Missoula, Mont. (May 6, 2008) – Students, fans, families and even dogs braved the chilly morning weather on Saturday, April 26 to see student lumberjacks representing 10 schools compete in a chopping and sawing battle for a stake in the STIHL® TIMBERSPORTS® Collegiate Series Championship in the Western Conclave hosted by the University of Montana.
Colorado State’s Adrian Flygt earned his victory through cumulative points gathered in the underhand chop, stock saw and single buck events. Flygt also became the final student lumberjack to earn a ticket to the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Collegiate Championship to be held June 27 in Columbus, Ga.
As part of his win, STIHL will pay Flygt’s way to the Collegiate Championship, including travel and lodging for the lumberjack and his coach. He also earned a $1,000 scholarship for his school from STIHL.
“ STIHL would like to congratulate Adrian on his win in our last STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Collegiate Series event of the season,” said Roger Phelps, promotional communications manager for STIHL Inc. “We created this series to help identify and develop the top collegiate lumberjacks and provide them with an opportunity to advance in the sport and join the ranks of the professional elite. Adrian and his fellow competitors are wonderful ambassadors of the sport.”
Flygt, a philosophy major, was competing for the first time in the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Collegiate Series, although he has long participated in lumberjack sports. The most physically imposing of the competitors, Flygt had three solid finishes in all of the disciplines, which resulted in his decisive win.
Three points behind Flygt in second place was University of California at Berkeley’s competitor, Madison Thomson, followed by Humboldt State’s Jarrod Follmar in third place and hometown favorite Pat Johnson of the University of Montana in fourth. But Montana redeemed itself by winning the Western conclave over its long-standing rival, the University of Idaho.
Rivalries from college football extended into this event with schools from the Pac-10 (University of California at Berkeley and Oregon State) and Mountain West (Colorado State) competing. But you didn’t have to be Division-I to have a shot at this title with regional community colleges, Flathead Valley and Central Oregon also competing. The first female competitor in the 2008 STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Collegiate Series also participated, as Nichole Bonneme from California Polytechnic State University took up her saw and competed.
The STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Collegiate Championship will take place in Columbus, Ga. on June 27 when the five regional champions and one wild card pick will go head to head to determine the collegiate champion who will earn a spot in the 2009 STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Professional Series.
For more information, go to
www.ESPNOutdoors.com
and click on TIMBERSPORTS, or visit
www.stihltimbersports.com
.
About STIHL Inc.
STIHL Inc. manufactures the world's largest selling brand of chain saws and produces a full line of powerful, lightweight, and versatile handheld outdoor power equipment for homeowners and professional users. STIHL products are sold through independent servicing power equipment retailers from coast to coast – not mass merchants. For more information or for the name of the closest STIHL retailer call toll free 1-800-GO STIHL (1-800-467-8445) or visit STIHL's Web site at
www.stihlusa.com
.
STIHL Inc. is the official underwriting sponsor of the STIHL® TIMBERSPORTS® Series presented by Carhartt. The series airs throughout the year on the ESPN2 cable network, and the STIHL® TIMBERSPORTS® Collegiate Series airs on ESPNU.
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