Freestyle Champs Hit Squaw Valley

..... Squaw Valley, Calif. (Ski Press)-An event half a century in the making, Squaw Valley is set to celebrate its 50th anniversary of the 1960 Olympic Winter Games with the Sprint U.S. Freestyle Championships as Olympic medalists and the sport's best compete for U.S. titles March 26-28.The action kicks off Friday with men's and women's moguls where Olympic champion Hannah Kearney (Norwich, VT), and Olympic bronze medalists Bryon Wilson (Butte, MT) and Shannon Bahrke (Tahoe City, CA) and World Champion Patrick Deneen (Cle Elum, WA) will ski the bumps looking for a win. For Bahrke, who plans to retire at the end of the 2010 season, the event at Squaw Valley represents special significance. "That's where I grew up, that's where I learned how to ski my first moguls course, so you know to finish it there, to start a career and finish it there is something that you know I think every athlete dreams of doing and I get to do it, so that's pretty cool," Bahrke said. "It's going to be so much fun. My whole family, my friends, you know my coaches that have been through everything with me are going to be there, so that's really going to be an awesome experience." Things keep rolling on Saturday when David Wise gets back in the halfpipe looking to mark the fifth consecutive U.S. title of his career. Adding to the action on Saturday will be men's and women's aerials, which feature an incredible lineup of athletes including Olympic silver medalist Jeret "Speedy" Peterson (Boise, ID), World Champion Ryan St. Onge (Winter Park, CO), World Cup winner Emily Cook (Belmont, MA) and Olympians Lacy Schnoor (Draper, UT) and Scotty Bahrke (Tahoe City, CA). "I'm looking forward to competing at U.S. Champs, and to get to go out and spin one last time with my teammates before I take a little break," Peterson said. I'm just looking forward to having this one last competition and seeing how everything goes." Wrapping up the weekend will be the dual moguls event where Kearney, who just won back to back World Cups in both moguls and dual moguls, is looking to shine. "Squaw last year was gorgeous. It was kind of like spring vacation. To show up on an Olympic year and share with the freestyle community is always something I look forward to," Kearney said. The Sprint U.S. Freestyle Championships kick off March 26 and run through March 28. Fans can watch from the comfort of their own home on April 4 when the events air on Versus at 6 p.m. ET.  

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