LWS Olympians & X-Game Athletes
Four Whiteman alumni took part in this past January’s Winter X-Games 10 in Aspen, CO. Pep Fujas ‘01 placed 15th in the Slopestyle best trick competition, an event in which he won a silver medal in the 2003 Winter X-Games. Conditions were less than ideal with snow blanketing the course at Buttermilk Mountain. “We’re used to the conditions, but the course is so slow that if we could get speed we would compete right now, for sure. I’d rather they postpone it for tomorrow,” Pep told ESPN. Opinions of the slow conditions were echoed through the sentiments of several other competitors throughout the weekend. Pep is considered by many to be one of the most innovative skiers in the industry both for staking claim to his own signature trick - the Pep Roll, and for being one of the first skiers to land “switch” in powder. He has his own ski, the K2 Fujative, and even his own wine label, Pep’s Pinot. Pep placed 9th this year at the U.S. Open in skiing Slopestyle.
After an impressive 5th at the U.S. Open Superpipe at Vail in January of 2005, Gina Gmeiner ‘02 competed in this year’s Winter-X Women’s Ski Superpipe. Gina placed 10th at the event. Gina is currently a cosmetology student in Ft. Collins, Colorado.
Brett Buckles ‘00 placed 13th overall in the Women’s Skier-X competition, an event where skiers race head to head rather than against the clock. While Brett failed to qualify for the finals at this year’s Winter-X, she bounced back the next week to win the 4th Annual Skiercross Championship at Snowbird, Utah on February 1st. “I was really disappointed with how I did at the X-games,” Brett told Steamboat.com, “so I came [to Skiercross] ready to prove something. It feels great to come out on top, and I’m looking forward to the rest of the tour.”
Lastly, Suzan Dole ‘96, a three-year student at Whiteman, was also slated to compete in the Women’s Skier-X competition but did not due to an injury she sustained. Injuries have forced Suzan out of the X-Games for the past two years. Still, Suzan had an impressive 2005 season ranking 3rd overall in the U.S. Skiercross Series with two noteworthy top 3 finishes. In 2004, Suzan won the North American Freeskiing Championships.
Congratulations to all the X-sport alums and best of luck next season.
