As of February 11, 2009

 

 

Brattleboro, Vt. -- Following is the list of athletes scheduled to compete in the Harris Hill Ski Jumping Competition February 14 & 15.

 

MEN’S OPEN CLASS (18 – 30 years)

Andrew Bliss (USA): Rising ski-jumping star Andrew Bliss, 18, has moved on to competition in Europe, after wrapping up a successful 2008 season by winning the Art Devlin Cup over the New Year's holidays. The Lake Placid native clinched the Devlin series with his second-place finish in the 54th-Annual Lake Placid Masters Ski Jump on Dec. 29. Bliss finished with 51 points for the three competitions that make up the Devlin series — the July 4 Jump, the Flaming Leaves event and the Masters. Bliss became the first Eastern jumper to win the Cup. He is the younger brother of Evan Bliss a now retired jumper, who was a top-ranked skier and former competitor at Harris Hill.

 

Cooper Dodds (USA): Hanover, NH native and graduate of Hanover High School, Dodds is a Nordic combiner. He is known for his stylish jumps and excellent cross country skills. Cooper is a former Junior Olympian and top Eastern jumper. He is a member of the Ford Sayre Ski Club. .

 

Jan Druzina (SLO): Druzina is 18 years old and a member of Slovenian junior team. He is one of the best Slovenian youth jumpers, and his record is 141 meters. This year he wishes to compete on the junior world championship in Slovakia and join to the Slovenian A team as soon as possible. A potential Olympic contender in Vancouver.

 

Peter Friere (USA): Andover, NH native Friere, 21, moved to Lake Placid in high school to attend the National Sports Academy and earned a spot on the 2006 world Junior Team. Friere has recently come out of a three-year retirement and is hoping to keep jumping when he isn't putting out forest fires as a firefighter.

 

Rok Govekar (SLO): At the young age of 15 years, Govekar has a record of over 130 meters. He is also a national champion for boys under 15 years in ski jumps and Nordic combination. His goal is to become a member of Olympic team in five years from now in Russia.

 

Willy Graves (USA): The 22-year-old Putney, Vt. native, now training out of Park City Utah, began ski jumping with the Brattleboro Outing Club when he was five years old. He has been a member of the US Nordic Combined Ski Team since 2006. Willy's personal best jump is 138 meters on Lake Placid's large hill. At this season's Continental cup season opener, Willy placed 12th and then 17th in Whistler, Vancouver. He recently returned from competitions in Austria and Germany where he consistently earned points and will compete in Norway and Finland COC's next month. Willy had a remarkable season in 2005 winning first place in the New Year's Super Tour Competition in Lake Placid and is the only athlete to sweep the jumping and Nordic Combined events at the North American Junior Championships winning gold in the Jumping, Nordic Combined and Team events in 2005. He has represented the US at 3 World Junior Nordic Teams in Norway, Finland and Slovenia. Height 5-8, Weight: 138 lbs.

 

Pat Hudson (USA): Stockbridge, Vermonter Pat Hudson skis for the Lebanon Outing Club. A graduate of the National Sports Academy in Lake Placid New York, Pat has competed at the National level in North American Championships, Nationals and Junior Olympics. He is a Junior at Vermont Technical College majoring in architecture and sustainable building.

  

Matej Likar (SLO): Likar is 18 years old and was one of the best junior ski jumpers in Europe but after a bad fall on ski jump hill two years ago, he is slowly returning to the best jumpers row. He won several national championships in junior categories. His record is 137 meters.

 

Martin Machreich (AUT): Machreich,17, of Saalfelden, Austria, has been jumping for nearly seven years. His biggest successes are first place in the Austria Cup and first place in the Country Cup in his class. His longest jump was 143 meters in Bischofshofen. He is an apprenticed engineering technician and enjoys motocross racing.

 

Alex Madden (USA): Alex Madden, 19, from Lake Placid, NY is a talented Nordic combined skier who is also a Junior Olympian and top Eastern jumper. Alex is training in Steamboat Springs, Colo. this year and has been competing on the national circuit. Longest jump: 136 meters. He recently placed fourth in the MidWest Tour.

 

Anze Martinc (SLO): A gold medalist in 2006 OPA Games, (European youth games under 18 years), this year, Martinc, age 19, wants to jump his first time on highest hill in the world in Planica, and fly over 200 meters, what every ski jumper wants to achieve.

 

Alex Miller (USA): US/NC Team Nordic combined skier Alex Miller, 24, grew up in Steamboat, Colo. with the Nordic combined team headquartered there. He's tightening his jumping and his cross-country skiing with an eye toward being part of the new wave of Steamboat Olympians. He placed ninth in the 2007 World Cup-B hurricane-start (Kuusamo, FIN). 

 

Davis Miller (USA): Davis Miller, 24, is another US/NC Team Nordic combined skier from Steamboat Springs, Colo. along with his twin brother Alex. Although he was a late starter in jumping, Miller is an outstanding ski jumper. He's learning to boost his cross-country skiing while further honing his jumping skills so he can become a contender in Nordic combined. Two World Cup-B top-30s in 2007, 2005 Junior Worlds competitor.

 

Christian Reiter (AUT): Reiter, age 17, has been jumping since he was seven years old. He is currently a student at the Nordic education center in Eisenerz and is studying metal and electro locksmiths. He placed second in the Austrian Masters and third in the Austria Cup as well as first in the Country Cup in his class. Longest jump: 141 meters in Bischofshofen.

 

Willem Schott (USA): Will Schott, 17, is from Black Earth, Wisc. and competes with the Blackhawk Ski Club in Madison. He has been jumping for 10 years. Longest jump: 127 meters in Courchevel, France. In 2006 he won the individual competition at the Junior Olympics.

 

Gaj Trcek (SLO): Trcek, age 21, comes from ski jump club Planica, which is known by the highest ski jump hill in the world. His record is 193 m, but this year he will try to jump over 200 meters. Even though he has a Tourettes syndrome (mental disease), he is following his dream to become the worlds best ski jumper.

 

 

JUNIORS (14-18 years)

A.J. Brown (USA): At age 13, A.J. Brown has been fascinated with ski jumps since age three when he went to his first ski tournament. The Fox River Grove athlete said he then found a way to convince his father he should learn. “I told him I wanted to ski jump, and he didn’t believe me until I started jumping off stairs,” said Brown, who hopes to be coached by skip jump professionals in Austria when he’s older. “I’m trying to make a career out of it.”

 

Jeff Colt (USA): Colt, a Hanover, NH native, skis for the Lebanon Outing Club coached by Jon Farnham. Colt is a two time Junior Olympian. He is an all around skier and is an alpine and cross country racer who competes in four events each season.

 

 Zach Daniels (USA): Daniels, 16, is Loudon, NH native who began skiing at age nine with the Andover Outing Club. He is now a student at the National Sports Academy in Lake Placid, NY training as a Nordic combiner. Daniels competed at Harris Hill's Junior Jump competition in 2002 with his younger brother Luke. Both were named to this year’s Junior Olympic Team which will compete in later this month in Alaska. He recently won the J-2 class at the 2009 Salisbury, Conn. tournament. Longest Jump: 100 meters, in Lake Placid.

 

Josh Flanders (USA): Lebanon, NH native Josh Flanders is currently a sophomore at Norwich University. He represents the Lebanon Outing Club Coached by Jon Farnham and is two time Junior Olympian. He was the 2007 NH High School State Ski Jumping Champion.

 

Peter Frennette (USA): Frennette, 16, of Saranac Lake, NY, skis with the New York Ski Educational Foundation (NYSEF) in Lake Placid. He just returned from the Salisbury, Conn. jumping competition (Feb. 7-8, 2009) where he earned a leg on the trophy. Peter's younger sister Annie is also a ski jumper and Nordic combined skier.

 

Spencer Knickerbocker (USA): Brattleboro, Vt. Native Spencer Knickerbocker, 16, is a member of the Eastern Ski Jumping/Nordic Combined team and four-time Junior Olympian. Knickerbocker competes in top-level competitions nationwide and spends summers training at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, NY. His coaches are Matt Cook and Casey Colby. He has made drastic improvements in his level of jumping with their help this summer. He is also a member of the Brattleboro Nordic Ski Team and works closely with his coaches to balance ski jump training and Nordic ski training. He has been ski jumping for six years and has a personnel best jump of 96 meters on the K90 meter hill in Lake Placid. Knickerbocker has the honor of being the first jumper off the newly rebuilt Harris Hill Ski Jump. 

 

 

MASTERS (over 30 years)

Jon Farnham (USA): Farnham, 51, of Hanover, NH, won the Junior class at Harris Hill in 1974 and 1976. For the past 20 years, he has served as a jump coach for the Lebanon Outing Club in New Hampshire. He is the 2008 National Master Champion in his age class on the large hill and currently holds the title of Eastern Masters Champion.

 

Jonathan Kling (USA): Louden, NH native, Kling, trained at Gunstock and is a former Junior Olympian with many victories. Now an engineer, he is a weekend warrior skiing in the Masters Class.

 

 

WOMEN

Nita Englund (USA): Florence, Wisc. Native Nita Englund, 16, has acquired the nickname Sketchmuffin because of her interesting style on the ski jump that would be seen as scary by some. Nita isn’t fazed by it; she just marches back up and tries to make it better. Nita’s athletic skills are unmatchable, but her determination is even greater. Longest Jump: 91 meters. Noted Accomplishments: 2nd Place 2008 Special Jumping Junior Olympics — Ishpeming, Mich. 2nd Place 2007 Nordic Combined Junior Olympics and 25th at the 2008 Continental Cup.

 

Karin Friberg (USA): Twenty-year-old Midwestern ski jumper Friberg (of Roseville, Minn.) grew up training on the St. Paul 45-meter ski jump. To train on bigger hills meant traveling many hours on the weekends for competitions. She spent several summers training out West, both in Park City and Steamboat and is now a top girl in her division. A University of Minnesota student, she's brought her jumping all the way to Europe — three times. Longest Jump: 124m ?Noted Accomplishments: 2008 Junior World Team.

  

Tara Geraghty-Moats (USA): West Fairlee, Vt. Native Tara Geraghty-Moats, 15, gave up jumping in the Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Junior Olympics to trek out to Alaska to ski in the Cross Country Junior Olympics where she skied exceptionally well under her Bulgarian coach. In the skate, she skied to first place as a first year J3 (younger half of 15 and 16 year olds) as well as helping her team win the gold medal. Qualifying for the Nordic Junior Olympics was not easy either for her because she had to miss a few key races for important jumping competitions. Tara is an avid telemark skier and will never miss a chance to hit the powder (dream for Easterners) or attack the rock hard slopes of the eastern mountains. Longest Jump: 98 meters, Noted Accomplishments: 18th Place Lake Placid COC.

 

Danielle Lussi (USA): Danielle Lussi, 16, of Lake Placid, NY, has won some impressive titles, including taking third in the ’08 special jumping junior Olympics as well as a first in the Empire State Games and second in the 2008 Nordic Combined Junior Olympics. Also in the winter, Lussi finds her wallet bursting at the seams because of her roaring knit hat business. Longest Jump: 88 meters.

 

Nina Lussi (USA): Nina Lussi, 14, is a multi talented athlete from Lake Placid, NY; she plays the trumpet, water skis, wake boards, is fluent in German, horseback rides, went to the Junior Olympics for cross-country running, runs track and plays in varsity soccer. Last summer, she satisfied her need for speed with jumping from bar 28 (house) on the K 90 at Lake Placid and was rewarded with coming in second twice in the Soaring Saturdays Series. Longest Jump: 100.5m on K90 Noted Accomplishments: 1st Place 2008 Special Jumping Junior Olympics, Ishpeming, Mich., first place 2008 Nordic Combined Junior Olympics – Ishpeming, Mich., three Super Tour wins.

 

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