wsa crowns season champs

 
The World Snowmobile Association handed out seven classes of awards at its awards gala at the Grand Geneva Resort and Spa on March 12.

WSA CEO Scott O'Malley and President Joe Duncan acknowledged the incredible work ethic and professionalism of their office and field staffs, as well as the efforts of the ESPN/Windfall Productions TV crew in creating exciting TV coverage of the series' eight events.

Stating much of the success of the WSA is due to its partners, they then offered heartfelt thanks to all of WSA's sponsors, a list longer and more prestigious than ever before. Next was recognition of the contributions and massive support of another critical group of partners, the manufacturers and team owners. Special plaques were presented to Arctic Cat's Race Directors, Brian Sturgeon for the USA and Jamie Anseeuw for Canada; Polaris' Race Director Dave Williams and Technical Director Rick Bates; Ski-Doo's Race Director Maurice Murray and Assistant Race Director Tom Lawrence; Yamaha's Race Director Gordy Muetz and Assistant Race Director Chad Johnson; Scheuring Speed Sports Owner Steve Scheuring; and Millennium SuperTeam Owner Mark Warnert.

O'Malley and Duncan then remained on stage to present trophies to the contenders and champions, first in the Semi-Pro and then Pro divisions. The first champion crowned was Minnesota's Levi LeVallee (Polaris) in the Semi-Pro Fan class. Then, a transplanted Idahoan, Minnesota's Tucker Hibbert (Arctic Cat), made two trips to the podium for his titles in both the Semi-Pro Stock and Semi-Pro Open classes, capping a stunning season for the 15-year-old wunderkind which included the Gold Medal at ESPN's Winter X Games.

Next came the awards for the Pro Veterans Class, where Tucker's father, the legendary Kirk Hibbert (Arctic Cat) claimed the title and one of the largest ovations of the evening, and the Pro Womens class, easily the closest of points battles in any of the Pro classes, where Minnesota's Julie Thul (Polaris) accepted the champions trophy.

The awards for the Pro Stock class were presented, and defending champion from last year, Canada's Blair Morgan (Arctic Cat) took the championship back to Canada for another year.

Next, were the presentations of the Special Achievement awards. Idaho's Nathan Titus (Yamaha) happily, as he was crutch-free and well on his way to a full recovery from his season ending knee injury in Duluth, Minnesota, accepted the Hard Luck Award. Canada's Noel Kohanski (Polaris), who came so close to winning the Pro Open final earlier in the day received the Determination Award after always smiling and racing as hard as ever after another injury-riddled, frustrating season. The resurgent Finn Toni Haikonen (Arctic Cat), creating his own team after a couple of off-form and injury-plagued seasons and then winning his first final in two years, was awarded the Most Dedicated Award.

The two most coveted Specialty Awards were presented as well, and Illinois' Kent Ipsen (Ski-Doo) won the Rookie Of The Year Award for his tenth place points finish in Pro Stock and his third place finish in the Pro Open points. Due to his performances this season, showing a savvy, patience and decisiveness far beyond his young years to go with his stunning speed, the Most Improved Driver Award went to Minnesotan Dennis Eckstrom (Ski-Doo).

Perhaps the most touching tribute of the evening occurred with the presentation of an award created especially for a specific individual. He is acknowledged as one of the sport's greatest ambassadors, always eagerly attending autograph sessions and interview requests regardless of time of day or length of appointment, and often at a day's end during a race weekend can be found offering his heavy equipment operator experience in helping to groom or rebuild the track. The combination of his tireless commitment and genuine humor and kindness was recognized by all in attendance as O'Malley and Duncan presented a Special Achievement Award to Minnesota's Aaron Scheele (Arctic Cat), and the banquet hall exploded into an enthusiastic and lengthy standing ovation.

After watching a superb video presentation created by the remarkable team at Dobson Video Productions, it was finally time for the awards in the Pro Open class, where Blair Morgan again claimed the champion's hardware, and for the second consecutive year swept the Pro Class championships in the WSA Snocross Worldwide Championship.

Pro Stock
1. Blair Morgan (A)
2. Dennis Eckstrom (S)
3. Toni Haikonen (A)
4. Chris Vincent (S)
5. Justin Tate (S)
6. Aaron Scheele (A)
7. Todd Wolff (S)
8. TJ Gulla (S)
9. Carl Schubitzke (S)
10. Kent Ipsen (S)

Pro Open
1. Blair Morgan (A)
2. Dennis Eckstrom (S)
3. Kent Ipsen (S)
4. Trevor John (P)
5. Justin Tate (S)
6. Greg Hyde (P)
7. TJ Gulla (S)
8. Carl Schubitzke (S)
9. Todd Wolff (S)
10. Chris Vincent

Pro Veterans
1. Kirk Hibbert (A)
2. Donny Bonnicksen (P)
3. Dana Sibbet (A)
4. Gary Gengel (A)
5. Mike Schad (A)

Pro Womens
1. Julie Thul (P)
2. Amanda Johnson (P)
3. Nicole Nicholas (S)
4. Jolene Bute (A)
5. Gabby Rivard (A)

Semi-Pro Fan
1. Levi LaVallee (P)
2. Pete Hammer (P)
3. Jeff Tweet (A)
4. Josh Foote (A)
5. Gary Gengel (A)
6. Adam Johnson (A)
7. Michael Trulen (P)
8. Dan Sjong (A)
9. Matt Sagorac (A)
10. Jon Ignaszewski (P)

Semi-Pro Stock
1. Tucker Hibbert (A)
2. Curt Peterson (S)
3. Brad Pitlik (S)
4. Johnny Mold (S)
5. Jake Jay (S)
6. Marty Melby (S)
7. Josh Goble (A)
8. Levi LaVallee (P)
9. Jayme Cheney (S)
10. Jesse Roessler (A)

Semi-Pro Open
1. Tucker Hibbert (A)
2. Brad Pitlik (S)
3. Johnny Mold (S)
4. Curt Peterson (S)
5. Jake Jay (S)
6. Toby Graveson (A)
7. Josh Goble (A)
8. Marty Melby (S)
9. Rodney VanEperen (P)
10. Jesse Roessler (A)