Teen sensations Brit Cox and Matt Graham defended their junior national mogul championship titles at Mt Buller over the weekend.

Cox, who finished 12th in this year's World Championships at Deer Valley in the USA in February, delivered a solid victory over NSWIS scholarship skiers, second place getter Taylah O'Neill, and 2009 Junior Champion Nicole Parks, in third spot.

The 16-year-old AIS/NSWIS athlete blasted down the 170-metre Chamois run, 1.23 points ahead of her O'Neill, with Parks a further 0.3 points down the results list.

Graham, also 16-years-old, had to fight much harder in his event to fend off another pair of NSWIS skiers Brodie Summers and James Matheson, who achieved his best ever finish in the junior titles by finishing in third place.

Australian Institute of Sport Head Moguls Coach, Steve Desovich, was impressed by a number of athletes competing today but paid special tribute to Cox and Graham, stating that both have achieved noticeable improvements with specific goals.

Cox, one of the hardest working athletes in Australia's AIS scholarship program, showed during last season's World Cup season that she needed to work on speed and jumping height to take the next step in her blossoming career.

Much to Desovich's admiration, Cox has made significant improvement, particularly with her speed, but hastens to add that the real extent of her development will not be known until she competes against international competitors, at Perisher on August 19.

Much of the improvement has come from an arduous weights program and in-depth analysis of her technique.

Desovich praised the NSW Institute of Sport sports scientist John Marsden who has worked tirelessly with Cox to enhance her leg absorption technique through moguls.

Desovich was impressed by Graham's fighting spirit today, given that he still won after making several errors during the middle section of his run.

Desovich said he thought Graham secured today's title from his strength in the air, particularly in the final, but has challenged the Perisher skier to achieve further improvement with his turns.

"We are particularly happy to invest a lot of time and energy in Britt and Matt and we are very pleased with what we're seeing," Desovich said.

He admits that it is still too early to predict how the recent improvements made by Cox and Graham will stand up in World Cup competition but added that at just 16-years of age they hold a great deal of hope.

And the pressure that both athletes were under today, going into the event as white hot favourites to win, was another challenge Cox and Graham conquered.

The boys' Youth title was won by local club skier Max Bernard from Team Buller Riders followed by Peter Miliken from the Perisher Winter Sports Club in second and third place going to Matt Anthony also from Team Buller Riders.

The girls' event was won convincingly by Jakara Anthony, ahead of Eliza Honan both from Team Buller Riders and Krystal Yin form Perisher in third.

Cox and Graham along with a field of 100 of Australia's best junior mogul skiers were disappointed when the dual mogul event was cancelled due to poor visibility on Sunday morning.

Results

Junior Men
1st - Matt Graham (Perisher/AIS)
2nd - Brodie Summers (Mt Buller/NSWIS)
3rd - James Matheson(Perisher/NSWIS)

Junior Women
1st - Britteny Cox (Falls Creek/AIS)
2nd - Taylah O'Neill (Perisher/NSWIS)
3rd - Nicole Parks (Perisher/NSWIS)

Youth Men
1st - Max Bernard (Mt Buller/TBR)
2nd - Peter Miliken (Perisher/PWSC)
3rd - Matt Anthony (Mt Buller/TBR)

Youth Women
1st - Jakara Anthony (Mt Buller/TBR)
2nd - Eliza Honan (Mt Buller/TBR)
3rd - Krystle Yin (Perisher/PWSC)

Young guns Matthew Graham and Britteny Cox have reaffirmed their status as two of the most outstanding junior mogul skiing prospects in the world, taking out the 2010 Junior National Mogul Championships at Mt Buller under snowy skies.

A strong field featuring more than 100 athletes from across Australia took part in the event on a great early season course given the limited natural snowfalls leading into the event. The large field size showcased the popularity of mogul skiing in Australia, but in the end the story of the day was the two 15-year-olds, Cox and Graham, who impressed the most.

For Cox, the event marked a return to competition after the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. She was sitting in second place behind New South Wales Institute of Sport team-mate Nicole Parks after qualifying, but stepped it up in the final to take home the gold. Graham was the dominant male athlete over the weekend, leading the event in qualifying and improving his score in the final to record a comfortable victory margin of two points.

Mt Buller skiers had great success in the youth (13 and under) event, taking out four of the six medals available.

The next mogul event at Mt Buller will be the Victorian Interschools followed by the 22nd running of the ABOM Mogul Challenge.

Results

Junior Men
1st - Matt Graham (Perisher/NSWIS)
2nd - Rohan Chapman-Davies (Perisher/NSWIS)
3rd - Brodie Summers (Mt Buller/NSWIS)

Junior Women
1st - Britteny Cox (Falls Creek/NSWIS)
2nd - Nicole Parks (Perisher/NSWIS)
3rd - Roanna Humphries (Perisher/NSWIS)

Youth Men
1st - Charlie Comben (Mt Buller/Full Attack)
2nd -Jackson Comben (Mt Buller/TBR)
3rd -Peter Miliken (Perisher)

Youth Women
1st -Eliza Honan (Mt Buller/TBR)
2nd - Claudia Gueli (Mt Buller/TBR)
3rd - Juliana Nix (Perisher)

Want to see some images from the event?

The images from the event are available on the TBR website, please click the direct link.

The images as also displayed on the jnats facebook page, please click the direct link.

• Training Day
  Friday August 3
  
• Single Moguls
  Saturday August 4
  
• Dual Moguls
  Sunday August 5

• 2011 jNats Youth Male Results - Single Moguls
• 2011 jNats Youth Female Results - Single Moguls
• 2011 jNats Junior Male Results - Single Moguls
• 2011 jNats Junior Female Results - Single Moguls

• 2011 jNats Facebook - Event Gallery
• 2011 jNats Facebook - Training Gallery

• Event Organiser:
  Team Buller Riders
  
• Event Manager:
  Andrew Pattison
  
• Phone: 0411 281 372
  (Best number to call)
  
• Mailing Address: PO BOX 33, Mt Buller, VIC, 3723
  
• Website: www.teambullerriders.com
  
• Email: info@teambuller.com

• Office Location: Alisa Camplin Freestyle Center/Judges Stand, Chamois, Mt Buller
  
• Note: Located in the Judges Stand on the Chamois Ski Run
  
• Phone: 03 5777 7963 (Winter Only)