Daytonite Places 7th At Nationals

COPPER MOUNTAIN, CO. -- WOO Crew team member Alex Naylor of Dayton improved his national standing, finishing seventh in a field of 18 men in the Men's 16-18 year-old Skier Cross.

Prior to Nationals at Copper Mountain, Colo., the United States of America Snowboard Association (USASA) Naylor was ranked 13th nationally out of 54 skiers. He placed second in his first heat and third in the second heat. Naylor later finished third in the consolation round placing seventh overall. Naylor placed first in four local Inland Northwest series races this past winter.

Sarah Koehler of Kennewick placed second in the USASA Women's Open Class Skier Cross last April 10th. Initially, eight women planned to compete, but Tania Prymak of Goshen, N.Y. was injured during a practice run prior to competition and unable to compete. Koehler was ranked first nationally leading up to the National competition out of thirteen women in the Open Class event. Koehler skis with the WOO Crew, a team of local competitive snow riders, part of the Inland Northwest series.

Emily Koehler, Sarah Koehler's younger sister, finished 12th in her first appearance at nationals. She was ranked third nationally this past season. Her age group included 32 racers from the Inland Northwest.

Kennewick's Jaymin Morgan of the WOO Crew team racked up several impressive finishes as he competed in the 2012 USASA National competition last April 3 and 4 at Copper Mountain, Colo. Morgan, who competes in the Junior Men, 16-17 yearold age class, finished 12th in the slalom. He competed against 37 riders invited to national competition. Morgan was ranked 12th nationally, following this past season's racing in the Inland Northwest series.

Morgan also qualified for the Giant Slalom event and finished 13th against a field of 38 riders. He competed in Boarder Cross, the fast-paced event where up to six snowboarders compete at the same time and the winner rides a course through banked turns, spines, jumps at high speeds and crosses the finish line first. He finished 16th in a field of 54 riders, after being ranked 49th during the racing season.

WOO Crew is different from Bluewood's BART team. BART is the Bluewood Alpine Race Team. BART is the local team racing under the USSA, United States Ski Association. They train at Bluewood in Alpine skiing. The WOO Crew is a local team, one of the Inland Northwest Series teams competing under the Unites States of America Snowboard Association which includes freestyle skiers. They also train at Bluewood in snowboarding and freestyle skiing.

Th e WOO Cr ew i s coached by Nick Morgan. He and his wife Michelle manage the Inland Northwest Series of the USASA, covering eastern Washington, north Idaho, western Montana and southeast British Columbia. The WOO Crew trains at Ski Bluewood and encourages everyone who loves riding on the snow to join us, sharpen your skills and try competing.