July 31, 2016  (Park City, UT) – USA Nordic ski jumper Will Rhoads (Park City, UT) won an action-packed competition Saturday at the Utah Olympic Park to claim a repeat title on the HS134 meter large hill during the 2017 L.L.Bean U.S. Ski Jumping Championships. Kevin Bickner (Park City, UT) of the Norge Ski Club in suburban Chicago took silver with fellow Norge jumper Casey Larson (Barrington, IL) claiming bronze.

Will Rhoads © Tom Kelly

Casey Larson © Tom Kelly

In the second round, Boyd-Clowes landed a 133.0 meter jump to move up to third overall. Bickner went 130.5 meters, Larson 126.0 meters and Glasder 122.5 meters. Rhoads sealed the win with a 132.0 meter flight for gold. Only Americans counted in the medals.

Rhoads and his teammates knew they had an opportunity to fly in the first round with a higher start position and more speed. “In the first round, I thought the speed was a little high,” said Rhoads. “We joked about going for the hill record and Mackenzie almost had it. It wasn’t my best technical jump of the week but I had the lead. I knew in the second round I needed a good jump to stay on top and I had one.”

Kevin Bickner © Tom Kelly

Despite coming in as the favorite and defending large hill champion, Rhoads was prepared. “The pressure is coming from our whole team doing so much better,” he said. “It says a lot about how far we’ve come with our program.”