Steamboat Pilot & Today

The jumps on Howelsen Hill were busy last weekend.

And judging by the list of Steamboat Springs special jumpers and Nordic combined athletes who took part in last weekend's Rocky Mountain Division Junior Olympic qualifier and USSA Super Tour jumping event, the hills will be packed for years to come.

The Rocky Mountain Division is comprised of athletes from across Colorado, but when it comes to Nordic combined and ski jumping events, Winter Sports Club athletes dominate.

The National Sports Federation represents the same area as the Intermountain Division but is made up of athletes residing in the Park City, Utah, vicinity, compared with the Western Coast.

The two divisions, along with several U.S. Ski Team members, combined for competitions Friday and Saturday at Howelsen.

The younger jumpers got things started on the K-18, K-25 and K-38 jumps Friday.

Steamboat's Nicholas Madden, 7, jumped 16 meters on the K-18 hill and scored 96.2 points on his first jump to win the J6 event. J6 athletes are either 6 or 7 years old.

Girls competing in the J5 level (ages 8 and 9) included Emily Hannah, Mary and Meg O'Connell and Morgan Mertz.

Erik Lynch and Jake Barker finished first and second, respectively, in the J5 boys jumping competition off the K-18 hill. Lynch jumped 20 and 21 meters, scoring 233.5 points to win.

Aleck Gantick, Ben Berend, Zeb Tipton, Keegan Weekslynn and Jack Pietig also competed at the J5 level.

The NSF girls jumped well at the J4 level, taking the top three spots off the K-25 hill.

On the J4 boys side, Cliff Field and Lynch finished second and third off the K-25 jump. Steamboat's J6 and J5 boys jumped up a class to compete with Field, Luke Anderson and Gus Allen at the J4 level (ages 10 and 11) on the K-25 jump.

At the J3 level, Taylor Fletcher, 13, easily won on the K-38 hill, jumping 36 and 37 meters. Teammate Charlie Stoddard was third, while Brett Denney tied for fifth. Adam Peters also competed at the J3 level.

Martha Anderson, Cierra Lorenz and Conner Walsh are Rocky Mountain Division athletes who competed in open classes.

The Saturday competitions opened with jumps off the K-60 hill with the J2 level athletes (ages 14 and 15).

Trevor Wert won the competition with a long jump of 65 meters. Fletcher was second, and Denney was sixth. Sam Chovan also jumped at the J2 level.

Fletcher regained his spot atop the final standings when attention shifted to the K-90 hill and the opening of the Super Tour.

The 13-year-old out-jumped two NSF competitors to take first with a total score of 208.5. Denney came in fourth and Stoddard was 11th in the junior men's division.

In the senior men's division, members of the U.S. Ski Team stole the show, posting jumps near the K mark at 90 meters.

Todd Lodwick, on a break from World Cup competition, came in first with a score of 236.5. Clint Jones and Tommy Schwall, both of Steamboat, were second and third, respectively.

Hartman Rector and Brian Welch, special jumpers on the U.S. Ski Team, placed fourth and fifth.

Behind Schwall, Miller was the top finisher for the Winter Sports Club, picking up a 10th. Wert tied for 11th. Bryan Fletcher, Alex Miller, Andy Garber and Niels Morck also jumped at the senior men's level in the Super Tour event.

The senior men were the only competitors to take part in the K-114 event. Lodwick took top honors with a long jump of 120 meters.

Schwall and Jones flipped spots in the K-114 final standings, taking second and third. Davis Miller moved up to ninth, and Wert and Bryan Fletcher finished 13th and 14th, respectively. Alex Miller was 16th, Garber was 18th, Taylor Fletcher was 20th, Morck was 21st and Denney was 25th.

-- To reach Melinda Mawdsley call 871-4208

or e-mail mmawdsley@steamboatpilot.com