VAIL \u2013 While athletes 14 and younger are eligible to compete in the Junior Jam Halfpipe presented by Clif Bar, this year a pair of 13 year-olds won the boys and girls competitions.<\/p>\n
So while Valentino Guseli and Brooke Dhondt look forward to competing in halfpipe semifinals at the Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships on Thursday, they can also look forward to competing in the junior jam again next year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to podium but I really didn\u2019t have too much expectation,\u201d Brooke Dhondt said.<\/p>\n
Brooke\u2019s mom Colleen Dhondt, however, said she knew the win was a possibility. With the winner receiving an invite into the halfpipe semifinals later in the week, \u201cWe booked our room through Thursday,\u201d Colleen Dhondt said.<\/p>\n
True students of the junior jam, however, the Dhondts were quick to point out that a competitor has made it all the way through \u2013 from the Tuesday junior jam, to the Thursday semi-final, to the Saturday final \u2013 so there\u2019s always a chance they\u2019ll need to extend their trip.<\/p>\n
\u201cJudd Henkes did it,\u201d Brooke said with a laugh. \u201cBut I\u2019m definitely not expecting that.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to showcasing the youth of the sport, Dhondt and Guseli also exemplify the increasingly international field the junior jam has been attracting. Dhondt is from Canada and Guseli is from Australia, and athletes representing Japan, New Zealand, Great Britain, Switzerland and Germany also competed.<\/p>\n
While Brooke Dhondt was enjoying her first ever junior jam, Guseli is a veteran who has been competing in the junior jam since he was 10.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is always my most important competition of the year every year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
After finishing in fifth in 2016 and then taking second place in 2017, Guseli said he got a sense that he might win some day. But when he returned in 2018, he realized it wasn\u2019t going to happen that year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was injured so I couldn\u2019t really ride to my potential,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
This year, after falling on his first of two attempts, the nerves set in.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was feeling so much pressure, I was going mentally insane, just freaking at the top,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd then I landed it.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the run contained the difficult combination of a frontside 900 to a backside 900, observers said it was his amplitude and smooth pipe riding \u2013 reminiscent of a young Henkes \u2013 that got him the top score on the day.<\/p>\n
\u201cValentino was going 17 feet out of the pipe,\u201d said Ski & Snowboard Club Vail coach Ronnie Barr. \u201cHe definitely deserved the win.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ski & Snowboard Club Vail had a large contingent of athletes participating and notched a pair of top-10 finishes in the boys competition, which featured 18 snowboarders.<\/p>\n
Edwards resident Kade Martin, after sitting in third for much of the competition, finished in sixth. The 13-year-old said his run was probably biggest and best he has ever landed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really happy, since it\u2019s my first year and I made the top 6,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\n
Kade\u2019s mother, Anne Martin, said Kade has been working hard to get to the Burton US Open.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeven days a week, getting up early, being on the mountain, trying to progress and do new things you\u2019ve never done before, traveling to Europe and the southern Hemisphere, it\u2019s a lot of commitment,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Hayden Tyler, who lives in Keystone and rides for Ski & Snowboard Club Vail, finished ninth, also landing one of the best runs of his life.<\/p>\n
Tyler is 12 and competed in the junior jam last year, where he also finished ninth.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year I landed a crippler 720, so I was really stoked on that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Coach Ronnie Barr said he was impressed with the high degree of technicality Tyler showed in his runs. The crippler 720 is an inverted trick where the rider lands in the \u201cswitch\u201d or un-natural stance.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe crippler was super technical but also really big,\u201d Barr said. \u201cI\u2019m proud of him for landing that one.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Burton US Open continues on Wednesday with slopestyle semifinals, taking place in Golden Peak and scheduled to start at 10 a.m.<\/p>\n