Biggest Day of Competition at the GoPro Mountain Games

More than 2,000 rocked the Bouldering World Cup venue, and the roar of the crowd propelled American Megan Mascarenas to the top of the heap. She took home the golden axe followed by Akiyo Noguchi of Japan and Shauna Coxsey of Great Britain.

The Men’s Bouldering World Cup golden axe went to Jan Hojer of Germany, followed by American Nathaniel Coleman and Adam Ondra of Czech Republic.

Coleman, who also took gold at the Toronto World Cup earlier this year, said the crowd played a major factor in his second place finish.

“This event was different than Toronto because it was on home turf,” he said. “I think there were a lot more spectators and I got a lot more support, and it’s a different feeling representing your country in the U.S. than somewhere else.”

The day kicked off early as road runners tackled the Vail Pass Half Marathon, which climbed more than 2,900 feet to a finish above 10,000 feet. Hais Welday from Denver crossed the finish line first with a time of 1:23:00, ahead of Joseph Gray and Andy Wacker from Colorado Springs and Boulder, respectively. In the women’s race, Olympic Nordic skier turned mountain runner Morgan Arritola, from Ketchum, Idaho, out-ran Kim Dobson from Grand Junction, Colo. and Megan Lizotte from La Jolla, Calif. was third.

The Costa 2 Fly X-Stream Qualifier head-to-head competition was this morning, and challenged the distance and accuracy of some of the best fisherman (and women) in the country. The top 20 men’s qualifiers and the top five women’s qualifiers move to the big stage, with crowds watching, and cast again while trying to control their aim. The top female qualifiers after round one are Camille Egdorf, Kristen Sorensen and Katie Fiedler Anderson. For the men, the top three qualifiers are David Burgher, Nate Bronson and Connor Murphy. Results of round two was not available at the time of publishing this release. More details will be released later today after round two of the competition.

In the X-Country Mountain Bike race, Christian Panozzo of Loveland, Colo. pedaled to victory with a time of 2:01:35.2. Shortly behind Panozzo was 35-year-old Shaun Martin of Avon, Colo and 16-year-old Nic Jenkins from Colorado Springs, who landed in third.

The women’s race saw Mindy Mulliken from Steamboat Springs finish the course in 1:32:12.3. Second place went to Tess Amer of Boulder, Colo. and third was claimed by Jennifer Spinelli from Avon, Colo.

In the Coors Light Down River Sprint, the water levels on Gore Creek made for fast finishes. Spencer Huff of Lyons, Colo. took home the top spot followed by Isaac Levinson of White Salmon, Wash. Third place went to Gerd Serrasolses of Sort, Spain. Adriene Levknecht from Greeenville, S.C. won the women’s division ahead of Noria Newman of Tignes, France and the Vail Valley’s own Natalia Gray took home third place.

It was a Jackson family sweep of the Coors Light Kayak Freestyle competition with Dane Jackson taking home first place for the men and sister Emily Jackson taking the women’s crown. Hunter Katich won second place for the men and Mathieu Dumoulin came in third. Nicola Beeby took second behind Emily Jackson with Rowan Stuart taking home third.

Mirrored off the classic Down River Kayak Sprint, the Coors Light Down River SUP Sprint is a race against the clock in the heart of Vail on Gore Creek. Competitors run a 3-mile stretch of Gore Creek from East Vail to Vail Village SUP style. Competitors must stand strong because snow melt from the nearby Gore Range makes for icy waters while navigating the class II/III course. Mix in a handful of low bridges, drops and wave trains as paddlers battle it out in the SUP'ing of Gore Creek. Taking home the men’s title was Michael Tavares from Apex, N.C., second was Bradley Hilton from Grand Lake, Colo. and third place went to Dan Gavere of Hood River, Ore. For the women, Natali Zollinger of Moab, Utah took the top spot followed by Vail Valley local Gentian Nuzzo and Jenny Macarthur out of Snowmass Village, Colo. took third.

The Down River S2 Raft Sprint is identical to the Down River Kayak and SUP Sprints with one major change – it’s a tandem competition. With a rally race format, rafters drop at timed intervals and teams will be racing against the clock. The No. 1 team in 2015 was Shake N Bake! featuring the duo of John Anicito of Breckenridge, Colo. and Joe Sialiano from Evergreen, Colo. Locals Brent Redden and Kurt Kincel aka Aqua Knots took second place followed by Whiskey Priests and the team of John Seelig and Matt Norfleet of Edwards, Colo. in third.Runners took on the obstacles of the Mountain Mud Run in the afternoon. This fun event featured two mud pits, a hay tunnel, a river crossing and more.

Full results from today’s events can be found here.

For a complete calendar of events for the 2015 GoPro Mountain Games, please visit www.gopromountaingames.com. For daily photos, video assets and micro-feature content, please visit www.media.mountaingames.com.

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About the GoPro Mountain Games/Vail Valley Foundation

The GoPro Mountain Games is a project of the Vail Valley Foundation. The Vail Valley Foundation is a Colorado 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization, dedicated to enriching the Vail Valley and sustaining its unique spirit through the delivery of unparalleled arts, world class athletics and inspiring education programs throughout the community. For additional information on the GoPro Mountain Games, please visit http://www.mountaingames.com. For the Vail Valley Foundation, please visit www.vvf.org.

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