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Steamboat Springs — Madeline Schaffrick was hyperventilating and as nervous as could be Friday at the top of Stratton Mountain Resort.

Preparing for her second run of the Burton U.S. Open Snowboarding Halfpipe Championships in Vermont, Schaffrick admits she could barely breathe.

After a surreal moment standing next to female snowboarding legends Kelly Clark and Gretchen Bleiler before her trek down, the 13-year-old put together the best run of her life.

Linking back-to-back 720s for the first time ever, Schaffrick scored a 74.5 on her second run, good enough for third place overall and a trip to Saturday's semifinals.

"I think part of my nerves was because I was excited," said Schaffrick, who earned one of the five wildcard positions into the semifinals. "It's amazing to be there. I surprised myself. I was shaking at the end because honestly I don't know how I pulled it off. This is the happiest I've ever been."

Schaffrick will be one of 21 girls - mostly professionals - vying for one of eight spots in the finals.

Although Schaffrick admits it would "be beyond amazing to make the finals," she already is happy where she is.

"It's definitely the biggest competition of my life," Schaffrick said.

Schaffrick's performance highlighted the day for several young Steamboat Springs riders. Matt Ladley finished fourth and was one of 10 men to qualify for Saturday's semifinals.

Arielle Gold, 11, finished 19th in the women's pro event, missing the semifinals.

Taylor Gold's 14th-place finish put him just out of the semifinals, while Blake Eddington and Tyler Anderson qualified for the quarterfinals but didn't make it to the semifinals.

The semifinals are 9 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Saturday. Finals will follow.