Jacob Cory of Tonasket catches some air while competing in the Sitzmark Rail Jam last Saturday. Cory came in third in the in the 14- to 17-year-old division of the snowboard competition. Photo by Gary DeVon
SITZMARK – There was a large crowd of both spectators and participants at the Fifth Annual Skidmark Terrain Park Rail Jam up at Sitzmark Ski Area on Saturday, Feb. 12.
“This was easily the best Rail Jam ever,” Jason Vaughan, manager of the Skidmark Terrain Park and Rail Jam founder, said. “Matt Eggleston designed an awesome terrain park for this year’s competition and the entire crew did a great job on the build. Shag and Spicolli from Lib-Tech, Sitzmark General Manager Jonathan Keener, Dan and Paul from GearBoxFilms, Gergis from Gergis Maximus Photography, Sarah DeLayne, Kathy Vaughan and STP Crew Volunteers Angela Vaughan and Tyler Fife worked with shovels and rakes all day Friday to get all the freestyle features dialed in. Plus, Sick Donkey Records not only provided a complete sound system, but DJ Sticky also brought a reggae and dancehall musical showcase that included African DJ Selector Jigsy, Jamaican vocalist Lawrenece ‘Mistah Chatman’ Chapman and local favorite Adrian Xavier and Essential I. Jesse Baker was as awesome as usual hosting and announcing the event.”
Vaughan said that at the peak of the day, there were more than 80 spectators and that there were 31 competitors ranging in age from seven-years-old to 41-years-old. The competitors placed as follows:
Nine and Under Ski – 1, Luke Cory, Tonasket. 2, Owen Phares, Tonasket. 3, Sean Glover, Oroville.
Nine and Under Snowboard – 1, Hunter Thomas, Tonasket. 2, Waylon Thomas, Tonasket. 3, Ryan Hamlin, Loomis.
Ten to 13 Snowboard – 1, Bradley Keener, Tonasket. 2, Brandon Miller, Loomis. 3, Kyle Huber, Tonasket. 4, Gabe Roach, Omak. 5, Brenden Asmussen, Tonasket. 6, Ellie Burse, Tonasket.
Advanced Ski – 1, Trevor Shearer, Oroville.
Fourteen to 17 Snowboard – 1, Jonah Schlicker, Monroe. 2, Angela Vaughan, Tonasket. 3, Jacob Cory, Tonasket. 4, Jacob Flemming, Oroville tied Tyler Fife, Tonasket. 6, Brandon Evans, Omak. 7, Fletcher Rickabaugh, Twisp. 8 Cody Burse, Tonasket. 9, Connor McQuiston, Snohomish. 10, Matt Evans, Omak.
Eighteen and Up Snowboard – 1, Josh Summers, Tonasket. 2, Jed Kretz, Wauconda. 3, Jeff Pare, Tonasket tied Jim McKinney, Tonasket.
Overall Best Trick – Tyler Fife, Tonasket.
Snowskate – 1, Mark “Spiccoli” Montgomery, Seattle. 2, “Sidestreet” Reny Collette, Roslyn. 3, Kenshiro “Shag” Eto, Port Angeles. 4, Dan Brevelle, Startup.
“It’s an amazing blessing that we can have an event of this caliber right here in the middle of nowhere and that not only corporate snow sports sponsors but so many local businesses come forward to support the youth with donations of prizes and money,” Vaughan said. “Every competitor received a t-shirt with this year’s original design by Ras Scott Moser of Ites Design.”
The major sponsors were: One Ball Jay, 5150 Snowboards, Morrow Snowboards, Lib Technologies, Boyd Hill Snowskates, Rocker Trucks, Spacecraft Clothing, Revolution Snow & Skate, Midway/Oroville Building Supply, Frontier Foods, Tonasket Exxon, Sick Donkey Records and GearBoxFilms.
The standard sponsors were: Gergis Maximus Photography, Steven’s Pass, Leavenworth Mountain Sports, Osprey Rafting, Piestrup Bros, Bataleon Snowboards, Steven’s Pass Snowboard Shop, Chris Ohta Photography, Tonasket Natural Foods Co-Op, Sunstar Computer Services, Havillah Road Printing, Bob Raimer’s Machine Works, Ites Design, Tom Cory Custom Construction, Walking Water Ranch, Solar Shop, Tonasket Police Association and Sitzmark Ski Area.
Smaller contributions were received from: Highlandia Jewelers, Superior Auto Parts in Tonasket, On the Avenue, Sears, Valley Lanes, Subway in Tonasket, Oroville Pharmacy, Allen’s Auto Parts, Tonasket Ace Hardware, Prince’s Department Store, Gene’s Native Smokes, Java Junkie, Oroville Quickmart, II Sisters Videos, Oroville Napa, FB’s Family Grill, Grant’s Market, Wild Rose Floral, Xtreme Power Sports and Buddy & Frank Holmes.
