[truebluefan]

Nate Roberts (Park City, UT) finished second, repeating his performance from last weekend, in a World Cup moguls competition Friday in Are. Emiko Torito (Denver) was third for her third consecutive event.

"It was good. I've had a rough year according to my standards and how I've competed in the last couple of years, but it's definitely a marathon and not a sprint," Roberts said. "Having a decent finish in Japan helped my confidence. I'm just getting out there and skiing the way I know how. If I do that it works out well."

Roberts, who was second at the Czech Republic World Cup last Saturday, threw a back full and a back flip-X - which means he crossed his skis while doing his trick - to land his podium spot. Olympic champion Dale Begg-Smith of Australia won, putting him 91 points over France's Guilbaut Colas in the World Cup moguls standings.

"It was a little bit of a rollercoaster ride at the beginning of the season and now Nate's got confidence and that means a lot in any sport," said Moguls Head Coach Scott Rawles. "He's trusting himself and getting after it. He laid down a great run and did awesome"

Roberts, who moved up to fourth in the World Cup standings, led four U.S. men into the top 10 including rookie Jimmy Discoe (Ridgway, CO) who's seventh-place finish was his career best.

Torito also led four U.S. athletes into the top 10 including Shelly Robertson (Reno, NV) in fifth and Michelle Roark (Denver) in eighth. Both also have had top-3 results this season. Torito threw a 360-degree helicopter off the top jump and a back flip-X off the bottom to place third.

"This is the most consistent I've ever been. I feel like I'm starting to build some confidence and every time I do well it grows," Torito said. "It would be cool to be first or second but I feel happy with any World Cup podium. It's my first year making regular podiums and it feels good."

"She's got a lot of confidence going with her skiing right now. In her finals run, she made a little mistake coming out of the top jump, but she charged after that and that's what got her on the podium," Rawles said. "When people make mistakes, a lot of times they think their run is over. Instead of doing that, Emiko charged and ended up in third."

Aiko Uemura of Japan won the women's competition to make it her third consecutive win since competing in her homeland at Inawashiro, Japan. Uemura also extended her lead in the World Cup standings over the Czech Republic's Nikola Sudova, who finished fourth, by 83 points.

The FIS Freestyle World Cup continues Saturday in Are, Sweden, with men's and women's dual moguls.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
2008 FIS FREESTYLE WORLD CUP
Are, SWE - March 7, 2008
Moguls

Men
1. Dale Begg-Smith, Australia, 25.94
2. Nate Roberts, Park City, UT, 25.88
3. Dmitriy Reiherd, Kazakhstan, 25.47
4. Osamu Ueno, Japan, 24.68
5. Yugo Tsukita, Japan, 24.56
-
7. Jimmy Discoe, Ridgway, CO, 24.22
8. Landon Gardner, Missoula, MT, 23.81
10. Bryon Wilson, Butte, MT, 22.43
12. David Babic, Washington, VT, 22.29
48. Patrick Deneen, Cle Elum, WA,

Women
1. Aiko Uemura, Japan, 24.43
2. Kristi Richards, Canada, 23.73
3. Emiko Torito, Denver, 23.00
4. Nikola Sudova, Czech Republic, 22.91
5. Shelly Robertson, Reno, NV, 22.85
-
8. Michelle Roark, Denver, 22.49
9. Heather McPhie, Park City, UT, 21.79
15. Jillian Vogtli, Ellicotville, NY, 18.15
17. Kayla Snyderman, Winchester, MA, 20.12
# # #