LAKE PLACID, New York (Feb. 29) - U.S. Snowboarding's Graham Watanabe (Sun Valley, ID), hot off his second World Cup win in Japan, was first in the men's World Cup snowboardcross qualification Friday at the Visa U.S. Snowboarding Cup in Lake Placid. Watanabe was .53 seconds ahead of teammate Nick Baumgartner (Iron River, MI), who was second. Eight other U.S. men made it into the top 32.

"For me, to be able to qualify 10 guys is just crazy," Head Coach Peter Foley said. "We make up almost a third of the field. It's amazing to have that kind of depth."

Lindsey Jacobellis (Stratton Mountain, VT) led U.S. women in qualifications, finishing second behind Canadian Maelle Ricker who sits first ahead of Jacobellis in the World Cup standings.

"Lindsey did really well and Callan rode well," Foley said. "Brooke [Shaw; Litchfield, CT] just missed it but it was exciting that she was able to shave two seconds off her first run."

The Visa U.S. Snowboarding Cup continues Saturday with men's and women's snowboardcross finals.

"The team is pretty excited because they're happy about how qualifications went. They feel strong and confident," Foley said.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
2008 VISA U.S. SNOWBOARDING CUP
Lake Placid, N.Y. - Feb. 29, 2008
Snowboardcross Qualifying

Men's (32 made finals)
1. Graham Watanabe, Sun Valley, ID, 1:03.06
2. Nick Baumgartner, Iron River, MI, 1:03.59
3. Tom Velisek, Canada, 1:03.70
4. Radoslav Zidek, Slovakia1:03.74
5. Drew Neildon, Canada, 1:03.81
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6. Nate Holland, Squaw Valley, CA, 1:03.82
7. Shaun Palmer, South Lake Tahoe, CA, 1:03.88
20. Jason Smith, Durango, CO, 1:04.73
21. Alex Deibold, Manchester Center, VT, 1:05.01
21. Jonathan Cheever, Saugus, MA, 1:05.01
26. Pat Holland, Tahoe City, CA, 1:05.20
31. Ben Jacobellis, Winhall, VT, 1:05.61
31. Seth Wescott, Carrabassett Valley, ME, 1:05.61

Women's (16 made finals)
1. Maelle Ricker, Canada, 1:07.74
2. Lindsey Jacobellis, Stratton Mountain, VT, 1:07.80
3. Diane Thermoz Liaudy, France, 1:07.82
4. Dominique Maltais, Canada, 1:08.09
5. Doresia Krings, Austria, 1:08.22
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12. Callan Chythlook-Sifsof, Girdwood, AK, 1:10.06
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For complete results click here.