For the first time in three years Chris Dunsirn did not win the snowboarding competition he entered - he took third.
"He acts like that's bad," Dunsirn's friend and snowboarding peer John Shires said. "But that's pretty good considering it was the national championships."
Representing the state of New Mexico, Dunsirn was judged on amplitude, style and rotation while sailing down a ramp congested with obstacles, jumps and rails.
With a score of 293, he finished behind only Chris Bartkowski of Fredonia, N.Y. and Korey McMahon of Dubuque, Iowa.
But the riders also faced an obstacle they weren't expecting - the erratic New Mexico weather.
"The weather was absolutely horrible," Dunsirn said. "It hailed all day. There was trash coming down with the hail and it pelted you in the face pretty hard."
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Despite the devastating conditions, Dunsirn's performance on Saturday was good enough for third in the 18- to 22-year-old slopestyle event.
Shires, a UNM student, said he thought the conditions were actually optimal for Bartkowski and McMahon.
"These were good conditions for the kids from New York and Iowa," he said. "Those are standard riding conditions out east. The kids from Colorado and New Mexico are used to it being sunny with soft snow and smooth obstacles."
Shires won a wild card into the national championships by placing second and seventh in qualifying races in January and February.
After taking a fall on Saturday in the slopestyle, Shires finished 41st out of 52 competitors.
Dunsirn placed first in both qualifying races. He said he has been snowboarding competitively for about six years and competes about four or five times a year.
Dunsirn said it was those experiences, along with practicing every day, that led him to the national championships. He said the only thing that he expected of the race was to have fun.
"You don't really expect anything," Dunsirn said. "You look at it not as a competition, but as a run in the park. Otherwise you'll get way too competitive and that's not what this sport is all about."
It was the first time the snowboarding national championships were held in New Mexico. Dunsirn said the event was originally scheduled to be in Aspen, Colo., but Angel Fire outbid Aspen at the last second.
"Nobody ever expected it to come here," he said. "It was awesome because it opened everyone's eyes. New Mexico has a lot of talented riders and they have no idea what the national scene is about."
Also representing New Mexico was Justin Bobb of Santa Fe, who came in 47th place in the slopestyle race, 23rd in the halfpipe and 11th in the boardercross event.
Shires said there were about 1,200 snowboarders ranging from ages 4 to 70 competing in Angel Fire over the six-day contest.
None of the three New Mexicans had competed at the national level before.
