Hight just misses podium in halfpipe

By Lindsey Sine, U.S. Snowboarding

KILLINGTON, Vt. – Louie Vito (Sandy, UT) has done it again. Vito nailed his runs in the icy Vermont halfpipe Saturday to take his second Dew Tour win of the season in the three stop series. Joining him in the winner’s circle was none other than Vermont native and all around halfpipe slayer Kelly Clark (Mt. Snow, VT) whose 95.75 score not only got her first, but gave her the honor of having the highest scored women’s run in Dew Tour history.

The win marked the third overall this season for Vito, who also took first at the Visa U.S. Halfpipe Grand Prix in Colorado in December. He led the competition after the first run, but upped the ante in his second with back-to-back double corks, a frontside 10 and a frontside tailgrab, earning the top score of 93.00 on his victory lap.

“I feel great about landing a solid run out here. The halfpipe was good and everyone rode really well overall,” Vito said. “I feel good heading into Snowbasin next month, and hopefully I can just stay on my feet.”

The streak of three puts him in a good string of consistency as he looks ahead to the X Games as well as the final stop of the Dew Tour at Snowbasin, Utah in the beginning of February.

Colorado’s JJ Thomas (Golden, CO) took second for the day, followed by Mason Aguirre (Duluth, MN) in third.

For Clark, the Killington Dew Tour stop marked her fourth win thus far in the season, including the Grand Prix in Colorado, the O’N’eill Evolution halfpipe comp, and the Burton European Open a week ago.

“Every day is a new day and it’s hard to take the scale from one event to the next in a great sport like snowboarding,” Clark said. “I’m really happy with the way I rode and I walked away with a win I can be happy with.”

Now, the riders move on to Aspen for the X Games.

Official results, 2011 Winter Dew Tour. Killington, Vt., Halfpipe

Men

1. Louie Vito, Sandy, UT, 93.00

2. JJ Thomas, Golden, CO, 88.00

3. Mason Aguirre, Duluth, MN, 86.50

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4. Steve Fisher, Breckenridge, CO, 83.50

5. Spencer Shaw, Stratton, VT, 83.00

6. Matt Ladley, Steamboat Springs, CO, 82.00

7. Ben Watts, Bend, OR, 75.25

8. Trevor Jacob, Malibu, CA, 71.50

9. Zack Black, Breckenridge, CO, 58.00

10. Jack Mitrani, Mammoth Mountain, CO, 55.50

Women

1. Kelly Clark, Mt. Snow, VT, 95.75

2. Gretchen Bleiler, Aspen, CO, 92.25

3. Queralt Castellet, Spain, 86.00

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4. Elena Hight, South Lake Tahoe, CA, 81.50

6. Kelly Marren, Hillsborough, CA, 46.25