Freestyle team places at Night Rider event

The first event of the Night Riders Park Series at Whitefish Mountain Resort ended well for several members of the resort's freestyle team.

The series features three competitions throughout the middle of the winter, each focusing on a different aspect of park competition.

The first event, on Friday, Jan. 29, was a "double feature." Expert skiers and riders hit the new 55-foot jump in the advanced Armory park. Other divisions of competitors hit two smaller jumps in the Central Avenue intermediate park.

"The idea was to combine the best parts of slopestyle and best trick competitions," events manager Josh Knight said. "Slopestyles are great for riders because they can string a few things together to make a cohesive run. Best-trick style events are better for spectators because you can watch all the action in one place."

The freestyle ski and snowboard team had 11 members competing. Of those, eight had top-three finishes. Wyatt Coe, Tucker Voisen, Ladd Costain and Eli Taylor finished first through fourth in the boys 8-12 year-old skier division.

Skier Rylee Andrews took seventh in men's 13-and-over group, while Maggie Voisen finished second among ladies skiers. Ethan Lannaghan and Casey Ling finished first and second among snowboarders 8-12 year-old, and Ryan Heaverland, Cole Maxwell and Baylon Connolly took second, third and eighth in the men's 13-and-over snowboard division.

The next event in the Night Riders Series, a rail jam, will take place on Saturday, Feb. 6, in conjunction with the Winter Carnival Torchlight Parade and Fireworks Extravaganza.

For more information, visit online at skiwhitefish.com or call 877-SKI-FISH.