03' Philips U.S. Open Wraps Up

Travis Rice, Ross Powers, Gretchen Bleiler, Hana Beaman, Shaun White and Hannah Teter all reach the podium.

The Philips US Open Snowboarding Championships ended Sunday, bringing to a close one of the most exciting and successful events in the Open's 2 -year history. Tens of thousands of spectators flooded Stratton Mountain, enjoying the Open's Rail Jam, Superpipe, Slopestyle and Junior Halfpipe events. Outdoor Life Network broadcasted most of the events live for the first time in Open history.

Yesterday's Slopestyle event attracted quite a crowd with top riders like Shaun White, Hana Beaman, Kelly Clark, Travis Rice and Rahm Klampert competing in the event. With the warmest temperatures Vermont has seen in months, the course was soft. Hana Beaman, who placed fourth in last year's Open Slopestyle contest, dominated the women's field and won the event. She took home $15,000 in prize money and a Philips DVD recorder. Priscilla Levac came in second. And Hannah Teter landed in third place, winning her second US Open podium spot after her third place finish in Saturday's Halfpipe Finals. After the Slopestyle event, Hannah was named the overall winner of the 2003 Philips US Open, which landed her a Jeep(r) Wrangler X.

In the Men's Slopestyle, no one could touch Shaun White. He took the lead after his first run and never lost it. Shaun's smooth style was in full effect and he was nailing everything, including frontside 7s, backside 9s and Cab 9s. With this victory, Shaun has now won all four major Slopestyle contests this season including the X Games, Vail Sessions, Vans Triple Crown and now the US Open Slopestyle event. After winning the Open Slopestyle and placing second in the Rail Jam, Shaun will add another $20,000 and a Philips DVD recorder to his season's winnings. Nate Sheehan placed second and his Cab 1080 earned him $2,500 Clif Bar's SupaStyle award. Travis Rice took third in the event, adding to the Rail Jam title he won on Friday night.

While the big guns competed in the Slopestyle Finals, snowboarding's future stars showcased their skills in the Junior Halfpipe event. Every year, the event attracts young riders from the world over to compete for the US Open Junior Halfpipe title. This year's Junior Halfpipe Champions are Stephanie Bedard and Sam Luebke.

The Open kicked off on Friday night with the event's first Rail Jam. Travis Rice made US Open history, winning the first Rail Jam ever held at the Open as well as $10,000 and a Philips Wall of Sound audio system. The course replicated an ideal urban handrail spot and was almost entirely designed by professional snowboarder Jeff Anderson who recently passed away in a tragic accident. Jeff's brother Billy gave a tribute speech at the event. Shaun White placed second, adding another $5,000 to his ever-growing pool of winnings. And Zach Leach placed third. Up-and-comer Nik Batko went home with $5,000 after winning the Best Trick award from SoBe. He definitely earned it with a gap to backside 270 on the upper rail, a Cab 270 and later, a backside 450 on the upper rail, taking out a movie camera attached to the handrail. Nick's camera-smashing run earned one of the loudest responses from the crowd all night.