Vito Wins Big at Grand Prix Final

KILLINGTON, Vermont (March 16) - U.S. Snowboarding's Louie Vito rocked the pipe hard to win the halfpipe competition as well as the overall season title at the Killington stop of the Chevy U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix Sunday.

The Killington Grand Prix event is a Five-Star rated World Tour event attracting the world's best snowboarders, including Olympians and World Champions battling for cash and prizes including a brand new Chevy truck. But in the end it was Louie Vito who took home his second straight Grand Prix victory and drove home with the cash and the Chevy truck.

The battle for the truck and the overall title was between Louie Vito, U.S. Snowboarding teammate Elijah Teter, last year’s Grand Prix title holder and Olympian Tommy Czeschin, and 2-time X Game Champion, Steve Fisher. Also in the mix were the two superstars from Finland Janne Korpi and Petee Piiroinen.

On his first run, Vito threw down an ultra sick frontside 10 into a cab 10, then a frontside 9, backside 9 and then a frontside corked 720. As he finished the flawless run, the crowd seemed to agree they had just witnessed the winning run.

As it turned out – they did because Vito’s run sealed the deal on the day’s victory as well as a Chevy Avalanche, which is the sweet ride awarded to the overall tour champions.

"I'm stoked on the truck. I got beat out of the tie breaker last year so I guess I had to wait a year to get it but now I have a fresh looking Avalanche and it feels good to get it," Vito said. "I just wanted to handle it on my first run. I'm happy. It was a good tour and a good season and now I can chill and enjoy the rest of the winter."

This event closed the curtains on a season of epic halfpipe competition at the Chevy U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix, with Shaun White winning the first Grand Prix and Louie Vito winning the final two and the overall title.

This Chevrolet U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix Halfpipe event will be broadcast on Saturday, March 29th at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time on NBC television.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
Chevy U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix, Killington, VT
Men’s Halfpipe Top 6
1. Louie Vito (USA)
2. Greg Bretz (USA)
3. Peetu Piiroinen (Finland)
4. Janne Korpi (Finland)
5. Steve Fisher (USA)
6. Nathan Johnstone (AUS)

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Louie Vito is on Fire!

(Truckee, CA) – Louie Vito and Olympian Danny Kass once again battled it out in the men’s superpipe finals at the Vans Cup in Lake Tahoe in what many said was too close to call. After some deliberation the judges determined that Kass’ run edged out Vito’s and the crown went to Kass for the second year in a row. Had Kass sketched a bit, Vito was right there for the gold.

To get his second place in a field stacked with talent, Vito linked back-to-back 1080s, to back-to-back 900s, and a 720. The ten man international final included six Olympians.
Vito’s been on top of the snowboard world as of late and it showed at Tahoe. His 2nd was well-deserved.

"It was all really big and really smooth," Olympic Head Coach Mike Jankowski said. "Louie is obviously on fire and he wanted to beat Danny. He was going for it. But second place in a field like this is really huge.”

Vito is fresh off his 1st place finishes at the last Chevy Truck Grand Prix, Jeep King of the Mountain and the Etnies GVR.

The entire Vans Cup Superpipe contest will be seen on Fuel TV sometime in April.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
2008 Vans Cup
Superpipe Finals

1. Danny Kass (USA)
2. Louie Vito (USA)
3. Iouri Podlatchkov (Switzerland)
4. Andy Finch (USA)
5. Mason Aguirre (USA)

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Louie Vito Is Goofiest @ Bear Mtn.!

CORONA, Calif., (Feb. 25, 2008) – Monster Energy-backed Louie Vito has his foot on the gas as of late, scoring back-to-back-to-back wins a the Chevy Truck Grand Prix at Tamarack, Jeep King of the Mountain at Squaw Valley (Calif.) and, this past weekend, leading the Goofy team at the annual Etnies Goofy vs. Regular Snowboard Contest at Bear Mountain, Calif. Vito was the top scorer for the Goofy team in the slopestyle format contest; unfortunately they bowed out to the Regular team. The pain of the team loss was lessened a bit by the $1,750 Vito pocketed for his effort from Etnies.“I had a blast,” said Vito. “And made sure everybody around me was hot-wired on Monsters!”

Vito on National TV Again

Louie’s next TV appearance will be the “Jeep King of the Mountain Halfpipe Championships” which will be shown this Sunday, February 24, 2008 at 1pm (Eastern Time) on CBS-TV. Watch as Louie attempts to win his second consecutive major halfpipe title.

Also, a repeat of Louie’s victory at the “Chevrolet U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix” will be broadcast this Sunday, February 24, 2008 at 4pm (Eastern Time) on Versus TV (formerly OLN-TV.)

Vito Wins 2nd Major Titles in Three Days

(Squaw Valley, CA) - Earning two wins over the course of a career is enough to satisfy most athletes, but for snowboard halfpipe rider Louie Vito, capturing two titles in the span of three days seemed all the more efficient. The young standout, on the heels of a win in the U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix in Tamarack, Idaho, over the weekend, accomplished the unimaginable and was on top of the podium again just a few days later at The Jeep King of the Mountain halfpipe championships in Squaw Valley, California.

Though only 19 years of age, the well-proven Vito has earned a name for himself as one of the sport’s best technical riders, with a flair for big rotations. Having captured wins at the USASA National Championships and the Australian Open over the past few years, the Sandy, Utah, resident’s impressive victory last Saturday at the U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix and a follow-up appearance at The Jeep King of the Mountain offered him a chance to make a resounding statement to the sport’s top competitors.

At Squaw Valley, Vito maintained his torrid pace straight through the qualifiers and into the finals. In the first run of the finals, he nailed back-to-back 1080’s, followed by a 900 and closing front side 720 to earn a score of 95. That was enough to put him in first place heading into the final run, while putting pressure on the other riders trying to unseat him. On his second run, Vito pushed the envelope even further with a dazzling series that included consecutive 1080’s followed by consecutive 900’s and a closing 720. That effort earned him the overall highest score of the day, a 96, and secured his second straight win.

"It feels great to get the win here in Squaw, and everything really seems to be clicking for me right now," said Vito. "There was a lot of pressure from the other great riders today, and I knew that I had to go big if I wanted to bring it home in the end."

Another impressive performance came from Olympian, Andy Finch. The veteran with numerous titles under his belt used a flawless first run of the finals to sneak into third place. In his final attempt, he had an incredible run but it was not enough to overcome Vito. Finch ended up second.

Coverage of the action from Squaw Valley will be televised to a national broadcast audience on Sunday, February 24th on CBS television at 1 p.m.

FINAL RESULTS – MEN’S SNOWBOARD HALFPIPE
The Jeep King of the Mountain - Squaw Valley USA, Calif.

MEN’S RESULTS – SUPER FINAL TOP 5
1. Louie Vito – Sandy, Utah
2. Andy Finch – Truckee, Calif.
3. Luke Mitrani – Mammoth Lakes, Calif.
4. Elijah Teter – South Lake Tahoe, Calif.
5. Tommy Czeschin – Crowley Lake, Calif.

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PS: Don’t forget to watch the Chevy Truck Grand Prix this Saturday, February 16th at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC-TV!

Louie Vito Wins Grand Prix

TAMARACK, Idaho - U.S. Snowboarding's Louie Vito (Columbus, OH/Sandy, UT) picked up a major victory Saturday winning the Chevy U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix superpipe at an overcast Tamarack Resort in Idaho. Kelly Clark (West Dover, VT), 2002 Olympic gold medalist, won the women's competition.
Vito pumped up the crowd-lined halfpipe by throwing down an amazing run which “wowed” the fans.

Vito, 19, gained an edge on the rest of the field with the height of his tricks, pleasing the crowd - and the judges - with an array of high-flying spins. "I've been working on going big," he said. "I used to just be more of a technical rider, but I have really been trying to improve my amplitude, and that helped me out."

"It felt pretty good to win. I needed a little bit of a confidence booster after not doing so well at the X Games," Vito said. "I'm just going to keep doing my thing now. I've got a few things between now and the Killington Grand Prix, so I'll worry about those and when Killington gets closer, I'll worry about that."

"Louie worked really hard for this one and we're proud of him.” U.S. Snowboarding Halfpipe Head Coach Mike Jankowski said.

Jankowski went on to say, "These riders are working hard to do what they do. They're some of the greatest athletes in the world. Everybody's pushing the limits of the sport and going for it."

Tamarack has been good to Vito. Saturday's victory was the first of his Grand Prix career. His best previous finish was second in the 2007 halfpipe finals at Tamarack.

Louie Vito soars out of the Tamarack superpipe to take his first Chevy Grand Prix win.

This Chevrolet U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix Halfpipe event will be broadcast this Saturday, February 16th at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time on NBC television.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
Chevy U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix, Tamarack, ID
Men’s Halfpipe Top 4
1. Louie Vito
2. Greg Bretz
3. Elijah Teter
4. Scotty Lago

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Life at SIA Vegas

Louie knows how to roll around the trade show - find some wheels and the chicks just appear!

Louie Vito Rail Jam (3rd Edition)

The third annual “Louie Vito Rail Jam” was once again held at Louie’s old stomping grounds, Mad River Mountain, on Saturday, December 29th. Admittedly, having a contest not only super early for these Midwest slopes but during a Holiday weekend could have been a disaster. Instead it turned out to be the best one to date! With nonperishables in hand, over 165 competitors ranging from age eight to the mid fifties showed up to challenge the three sets of rails that lie under the newly installed outdoor bright lighting. Louie wanted an event where everyone had an opportunity to participate. With no monetary entry fee and a HUGE number of curious onlookers this year’s Rail Jam again surpassed all expectations. The event lasted until late in the evening allowing each rider to get at least two runs and as some groms shrieked, “The best time of their life!”

Vito's sponsors certainly kept the spirit of giving alive with shoes from Nike, headsets from Skullcandy, outerwear from Volcom, watches from Vestal, streetwear from Utility Board Shop, headwear from Neff, gloves from Grenade, boards from O-matic, and an endless supply Monster to keep the competitors shredding, hooting, and hollering late into the night.

Louie expressed how impressed he was with Mad River's park, which seems to be getting better and better every time he returns. He also noted that the level of riding at Mad River is rapidly improving with tons of young riders possessing good style and tricks.

With nearly 300 curious Louie Vito fanatics in attendance the awards ceremony had the feel of a huge party instead of a competition. Winners were awarded outerwear, headsets, and boards as well as the grand giveaway, an all expenses paid trip including airfare to Windell's Snowboard Camp for the coming summer. At the very height of the excitement Louie decided to raffle off a complete Kicker car stereo. Raising nearly one thousand dollars and enough food to feed several families for months to come the Bellefontaine St. Vincent DePaul Society was again thrilled to be a part of what is turning out to be their biggest fund raiser.

It was obvious to all who attended this wonderful event why it has become even more successful each year. Louie is an example to hundreds of kids of what can happen with hard work, dedication, God-given ability and a community support system that rivals none! As dozens of kids flocked around this charismatic young man, it was clear they had chosen a great role model. Louie posed for pictures, signed the latest Snowboarder Magazine, gave riding tips and appeared to know each individual—although highly unlikely given the great number of people who clamored for his time. He looked like the Pied Piper, although his entourage consisted of kids as well as moms and dads! Cameras flashed, prizes were given away in excess and a charity was thrilled beyond words. This event will continue to grow, thanks to Louie and his generous sponsors. This was an example of a 19-year old young man, wise for his years, showing us all how to give back and remember where we came from.