Braving the cold to win the gold

Jumpfest 2023 featured a series of competitive events, each with subcategories full of youth jumpers who put their soaring skills to the test.

During the Salisbury Invitational on Saturday, Feb. 4, jumpers were split into U20 female and U20 male categories.

New York Ski Educational Foundation’s (NYSEF) Kai McKinnon dominated the U20 female group and had the farthest jump of the day with 65.5 meters. After tallying the judges scores and style points she finished with 200.3 points. In second place for U20 females was Caroline Chor of Ford Sayre, totaling 63.1 points from judges and a 38-meter distance on her longest jump. Kerry Tole from the Andover Outing Club placed third with 22.9 points and a long jump of 30 meters.

For U20 males in the Feb. 4 Salisbury Invitational, Schuyler Clapp of NYSEF topped the field with 200.9 points. Clapp reached 63.5-meters on his second jump and collected enough style points to finish in first. NYSEF teammate Jack Kroll placed second with 197.5 points despite having the longest jump of the category at 65 meters. In third for the U20 males was Angelo Goodwin of the Lebanon Outing Club who scored 184.5 points with a 61-meter-long jump.

As the sole competitor in the Masters category on Saturday, Cooper Dodds scored 206.9 points and leaped to 64.5 meters in his longest jump.

During the Eastern Championships on Sunday, Feb. 5, four groups of jumpers faced off on the big hill: U16 males, U20 females, U20 males, and Masters.

U16 males was won by Max Fey of NYSEF who scored 177.4 points from judges with a 60-meter best jump. His teammate Jack Kroll placed second after laying down a 66-meter jump and receiving 177.3 judges’ points. In third was Angelo Goodwin with 170.2 points and a long jump of 57.5 meters.

In U20 females, Kai McKinnon laid down another series of monster jumps, leaping to 62.5 meters and a score of 160.5. In second was Caroline Chor of with 58.3 points and a 37-meter jump. Third place belonged to Celia Osborne from Ford Sayre, who scored 10.4 points with a 28-meter-long jump.

The U20 male category was won by Schuyler Clapp as he leaped to 61.5 meters and scored 194.6 points. In second place was Ford Sayre’s Eli Mansur with 97.2 points and a 43.5-meter jump. Charlie Forbush of Hanover High School placed third after jumping 41 meters and receiving 90.4 points.

For the Masters jumpers, Henry Johnstone achieved the longest jump of the weekend as he soared to 67 meters, winning the group with 222.7 points. Cooper Dodds placed second with a 64-meter jump and 82.1 points.

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