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Because it's what we do

Fresno halfpipe specialist Andy Finch, who rides out of Mammoth, won the Australian Open halfpipe snowboarding championship last weekend, while streaking Mason Aguirre of Mammoth finished ninth.

Kelly Cark, the 2002 Olympic Gold Medalist who is a familiar face on Mammoth Mountain's pipes, won the women's halfpipe competition.

The championships were the final event of the Ticket To Ride World Tour (TTR).

In slopestyle competition, Aguirre finished eighth, in spite of his victory at the New Zealand Open, his first slopestyle victory ever.

With the New Zealand slopeside title, Aguirre won $5,000 and took over the lead in the tour. However, Aguirre could not capitalize on his New Zealand momentum.

Instead, it was Finch who stepped it up.

Finch, an Olympian in the 2006 Games, began his winning halfpipe run with an enormous Heave-Ho, followed by a front 1080, into a Cab 720, to a backside Alley-oop 360, and finished with an Alley-oop Rodeo 360, according to reports on opensnowboarding.com.

Finch was so secure with his run that he utilized his last drop for a victory lap of straight airs, the Web site reported.

“It felt good to win, but it felt even better to do those straight airs,” said Finch. “I had a great day, being out here with the boys was a blast. I’m super psyched right now!”

In the slopestyle competition, Truckee's Chas Guldemond finished first, while Finch finished fourth and Aguirre eighth.

Aguirre arrived back in the United States on Monday, and according to his father, Mike Aguirre, he was exhausted and suffering jet lag.

However, the elder Aguirre reported Mason in good spirits and with an upbeat attitude.

"He's just trying to get over the jet lag," Aguirre-the-Elder said.