SNC riders hit the podium at Revolution Tour

For Immediate Release:  After a win in boardercross by Sierra Nevada College’s Spencer Cordovano on Friday, SNC rider Austen Butler rode to a third-place finish in the half pipe at the Chevy Revolution Tour in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Butler, a freshman from Hailey, Idaho, managed to get into the finals at the event, where he laid down his best run of the season. After waxing his board, he went huge off the first hit and landed an inverted 900 spin. It was the best trick of the day and the crowd went wild when he landed cleanly.

SNC snowboard coach Tony Carlstrom said, "This was the day Austen was waiting for all season. He looked good in practice and nailed his run in the finals. I brought Austen here to set the bar for our pipe riders and he did that today. This was a big event with tough competition and Austen sent it." Butler now moves on with his team to the Collegiate Nationals in Sunday River, Maine, where he is a strong favorite for the overall combined title. Carlstrom states, "I am sure that somewhere down the line at Nationals, Austen and Spencer will duel it out, just like they did back in Hailey." After his first year at Sierra Nevada College, Cordovano—who was Butler’s teammate at the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation—helped bring Butler to the college.

On Sunday, junior Rob McNamara from Ashland, Oregon, took fifth place in slopestyle. His run consisted of several difficult tricks, with a Rodeo 720 off the biggest jump. His run was distinctive for the difficulty of his rail jibs. Carlstrom noted, "Rob has been working with our freestyle guys all season and today he laid it down like I had not seen all season. He is typically more of a racer; today was ‘his day’ on the freestyle course."

The Chevy Revolution is a pipeline event for the U.S. Snowboard team and the Olympics. Strong results in these events help riders move on to bigger events, such as the Chevy Grand Prix and the Visa World Cup. Successful riders may also receive invitations to the World University, which will be held in January 2009. Carlstrom commented, "I would love to see some of our riders get to China next year; that would really boost our program."