virtually every major event in snowboarding.

Joining her on the halfpipe team is 2006 Olympic gold medalist Hannah Teter (Belmont, Vt.). Teter, 23, suffered a dislocated shoulder in the first Grand Prix qualifying even this season, but bounced back strong with two second-place finishes at the final two Park City contests to secure her spot.

On the men’s side of the pipe, two first-time Olympians represent New England as they push American favorite and defending Olympic champion Shaun White in pursuit of gold.

Besides White, the hottest rider heading into Vancouver may be Seabrook, N.H. native Scotty Lago, 22, who rode onto his first Olympic Team with back-to-back second place finishes at the final two Park City, Utah Grand Prix events.

“I'm still in shock right now,” Lago told reporters after his Park City performances. “Obviously, it’s been a huge goal of mine for the last couple seasons to make the team, and to realize that I just did it, so many things are going through my head.”

Stratton Mountain School graduate Louie Vito, 21, who now lives in Sandy, Utah, also made his first Olympic team thanks to consistent performances at earlier Grand Prix events, including second place finishes at both Copper Mountain and Mammoth Mountain.

Unfortunately, fellow Stratton Mountain School grad Danny Davis won’t be going to Vancouver despite scoring enough Grand Prix points to qualify. Davis, who landed three double-corks at Mammoth Mountain to hand Shaun White his only defeat in Olympic qualifying, injured himself in an ATV accident and will miss the rest of the season.

Kevin Pearce of Norwich, Vt., a close friend of both Lago and Davis, was considered to be the rider most likely to surpass White but he continues to recover from a severe brain injury suffered in a fall during training at Mammoth.

No fewer than six U.S. riders raced to World Cup podium spots this season in fierce competition to make the men’s snowboardcross team. Seth Wescott, 33, of Sugarloaf, Maine – the 2006 Olympic gold medalist – emerged as the lone New Englander to make the 2010 team. Wescott clinched his spot during the Jan. 15 World Cup in Switzerland.

Three-time halfpipe Olympian Ross Powers (Okemo, Vt.) failed to make the SBX team despite his third-place finish at the World Cup event in Telluride on Dec. 19.

In women’s SBX, 2006 Olympic silver medalist Lindsey Jacobellis (Stratton Mountain, Vt.), who earned silver in 2006, has taken win after win in the four years leading up to the 2010 Games and looks strong going in to Vancouver.

Finalizing the New England roster is Michelle Gorgone of Boston, who will be competing in her second Olympic Games in women’s parallel giant slalom. Gorgone, a graduate of the Waterville Valley snowboarding program, is 26.

2010 U.S. OLYMPIC SNOWBOARDING TEAM

Halfpipe Men
Greg Bretz, Mammoth Lakes, CA
Scotty Lago, Seabrook, NH
Louie Vito, Sandy, UT
Shaun White, Carlsbad, CA

Halfpipe Women
Gretchen Bleiler, Aspen, CO
Kelly Clark, Mt. Snow, VT
Elena Hight, South Lake Tahoe, CA
Hannah Teter, Belmont, VT

SBX Men
Nick Baumgartner, Iron River, MI
Nate Holland, Squaw Valley, CA
Graham Watanabe, Sun Valley, ID
Seth Wescott, Sugarloaf, ME

SBX Women
Callan Chythlook-Sifsof, Girdwood, AK
Faye Gulini, Salt Lake City
Lindsey Jacobellis, Stratton Mountain, VT

PGS Men
Tyler Jewell, Steamboat Springs, CO
Chris Klug, Aspen, CO,

PGS Women
Michelle Gorgone, Boston