Puckett Fifth in Worlds Ski Cross
The U.S. Ski Team's Casey Puckett (Aspen, CO) kicked off the 2009 FIS Freestyle Ski World Championships with a fifth-place finish in ski cross Monday in Japan. Austria's Andreas Matt won the Worlds gold.
"Obviously we are disappointed that we didn't land someone on the podium, especially after the start we had today," U.S. Ski Cross Head Coach Tyler Shepherd said. "Daron [Rahlves; Sugarbowl, CA] led the qualifying for our team in fourth followed by Jake Fiala [Frisco, CO] in 15th and Casey in 16th. Getting all three guys in is half the battle these days with how deep the fields have become. We can't take anything for granted."
Puckett led the way for teammate Rahlves to also finish the event within the top 10. Puckett won the first runs of the day before coming in fourth in the semi-final and being relegated to the small finals of the event.
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