Kreps takes Junior Olympic title

By FAITH MOLDAN / Bigfork Eagle

Fourteen years of skiing, seven of them competitively in freestyle aerials, paid off big time for Lakeside native Evan Kreps.

Kreps finished the boys' competition at the 2008 Junior Olympic freestyle aerials competition, held March 8 in Steamboat Springs, Colo., in first place. He completed a double backflip and a lay-full for a final total score of 152. Kreps' efforts held 2.6 and 2.8 degrees of difficulty. He nailed the second one only .2 below perfect.

Seventy skiers competed in Kreps class, with the second-place skier finishing with a 146. A total of 300 skiers competed in moguls, dual moguls, halfpipe and slopestyle.

As national champion, Kreps is guaranteed a spot at Junior Worlds next year. There are no Junior Worlds this year, and the location of next year's competition will not be decided until this fall. Last year's Junior Worlds were held in Sweden.

Kreps' aerial skiing took him to Missoula; Park City, Utah; and British Columbia this winter. One place Kreps won't go is the Olympics. He said he was not ready to do triple flips and added that there are other things he wants to do. When he's not skiing he likes to hike, fish, hunt and bike.

Last year, Kreps finished in the top five in his class at the Junior Olympics, an event he's competed in about six times. His father, Brien, said Evan improved year after year with larger tricks. The Montana State University freshman credited money, good skis and good air sense in being successful in aerial skiing.

"You have to have a feel of how fast you're going, and whether it's enough to make it around twice," Brien said.

Kreps practices his tricks throughout the year, usually competing with the highest level of difficulty he's been trained at. During the summer months, he trains by jumping into water and has to do a certain number to qualify a specific trick. After that, it's a matter of getting enough repetitions in on the snow.

Each hill that Kreps competes on must meet certain specifications concerning the in-run, landing area and jump. Warmer temperatures tend to make things slower, while colder temps keep things too icy at times. Competitors reach heights of 40-50 feet during their jumps, and complete the first flip on the way up and the second flip on the way down. They reach speeds of about 33 mph. Speeds vary depending on the type of jump.

"He just really loves skiing," Brien said of his son, who placed seventh at the 2007 Spring United States Freestyle Championships.