Tahoe’s Franco takes 6th in slopestyle

By USSA

KREISCHBERG, Austria — In a history-making FIS World Championship effort, 23-year-old Noah Wallace (Spokane) earned his first World Championship medal in slopestyle skiing —taking bronze.

Wallace put down the third best run of the day, topping off a 82.40 run with a switch leftside double cork 1080 on the last hit. Competition favorite and top-ranked skier Australian Russ Henshaw, put down three 90-point runs to easily secure second place, but ultimately the day would belong to Swiss skier Fabian Boesch.

Boesch put together an unbeatable combination with a switch double misty 1260 Japan to a right double-corked 1260 to earn his first FIS World Championships title.

“I had a lot of fun today,” said Wallace, who has only been competing in World Cups since 2013. “It was a great time skiing. The course was awesome and the jumps were pristine. I loved today.”

Wallace wasn’t the only American with a good result. Three landed in the top 15: Robby Franco (Lake Tahoe) was sixth, Colby Stevenson (Park City) eighth and Matthew Walker (Aspen) 13. On the women’s side, Nadia Gonzales (Angel Fire, N.M.) was 11 and Jamie Crane-Mauzy (Park City) 13. Lisa Zimmerman of Germany took first, Katie Summerhayes of Great Britain second and Zuzana Stromkova of Slovakia third.

This was Wallace’s first World Championships, and first World Champs medal.