After disappointment at state, Truckee’s Kuch bounces back

After disappointment earlier in the week at the California-Nevada Interscholastic Ski and Snowboard Federation state championships, Truckee snowboarder Tanner Kuch is feeling “stoked.”
Kuch was among one of the favorites heading into the snowboard state championships, having won four of the six regular season races this season, but disaster struck in the form of a crash in Monday’s giant slalom race. Kuch then “ollied” a gate, said coach Eniko Kuch, in Tuesday’s slalom race, causing him to be disqualified and ending his high school season.
Putting any disappointment from the state championships behind him, Kuch shifted disciplines the following day, competing in slopestyle at the Futures Tour at Northstar California Resort. Competing against two fields of riders, Kuch reached the finals with the fourth best score in his heat.
The Truckee 15 year old then turned things up, making smooth work of the features atop the course with a clean boardslide before spinning off a rail. He went on to close out his final runs by spinning off a trio of jumps at the bottom of the venue, to earn a score of 84.67, the slopestyle championship, and a $200 check.
The Futures Tour is a multi-event series hosted by United States of America Snowboard and Freeski Association and US Ski & Snowboard and is designed to be the entry level into FIS competitions for freeski and snowboard, serving as the stepping stone to the North American Cup, World Cup, X Games, and Olympic qualification.
Avon, Colorado, rider Barrett Hendrix took the win in the girls’ division.
The Future Series shifted to freeski on Thursday and will conclude today at Northstar with ski and snowboard halfpipe.
Justin Scacco is a staff writer with the Sierra Sun. He can be reached at jscacco@sierrasun.com
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