March 26, 2001

NEWRY, Maine (March 25) -- It came down to the wire, but U.S. Snowboard Team rider Kelly Clark (Mt. Snow, VT) did what she needed to do and won a snowboardcross Sunday at the X-Nix U.S. Snowboard Championships at Sunday River. The win gave her the overall Chevy Truck U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix title and a new Chevy Truck. Canadian Jasey Jay Anderson won the men�s snowboardcross.

ESPN will air coverage of the Championships April 12 at 2 p.m. EST.

Going into the snowboardcross, Clark needed to win and teammate Tricia Byrnes (Stratton Mt., VT) had to finish worse than second for the 17 year-old to take the crown. Clark did her part and won, while Byrnes, primarily a halfpipe rider, rode well but came across the finish line fourth in the finals.

It was Clark�s second national title in less than 24 hours as she was victorious Saturday night in the superpipe contest. The overall points title includes the competitor�s best three results of the Grand Prix season and Clark had the two wins plus a second place finish in pipe earlier in the year at Mammoth Mountain, CA to give her a total of 2,800 points.

However, it still wasn�t decided as Byrnes won superpipe events at Okemo Mountain, Vermont and Mammoth and took second at Breckenridge, Colo., also giving her 2,800 points for her best three events.

To break the tie, the next best finishes for each were looked at. It just so happened that both Clark and Byrnes had 600 points; Byrnes for a third place finish in Saturday�s superpipe and Clark for a third at Okemo. So down the list the organizers went yet again. Clark�s fifth best result was a third, again 600 points, at Breckenridge, while Byrnes� fifth best result was her fourth place finish Sunday in snowboardcross, worth just 500 points.

After some tabulations and deliberations, the title and Chevy S-10 pickup were awarded to Clark, who was already the reigning U.S. snowboardcross champion.

�I can�t believe it, it hasn�t hit me yet,� said Clark. �It�s amazing, who would have ever thought?�

Out of the gate, Clark had the holeshot but Amy Johnson (Rochester, NY) made a tight pass on her around a gate and led the field before Clark caught her and passed her for the victory. Canadian Ivana Trudel was third, followed by Byrnes and Lynn Ott (Bend, OR).

�I got a good start and I was out in first,� said Clark. �After the first step-down, I was probably a foot away from a gate and Amy passed me on the inside. It scared the bejeezus out of me. So I was on her tail and chasing her the rest of the course. The only time I had the pass was over the step-up and step-down so I went over them and gunned it to the next berm and cut her off.�

Clark picked up $1,700 for each of her two wins and has the choice of taking the pickup or the cash equivalent.

�I don�t know exactly what I�m gonna do,� said Clark, who already owns a �97 Chevy Blazer. �I might take the money (instead of the truck), trade in my old Blazer and get a new one, a sick 2001 one.�

The men�s race wasn�t quite as suspenseful since Danny Kass (Hamburg, NJ) wrapped up the overall title by winning his third superpipe event of the season Saturday night. However, Anderson is always fun to watch and he didn�t disappoint, picking up the win over teammate Mathieu Morency and Jason Evans (Putney, VT).

A well-rounded rider, Anderson won the men�s title and truck last season at the final event of the year at Okemo � also a snowboardcross. He finished this year with two wins, also topping the podium in a parallel giant slalom at Breckenridge. However, his third best result was a second, not good enough to match Kass� three wins.

Primarily an alpine racer, Anderson competed Sunday in soft boots due the many step-downs and airs on the Pat Malendoski-built course.

�The course was awesome,� said Clark. �They changed it a little since Wednesday (when an ISF snowboardcross was run) and some of the things were better. The only thing I didn�t like on the course, they took out in practice, so it worked out good. It had a lot of berms and a lot of rollers. It was a really long course, a leg-burner.�

Evans was named the U.S. snowboardcross champion since he was the top American to finish the men�s race.

Action continues Monday on Sunday River�s Barker Mountain with men�s and women�s Continental Cup superpipe contests. Riders will have the chance to pick up some valuable FIS points that will help towards gaining maximum quota spots for their country at the �02 Olympics.

X-NIX U.S. SNOWBOARD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Sunday River, Maine
March 25, 2001
Snowboardcross

MEN
1. Jasey Jay Anderson, Canada
2. Mathieu Morency, Canada
3. Jason Evans, Putney, Vermont
4. Eric Warren, Bennington, Vermont
5. Zachary Kay, Mount Shasta, Calif.
6. Ryan Neptune, Boise, Idaho
7. Graham Watanabe, Sun Valley, Idaho
8. Nicola Fontaine, Canada
9. Colter Deupree, USA
10. Jonathan Laurence, Rockport, Maine

WOMEN
1. Kelly Clark, Mt. Snow, Vermont
2. Amy Johnson, Rochester, New York
3. Ivana Trudel, Canada
4. Tricia Byrnes, Stratton Mt., Vermont
5. Lynn Ott, Bend, Ore.
6. Rebecca Bassett, Quincy, Wash.
7. Karen Murray, Canada