February 04, 2013 (Sapporo, Japan) – Park City’s Sarah Hendrickson was 3rd and 7th in a pair of tough and windy competitions in Sapporo this weekend, boosting her to second place overall on the World Cup.

Hours before Sunday’s event, a 6.9 magnitude earthquake rattled the northern Japanese island of Hakkaido, the epicenter of which was about 120 miles east of Sapporo. There were no reports of damage, though it made for an interesting start to Sunday’s competition.

Hendrickson endured multiple gate change delays to finish on the podium in 3rd place with jumps of 93.5 and 87.5 meters. U.S. teammates Lindsey Van clinched 8th with jumps of 91 and 87 meters, Jessica Jerome was a strong 15th with jumps of 87 and 90.5 meters, and Abby Hughes was 29th with jumps of 80 and 78 meters. Austria’s Jacqueline Seifriedsberger claimed her first World Cup victory and Norway’s Anette Sagen had a huge leap of 99 meters in her second round to take 2nd.

“It was typical weather for this area and made the comp very difficult,” said Van. “You never know what kind of wind you are going to get, so it is like a lotto game. I enjoy the randomness most of the time, though. It is an outdoor sport and is always fun.”

Saturday’s event ended after the first round of jumping due to high and irregular winds, leaving Hendrickson in 7th, Jerome in 10th, Van 28th and Hughes 34th. France’s Coline Mattel was 1st over Seifriedsberger and Sagen.

Home country favorite and current World Cup leader Sara Takanashi, 16, finished 12th on Saturday and 5th on Sunday.

World Cup competition continues Feb. 9-10 in Zao, Japan.

Results at www.fisskijumping.com

January 16, 2011 (Sapporo, Japan) – Teen Peter Frenette (Saranac Lake, NY) put down the best U.S. ski jumping performance in over seven years Sunday, finishing 18th in Sapporo in only his second World Cup.

With each passing ski jumping event, Frenette is showing continued improvement. He was 23rd following the first round Sunday and moved up to finish 18th. It was the best U.S. finish since Clint Jones – now his coach – was 13th at Kuusamo, Finland in November of 2003.

Frenette soared a 113.5 on his first ride, bumping it up a notch on his second flight good to 120.0 meters.

The winner of the second competition in Sapporo in as many days, was Austrian Andreas Kofler, who narrowly missed the podium Saturday. Kofler was the picture of consistency with a pair of long rides of 131.0 and 132.5 meters. German Severin Freund celebrated a sensational weekend with a second place. Overall World Cup leader Thomas Morgenstern of Austria placed third.

USA Ski Jumping coach Clint Jones said this was a big step forward for Frenette.

“This was a great day for Peter and our team,” said Jones. “With two good jumps and a little bit of luck, Peter scored his first World Cup points. This is such a positive step forward and should hopefully take some pressure off of Peter in upcoming competitions.”

Frenette had been second on the same hill in Sapporo earlier in the week in a Continental Cup. He set himself up well for the weekend, finishing 28th in qualifying to give himself a starting spot for the pair of World Cups. In Saturday’s opener, he was 33rd after the first jump – just missing the top 30 cut.

Next up for Frenette will by the FIS World Junior Nordic Championships in Estonia.

FIS World Cup Sapporo, Japan – Jan. 16, 2011
Large Hill – HS134

1. Andres Kofler, Austria, (131.0, 132.5), 232.9
2. Severin Freund, Germany, (134.5, 120.0), 224.7
3. Thomas Morgenstern, Asutria, (110.0, 136.5), 222.4

18. Peter Frenette, Saranac Lake, NY, (113.5, 120.), 159.1

Full results HERE.